Synopses & Reviews
With advice, information, and reflection on such matters as lying in, long lunches, the art of the nap, and how to skive,
How to Be Idle gives you all the inspiration you need to take a break from your fast-paced, overworked life.
From the founding editor of the The Idler, the celebrated magazine about the freedom and fine art of doing nothing, comes not simply a book, but an antidote to our work-obsessed culture. In How to Be Idle, Tom Hodgkinson presents his learned yet whimsical argument for a new universal standard of living: being happy doing nothing. He covers a whole spectrum of issues affecting the modern idler sleep, work, pleasure, relationships bemoaning the cultural skepticism of idleness while reflecting on the writing of such famous apologists for it as Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Johnson, and Nietzsche all of whom have admitted to doing their very best work in bed.
It's a well-known fact that Europeans spend fewer hours at work a week than Americans. So it's only befitting that one of them the very clever, extremely engaging, and quite hilarious Hodgkinson should have the wittiest and most useful insights into the fun and nature of loafing.
Who wouldn't want to blow off work for a day and just "be idle"? The key to a life of pleasure, freedom, and guilt-free lounging around is in your hands.
Review
"Hodgkinson revels in the pleasures of sleeping in, taking leisurely lunches, napping, and other such pursuits. Artfully combining British and American perspectives, this book promises to be just as big a hit here as it was in the United Kingdom." Library Journal
Review
"[N]o idler worth his salt will read it in a single sitting-there's too much fishing, tea drinking and napping to be done. Charming, as all idlers should be." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"It's no surprise that the successful idlers Hodgkinson quotes are all writers and writers will enjoy this book." New York Times
Review
"If only I had known earlier, I wouldn't have wasted so many years eating at my desk and striving (unsuccessfully) to get ahead. Every newly minted college grad would benefit from this book." USA Today
Synopsis
Yearning for a life of leisure? In 24 chapters representing each hour of a typical working day, this book will coax out the loafer in even the most diligent and schedule-obsessed worker.
From the founding editor of the celebrated magazine about the freedom and fine art of doing nothing, The Idler, comes not simply a book, but an antidote to our work-obsessed culture. In How to Be Idle, Hodgkinson presents his learned yet whimsical argument for a new, universal standard of living: being happy doing nothing. He covers a whole spectrum of issues affecting the modern idler--sleep, work, pleasure, relationships--bemoaning the cultural skepticism of idleness while reflecting on the writing of such famous apologists for it as Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Johnson, and Nietzsche--all of whom have admitted to doing their very best work in bed.
It's a well-known fact that Europeans spend fewer hours at work a week than Americans. So it's only befitting that one of them--the very clever, extremely engaging, and quite hilarious Tom Hodgkinson--should have the wittiest and most useful insights into the fun and nature of being idle. Following on the quirky, call-to-arms heels of the bestselling Eat, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss, How to Be Idle rallies us to an equally just and no less worthy cause: reclaiming our right to be idle.
About the Author
Tom Hodgkinson is still doing what he's always done, which is a mixture of editing magazines, writing articles, and putting on parties. He was born in 1968, founded The Idler in 1993, and now lives in Devon, England. He is also the author of The Freedom Manifesto.