In Praise Of Slow
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Review
"Engagingly written and filled with interesting detail... a timely manifesto for a more civilised world." (SUNDAY TIMES Culture, 6 August )
Presents an eloquent case for a thorough re-examination of priorities and shows how even subtle shifts in the way we live can have a very real effect on our well-being. (THE GUARDIAN, 20 August )
"Engaging." (THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, 14 August )
Readable and persuasive... it is virtually impossible to read Honore's book without deciding to take things, you know, a little slower from now on. (THE IRISH TIMES, 27 August )
His advice is too grounded in day-to-day practicality to be guilty of didacticism or whimsy... read this uplifting and enlightening book very soon; but do, please, take your time. (TLS, 30 Sept )
Presents an eloquent case for a thorough re-examination of priorities and shows how even subtle shifts in the way we live can have a very real effect on our well-being. (THE GUARDIAN, 20 August )
"Engaging." (THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, 14 August )
Readable and persuasive... it is virtually impossible to read Honore's book without deciding to take things, you know, a little slower from now on. (THE IRISH TIMES, 27 August )
His advice is too grounded in day-to-day practicality to be guilty of didacticism or whimsy... read this uplifting and enlightening book very soon; but do, please, take your time. (TLS, 30 Sept )
Review
"Engagingly written and filled with interesting detail... a timely manifesto for a more civilised world." SUNDAY TIMES Culture, 6 August Presents an eloquent case for a thorough re-examination of priorities and shows how even subtle shifts in the way we live can have a very real effect on our well-being. THE GUARDIAN, 20 August "Engaging." THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, 14 August Readable and persuasive... it is virtually impossible to read Honore's book without deciding to take things, you know, a little slower from now on. THE IRISH TIMES, 27 August His advice is too grounded in day-to-day practicality to be guilty of didacticism or whimsy... read this uplifting and enlightening book very soon; but do, please, take your time. TLS, 30 Sept
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read "In Praise of Slow" earlier this year after a chance meeting with it in a bookshop in my town; and I can say with absolute certainty that it is the only book that I have read that has changed my entire outlook on life. That alone is sufficient to give it a rating of five stars. How then has it changed me?
It has changed me by allowing me to understand its message: do not do as much as you can as fast as you can. If this strikes you as common sense, then you probably belong to the category of people who do not need to read the book but would nonetheless enjoy it. It is perhaps a problem for books such as this that it is only people with at least a glimmering notion of the light that it reflects who will bother to read it; some people will "not have time to read it" because they are so busy.
The book is not about taking everything slowly (I wonder whether I ought to repeat that), but about taking everything at the right speed. In our twenty-first-century world we are more often going too fast than too slow, so the book will inevitably concentrate on slowing down. There is a difference which not all previous reviewers seem to have noticed between "slow", adjective, and "Slow", social movement: it is the latter with which this book is concerned.
The right speed: the "Tempo Giusto". I am a musician, so the pages of the book that discussed this were of particular interest to me. I had not come across a "Tempo Giusto" movement before, though I had come across the term. It means either "just or exact rhythm" or "the speed that the style of the music demands (usually Moderato)" (The Oxford Companion to Music). The phrase is not used very often in the context of music as a tempo designation, because it does not convey any information to the musician: "at the right speed"; no composer is going to instruct the player to play the music "at the wrong speed", or almost no composer. And taking it to mean merely what it says, and not implying "moderato", a fast tempo is appropriate for an allegro piece, and a slow tempo for an andante. The idea of "Tempo Giusto" is appropriate not only in music but in all aspects of life.
Read this book Slowly; take your time; enjoy it. You will not be wasting your time. I hope you will have deleted that expression from your vocabulary by the time you finish reading "In Praise of Slow".
It has changed me by allowing me to understand its message: do not do as much as you can as fast as you can. If this strikes you as common sense, then you probably belong to the category of people who do not need to read the book but would nonetheless enjoy it. It is perhaps a problem for books such as this that it is only people with at least a glimmering notion of the light that it reflects who will bother to read it; some people will "not have time to read it" because they are so busy.
The book is not about taking everything slowly (I wonder whether I ought to repeat that), but about taking everything at the right speed. In our twenty-first-century world we are more often going too fast than too slow, so the book will inevitably concentrate on slowing down. There is a difference which not all previous reviewers seem to have noticed between "slow", adjective, and "Slow", social movement: it is the latter with which this book is concerned.
