Quiet by Susan Cain

Quiet

by Susan Cain

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Experience the book that started the Quiet Movement and revolutionized how the world sees introverts—and how introverts see themselves—by offering validation, inclusion, and inspiration

“Superbly researched, deeply insightful, and a fascinating read, Quiet is an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to understand the gifts of the introverted half of the population.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—People, O: The Oprah Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Inc., Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.
 
In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, impeccably researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

4 of 5 stars

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I've always known I'm an off-the-chart introvert, but I've spent my life being told "No way! You are totally extroverted!" by my employers, so I wanted to learn more about the dynamics of introvert vs. extrovert.

This is a great book. As I've said, I've always known I'm an introvert, but I had no idea what that meant in terms of showing affection, conflict resolution - even my nervous system! Reading this was a great breath of fresh air for me - I'm not 'broken' because I can't 'fight' the 'right' way and I can't always control my need to run in the opposite direction from social events larger than 4 people. Other themes that struck a chord: guilt, the need to please, the feelings of devastation at the slightest sign of disapproval, amongst so many others.

From a management perspective - well, I wish this book was required reading for anyone managing a number of people. I work in an "open office plan", and while I'm an introvert, I'm not shy, so it's a daily battle not to turn around and yell at everybody to shut the hell up - or run screaming out of the room myself.

I don't have children, but the last part of the book did a wonderful job touching on the subject of introversion in children and their experiences in the educational system. I never got the standard "do you speak English"-type comments growing up, but my mother had to deal with 12 years of "your daughter is extremely bright but has an attitude problem" - until I read this book I NEVER understood this as all I ever wanted to do was please my teachers.

All in all, a very eye-opening read. For Introverts, it's an affirmation. For extroverts with introverts in your lives, hopefully reading this book will make understanding us a bit easier. :)

I listened to the audio and while the narrator was excellent, I think this might be a book I'd like to own in print for easy reference in the future.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 31 July, 2013: Finished reading
  • 31 July, 2013: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • 31 July, 2013: Finished reading
  • 31 July, 2013: Reviewed