How to Be Idle - by Tom Hodgkinson (Paperback)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>In 24 chapters representing each hour of the day, this book will coax out the loafer in even the most diligent and schedule-obsessed worker. Line drawings throughout.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p><strong>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.</strong></p> <p>From the founding editor of the celebrated magazine about the freedom and fine art of doing nothing, <em>The Idler</em>, comes not simply a book, but an antidote to our work-obsessed culture. In <em>How to Be Idle</em>, 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. </p><p> 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<em> Eat, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation</em> by Lynne Truss, <em>How to Be Idle</em> rallies us to an equally just and no less worthy cause: reclaiming our right to be idle.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> From the Back Cover </b></p></br></br><p>From the founding editor of <em>The Idler</em>, 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 <em>How to Be Idle</em>, 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--while reflecting on the writing of such famous apologists for it as Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Nietzsche--all of whom have admitted to doing their very best work in bed.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>"Charming, as all idlers should be."--<em>Kirkus Reviews</em><br><br>" In this beguiling book, [Hodgkinson] persuasively advocates idleness as the way to gain access to the creativity of the subconscious mind, or at least to enjoy a few beers."--<strong>The Spectator</strong><br><br>"Great enjoyment . . . excellent jokes."--<strong>New York Times Book Review</strong><br><br>"He's only gone and hit the f***ing nail on the head!"--<strong>Damien Hirst</strong><br><br>"Hodgkinson glories in reminding us that idleness has a long tradition. Indeed, I was so impressed by his chapter on the virtues of the nap, that one sunny lunchtime I headed for the park to fall asleep in the sun - which I did, feeling gloriously guiltless and assertive about it."--<strong>The Guardian</strong><br><br>"Hodgkinson, a partisan in 'the millennia-long battle between the materialists and the mystics, ' ...cares deeply enough for his subject to transcend its built-in cheekiness....In a rightly breezy style, Hodgkinson recommends stargazing, smoking, loafing in pubs, lying bed."--<strong>East Bay Express</strong><br><br>"Portraying history as an epic struggle between irritating go-getters and noble idlers, the book reads like a ramble through the centuries with a lanquid, likable companion who has scoured the world's libraries to validate his obsession."--<strong>St. Petersburg Times</strong><br><br>"The beauty of How to Be Idle is that while Hodgkinson is perfectly serious about the benefits of loafing, he sets out his stall with a light touch. He wants us to live slow and die old, but to do it with elegance."--<strong>Scotland on Sunday</strong><br><br>"There is, as usual, some effort involved in holding up the book and turning the pages. This time, hurrah -- it's worth it!"--<strong>Giles Foden, author of <em>Ladysmith </em>and <em>The Last King of Scotland</em></strong><br><br>"Tom Hodgkinson's charming diversion on idleness is so persuasive that although I read it in June, it has taken me a month to return to the work ethic of my youth and review it. Filled with delightful anecdotes and quotes from famous and less known idlers -- some of whom produced a prodigious amount of work -- it is a joyful tribute to how we could live. ...[L]ovely, amusing...to be savoured, slowly."--<strong>Providence Journal</strong><br><br>"You know you have uncovered a true literary gem when you annoy your family with an unceasing, unwanted, and uncontrollable laugh track while reading. In fact, the only thing I lamented about Tom Hodgkinson's irresistable <em>How to Be Idle</em> is that the author waited so long to publish this--<strong>USA Today</strong><br>
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