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Monday, July 22 – Saturday, July 27
NON-FICTION
Enjoy some good summer reading.
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“Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions.”
– Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
I love the title of this book. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Listening to loud, incessant talking gives me a headache. Unfortunately this “noise” is the norm, rather than the exception. Just turn on the television set and watch a few commercials or catch a daytime talk show. Personally, I do not enjoy listening to people as they talk over each other. However, as Susan Cain points out, the “Extrovert Ideal” has indeed “permeated our culture.” Despite the premise that introverts comprise, at the very least, one-third of the people we know, they remain undervalued in American society – much to our detriment.
Impeccably researched and beautifully written, this book is replete with interesting stories of real people and we get to meet some highly successful introverts, dispelling the myth that he who shouts loudest gets heard.
This book is a thought-provoking read. Introverts will be inspired and extroverts will gain some new and interesting perspective.
Quiet has been on the New York Times Bestsellers List (Paperback, Non-fiction) for twenty-four weeks straight and is not likely to fall off the list anytime soon.
heatherfromthegrove 