Quiet

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

By: Susan Cain

Narrated by: Kathe Mazur

#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.

©2012 Susan Cain (P)2012 Random House

Critic reviews

2013, Carnegie Medal, Long-listed

2012, Goodreads.com Readers Choice Award for Best Debut Author and Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, Winner

“As an introvert often called upon to behave like an extrovert, I found the information in this book revealing and helpful. Drawing on neuroscientific research and many case reports, Susan Cain explains the advantages and potentials of introversion and of being quiet in a noisy world.” (Andrew Weil, author of Healthy Aging and Spontaneous Happiness)

“Susan Cain has done a superb job of sifting through decades of complex research on introversion, extroversion, and sensitivity—this book will be a boon for the many highly sensitive people who are also introverts.” (Elaine Aron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person)

insightfull, thoughtfull and fun

Where does Quiet rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is by far the best non-fiction book I've read in a very long time. Working as a manager of a software firm - I've long known that the best developers, the silent type, thrieve in solitude and letting them be alone will get you the best results. At the same time I've often wanted to foster better team spirit with open landscape seating etc. This book got me thinking and reflecting on both my workplace and friends & family around me.

The perfomance truly matches the sense and meaning of the book - so even thou it's a bit too slow for me it really works.

What other book might you compare Quiet to and why?

The Social Animal - also a book about our interactions with other people.

Which scene was your favorite?

The part about Woz working for HP.

If you could give Quiet a new subtitle, what would it be?

Introverts - a guide

Quiet May Have Changed My Life

What made the experience of listening to Quiet the most enjoyable?

I have always known that I am an introvert, but this book taught me so much about myself that I don’t know where to begin. This book really blew me away and I look forward to sharing it with a lot of friends and co-workers.

Great Beginning

Great beginning but then it lapsed into way, way too much material on how to succeed in the business world!! Not every one lives in or cares about the business world!!

Insightful

I’m sure some people who were drawn to this book consider themselves ‘misfits’ somehow, and the title of the book brought on an approving smile quite unconsciously. I was one of those people. Even though the title intrigued me before the book was published, I hesitated and waited weeks after the book was available for purchase. I thought it might be yet another new age psychobabble type of “accept yourself as you are”; “pat yourself on the back & there’s nothing wrong with you” type of book. (You think by now, I would have learned not to judge a book by its cover/title, apparently not. Good thing I’m curious & got the book anyway.) This book definitely has those elements, with generalizations such as:
“Introverts were built to inspect, where Extroverts were built to react.”
“Introverts are more accurate but slower, Extroverts are less accurate but faster.”

BUT… (Since I gave it 5 stars, you know there is a ‘but’ coming) the author based her statements on behavior, sociology, psychology, and brain physiology research studies and clearly emphasized that when she used generalizing statements, they are exact that: sweeping generalizations. She set the foundation with these generalizations, then sought out exceptions and showed by examples that Introversion & Extroversion are the extremes of the same spectrum. Both have strengths & weaknesses and both are preserved by natural selection in humans & other creatures because a balance of the two styles is crucial to survival. She highlighted the advantages of ‘quiet strength’ Introverts have (ie. Rosa Parks); the danger of having exclusively extroverts in decision making roles (ie. the perfect storm of the 2008 financial crisis); the role that cultures play in rewarding Introvert or Extrovert characteristics and what happens when one’s culture environment changes (which I interpret as one of the leading causes of high suicide rate among the Asian Americans); the benefits of symbiotic partnership between an Introvert & an Extrovert IF they know how to communicate with the member of the opposite character traits (ie. Jobs/Wozniak, Parks/King). The book is extensive yet Susan Cain managed to keep my interest. The last two chapters brought a ‘personal revelation’ to me which is why I gave it 5 stars. I used to think of myself as an extrovert with a lot of ‘quiet moments’, but instead it makes much more sense that I’m actually an introvert with ‘loud moments’. Read the book & you’ll understand what I mean by that.

A Thank You

Would you listen to Quiet again? Why?

Yes, many times.

Any additional comments?

Thank you Susan Cain for taking the time to research and write this book. I now understand the introvert I married and the two introverts I bore. I will be forever grateful for the insight and appreciation the book brought to this lover of introverts.

Life changing book

I am no longer going to feel bad about being quiet or an introvert. This book has a lot of science-based studies on why we are the way we are. This book was life-changing for me…

I finally understand!

Perfectly captured...all kinds of lightbulbs illuminated! Good for introverts and extroverts understanding of the former.

Praises for silence!!!

What a gift to this generation! Fantastically articulated! Thoroughly enthralling! Well narrated!!! Great listen, for anyone!

Thank you for this book!

Narration was flawless and the book explains so much about my own personality. Thank you both!

Very interesting!

Long but excellent and very interesting! I learned so much about myself and my loved ones.