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A review by ejazhusseini
How to Be Alone by Sara Maitland
3.0
HOW TO BE ALONE review: solitude is vital to everyone…”
How to be alone
By “Sara Maitland”
This book is one of the how-to series of books by The School of Life which is an educationally focused company that provides people with philosophical knowledge about all aspects of life in forms of books, cards, videos and therapies.
There is no doubt that The School of Life YouTube channel is one of my most followed and beloved channels. It has not only helped me in several times of needs and at different levels, but has also made me a better thinker, a better human and also a better lifer. Alongside their very insightful articles which always leaves me wanting more, I wanted to read their little books as well, which I assumed would be a longer version of those articles.
Their How-to series covers a pretty wide array of topics very important for living a better quality of life. Though very hard to find, both in hard and soft copy, where I live, I still managed to get my hands on some of these books and now I’ve started to read them as more of a sideline book besides the main books that I read.
So how was ‘How to be alone’? I was very intrigued by this book, obviously by the title of it as well, for a couple of reasons. First, as much introverted as I am and as firmly as I believe that I am, I have always found myself poor at living alone. Second, I wanted to learn to be alone, to enjoy my introversion even more, and to be more independent because I have always found people unreliable in my life at times when I need them.
How to be alone definitely has some of those how-to tricks for you to apply in order to live in more solitude peacefully. But even more than that it explores the origins of solitude, the idea that solitude is almost taboo in the 21st century, and then how much we are missing by constantly avoiding the idea of being alone.
Maitland explains at the end of this short book that she has written this book from back to front; discussing the problems associated with solitude first and then finishing on a high by writing about the perks of being alone. And this might just have given me a chance to accept the book and be kinder towards it.
Starting backwards, this book can definitely get a bit too methodical or academic that almost get to loathe this book as one of your school books. And it takes quite a while, although it is a very short book, to get to the how-to section of it. But it absolutely finishes on a high by talking about that I came here for: “how benign is solitude!”
Maitland also realizes that this is not a complete book at all, but rather a motivation to start reading the other, more detailed books on solitude which she suggests at the Homework section at the end. But for wanting to know a little more about being alone and why it is important or for those, like me, who want some affirmation that being alone is indeed important and not alienated, for them this book is a good read – though not entirely.
An excerpt:
“The freedom to walk alone, to eat alone, to travel alone gives at the very least a wider potential pleasure. I would feel deprived if both were not possible for me.”
So have I earned some tricks up my sleeve for the next time I end up being alone from my family and friends, in a far away land? Maybe. And I say that because I really not sure yet. But I will always have his book with me, in case I need it. And am I more learned about solitude, about its pleasures and not having to depend on others? Yes! If anything, this book does provide the assurances you need to be able to live alone without bothering about others.
My praise for the novel:
A handbook that teaches you the vital skill of being alone;
You don’t even realize how much you’re missing on!
Ratings: 3.8/4 ***
A review by: Ejaz Hussain
June 29th, 2019.
How to be alone
By “Sara Maitland”
This book is one of the how-to series of books by The School of Life which is an educationally focused company that provides people with philosophical knowledge about all aspects of life in forms of books, cards, videos and therapies.
There is no doubt that The School of Life YouTube channel is one of my most followed and beloved channels. It has not only helped me in several times of needs and at different levels, but has also made me a better thinker, a better human and also a better lifer. Alongside their very insightful articles which always leaves me wanting more, I wanted to read their little books as well, which I assumed would be a longer version of those articles.
Their How-to series covers a pretty wide array of topics very important for living a better quality of life. Though very hard to find, both in hard and soft copy, where I live, I still managed to get my hands on some of these books and now I’ve started to read them as more of a sideline book besides the main books that I read.
So how was ‘How to be alone’? I was very intrigued by this book, obviously by the title of it as well, for a couple of reasons. First, as much introverted as I am and as firmly as I believe that I am, I have always found myself poor at living alone. Second, I wanted to learn to be alone, to enjoy my introversion even more, and to be more independent because I have always found people unreliable in my life at times when I need them.
How to be alone definitely has some of those how-to tricks for you to apply in order to live in more solitude peacefully. But even more than that it explores the origins of solitude, the idea that solitude is almost taboo in the 21st century, and then how much we are missing by constantly avoiding the idea of being alone.
Maitland explains at the end of this short book that she has written this book from back to front; discussing the problems associated with solitude first and then finishing on a high by writing about the perks of being alone. And this might just have given me a chance to accept the book and be kinder towards it.
Starting backwards, this book can definitely get a bit too methodical or academic that almost get to loathe this book as one of your school books. And it takes quite a while, although it is a very short book, to get to the how-to section of it. But it absolutely finishes on a high by talking about that I came here for: “how benign is solitude!”
Maitland also realizes that this is not a complete book at all, but rather a motivation to start reading the other, more detailed books on solitude which she suggests at the Homework section at the end. But for wanting to know a little more about being alone and why it is important or for those, like me, who want some affirmation that being alone is indeed important and not alienated, for them this book is a good read – though not entirely.
An excerpt:
“The freedom to walk alone, to eat alone, to travel alone gives at the very least a wider potential pleasure. I would feel deprived if both were not possible for me.”
So have I earned some tricks up my sleeve for the next time I end up being alone from my family and friends, in a far away land? Maybe. And I say that because I really not sure yet. But I will always have his book with me, in case I need it. And am I more learned about solitude, about its pleasures and not having to depend on others? Yes! If anything, this book does provide the assurances you need to be able to live alone without bothering about others.
My praise for the novel:
A handbook that teaches you the vital skill of being alone;
You don’t even realize how much you’re missing on!
Ratings: 3.8/4 ***
A review by: Ejaz Hussain
June 29th, 2019.