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A review by michellewatson
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
5.0
This is the perfect example of a book that I never would've sought out. Never would've known I'd like. Totally random, but loaded with benefit—and not just for event planners.
Gathering. It's an abstract topic, but this book was very relatable in surprisingly concrete ways. I gather all the time, I realize. At church, at birthday parties, at meetings, at memorials, at sporting events, at dinners, at conferences.
Planned or impromptu. Grand or minimal. Parker argues that every gathering, even a routine one, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The unique mix of people in a specific location for an express purpose is something that happens in a fixed, finite moment that will never occur the same way ever again. Why not make the most of it? Why not use that opportunity to make human connections, to further true progress, to open our eyes afresh?
Gathering with other people means more than ever in light of on-again-off-again bouts of isolation and distancing. Gathering is special. It can even be magical. But, Parker argues that it's all too often blah and meaningless. In this book, she goes from macro to micro, first exploring why we gather and how to give your gathering a specific purpose. She goes into the logistics (time, place, invites) and how they matter. I love how she broke down the specific elements of gathering, such as the invite, the buildup, the entry, and the welcome. Similarly, she deconstructs the gathering's closing and exit point. I like her discussion of "adding heat" to a gathering by allowing for good controversy if it serves a healthy purpose. I really loved the whole idea of crafting the event so that it feels like an alternate universe for the attendees, separate and sacred from the "real/fake" world.
While reading this, I was preparing to lead a church seminar for a bunch of teens, and I had that upcoming event in mind as I read through this book. It was neat to take Parker's advice and apply it to my seminar. Because of this book, I added entry and exit elements that I probably would've neglected without a prompt. But, I also mentally applied the advice to all kinds of personal events that I participate in on a routine basis. How can I take them from "nice" to "I am SO insanely glad I came"?
Gathering. It's an abstract topic, but this book was very relatable in surprisingly concrete ways. I gather all the time, I realize. At church, at birthday parties, at meetings, at memorials, at sporting events, at dinners, at conferences.
Planned or impromptu. Grand or minimal. Parker argues that every gathering, even a routine one, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The unique mix of people in a specific location for an express purpose is something that happens in a fixed, finite moment that will never occur the same way ever again. Why not make the most of it? Why not use that opportunity to make human connections, to further true progress, to open our eyes afresh?
Gathering with other people means more than ever in light of on-again-off-again bouts of isolation and distancing. Gathering is special. It can even be magical. But, Parker argues that it's all too often blah and meaningless. In this book, she goes from macro to micro, first exploring why we gather and how to give your gathering a specific purpose. She goes into the logistics (time, place, invites) and how they matter. I love how she broke down the specific elements of gathering, such as the invite, the buildup, the entry, and the welcome. Similarly, she deconstructs the gathering's closing and exit point. I like her discussion of "adding heat" to a gathering by allowing for good controversy if it serves a healthy purpose. I really loved the whole idea of crafting the event so that it feels like an alternate universe for the attendees, separate and sacred from the "real/fake" world.
While reading this, I was preparing to lead a church seminar for a bunch of teens, and I had that upcoming event in mind as I read through this book. It was neat to take Parker's advice and apply it to my seminar. Because of this book, I added entry and exit elements that I probably would've neglected without a prompt. But, I also mentally applied the advice to all kinds of personal events that I participate in on a routine basis. How can I take them from "nice" to "I am SO insanely glad I came"?