A review by eva11
Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity by Edward Slingerland

2.0

This is a book written by an academic and it is about early Chinese philosophy and how some of its principles would apply in our modern world. A book about effortlessness and how to achieve it. At least, that is what I think the author was trying to do. Unfortunately, I did not find that he succeeded. In my opinion the author could not decide between writing a thesis and a piece of mainstream literature. I have nothing against either of the two, I have read plenty of either genre. But this mix, this scholar literature was somewhat tedious and- I'm sorry to say -rather poorly executed. Had I known upon starting the book that I would be reading about early Chinese thinkers, I wouldn't have bothered at all, because up till now, it has been one of my least interesting topics. After reading this book, it has climbed up to the top of least interesting, alongside the lunchtime eating habits of public servants. Fortunately, it was well written, as expected from someone like Slingerland, given his academic background. Also, there are a few interesting pieces of information. I had a hard time finishing the book but I kept going because I thought that it would "get to the good part soon". It never happened. Somehow the entire book felt like a boring introduction. I give it 2,5 stars.