The right speed: the "Tempo Giusto". I am a musician, so the pages of the book that discussed this were of particular interest to me. I had not come across a "Tempo Giusto" movement before, though I had come across the term. It means either "just or exact rhythm" or "the speed that the style of the music demands (usually Moderato)" (The Oxford Companion to Music). The phrase is not used very often in the context of music as a tempo designation, because it does not convey any information to the musician: "at the right speed"; no composer is going to instruct the player to play the music "at the wrong speed", or almost no composer. And taking it to mean merely what it says, and not implying "moderato", a fast tempo is appropriate for an allegro piece, and a slow tempo for an andante. The idea of "Tempo Giusto" is appropriate not only in music but in all aspects of life.
Read this book Slowly; take your time; enjoy it. You will not be wasting your time. I hope you will have deleted that expression from your vocabulary by the time you finish reading "In Praise of Slow".
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An award-winning Canadian journalist advocates living a slower, more measured existence, in virtually every area, a philosophy he defines as 'balance.'
Honoré's personal wake-up call came when he began reading one-minute bedtime stories to his two-year-old son in order to save time. The practice dramatized how he, like most of the world, was caught up in a speed culture that probably began with the Industrial Revolution.
The author explores, in convincing and skillful prose, a quiet revolution known as 'the slow movement,' which is attempting to integrate the advances of the information age into a lifestyle that is marked by an 'inner slowness' that gives more depth to relationships with others and with oneself. Although there is no official movement, Honoré credits Carol Petrini, an Italian culinary writer and founder of the slow food movement in Italy, with spearheading the trend to using fresh local foods, grown with sustainable farming techniques that are consumed in a leisurely manner with good company.
The author also explores other slow movements, such as the practice of Tantric sex (mindful sexual union as a road to enlightenment), complementary and alternative medicine, new urbanism and the importance of leisure activities like knitting, painting and music.
For the overprogrammed and stressed, slow and steady may win the race.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Taking into account the other review which states that this book is a bit lightweight and not worth bothering with, I would have to say it is not really that bad.
It is certainly not an acacdemic or philosphical book on the benefits of slow living, nor is it an anthropological approch to it.
What it is, and what is does well is to introduce the 'slow movement' in an easy to read jounalistic style.
If you want an easy reading and quite interesting account of the ideals and methods of 'slow movements' then this is a book for you. If you want philosphical and critical analysis, then this book is lacking in that field.
For the price, it is an interesting read...
It is certainly not an acacdemic or philosphical book on the benefits of slow living, nor is it an anthropological approch to it.
What it is, and what is does well is to introduce the 'slow movement' in an easy to read jounalistic style.
If you want an easy reading and quite interesting account of the ideals and methods of 'slow movements' then this is a book for you. If you want philosphical and critical analysis, then this book is lacking in that field.
For the price, it is an interesting read...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not brilliantly written, but worth a read
The book begins promisingly enough, but Honore does tend to get a bit preachy at about the halfway point; many chapters feel incredibly similar, with the same points made in a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. Foster
A thought provoking guide to the art of slow
Time. One of life's most precious assets. Yet, the art of savouring time is all but lost.
Today life is performed at a hectic pace. Read more
Today life is performed at a hectic pace. Read more
Published 5 months ago by David Briddock
Slow Down, You Move Too Fast.......
.....You gotta make the moment last! Simon and Garfunkel were right all along. Superb book, well written and the ideas within really do hit a chord. Read more
Published 13 months ago by SouthernDave
thinking about our relationship to time and slowing down
Read Jay Griffiths book - Pip Pip A Sideways Look at Time. Which I think is a fabulous book, deep, thoughtful and much richer. Read more
Published on 19 May 2010 by jools
A let down
I started this book with high hopes - clearly too high, as what I found disappointed me. There are a few good general points about lifestyles and how they have changed over the... Read more
Published on 3 April 2010 by Ethel the Frog
If you only read one book this summer!
If you only read one book this summer whilst on your holidays, read this instead of an action packed thriller. Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2009 by Sparky_IoM
A book to mull over!
I liked In Praise of Slow, despite reading it quickly!
The book introduces an interesting concept - namely that to do things slowly, can often make the experience more... Read more
The book introduces an interesting concept - namely that to do things slowly, can often make the experience more... Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2008 by Mr X
Inspiring
I first read this book a few years ago and have returned to it many times since. The ideas Honore explores just 'made sense' to me and helped me to reconnect with what is really... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2008 by Sal
Read it slowly...
I used to do things quickly and simultaneously, which I supposed a must to survive the rat race nowadays. Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2007 by book maniac
Disappointing
There are many interesting topics raised in this book, and as such it is worth reading in order to bring these things to your attention. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2007 by Xepha
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