Quiet

Book 20 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 1 - 22

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

by Susan Cain

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2012

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, superbly 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.

My Opinion

3 stars

This is interesting to read as the world shuts down due to the coronavirus.  It definitely adds to the conversation that there is room for introverts to succeed in a workplace or school because not every meeting has to be face-to-face, not every activity has to be in a group, etc.  I wonder if there will be more telecommuting even when things open again or if things will go right back to the extrovert-friendly settings.

The book was very readable and most chapters had a good mix of personal anecdotes and research to keep it interesting and relevant.  A lot of it was things I'd already thought about as an introvert married to an extrovert and raising our 4 kids (we've had 20 years of personality negotiations without knowing the terminology of "free trait agreements" or "restorative niche") but there were things I hadn't considered before, especially regarding religious leaders.

I loved her description of the feeling of her family reading separate books in the same room on Saturday afternoons: "It was the best of both worlds: you had the animal warmth of your family right next to you, but you also got to roam around the adventure-land inside your own head."

Quote from the Book

"The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some it's a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk."