Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking.

Quiet was one of the Campmeeting safe books that I got. I didn't think that it would be as easy to read as it was. I was sucked in, and nearly read it straight through. The writer uses descriptive stories from her experience interviewing and talking to people for the book. It is partly a self help book, and partly a informational text, but many parts of it I found could be read like short stories.

Introverts gain energy by being alone, while extroverts gain energy by being with people. This does not mean that introverts don't like people, just that we need alone time to recover (even after things like going to a movie with a couple of friends). Extroverts may have to go out with friends after a while of alone time (like studying). About half of the population is introverted, and though introverts certainly aren't better than extroverts, much of western culture praises outgoing, outspoken behavior. It is sometimes nice to be reminded that we, as introverts are not alone.

Many eastern cultures have great respect for introverted personalities. Wisdom is seen in those who think before they speak.

In a way, this book has changed my way of looking at myself. It sort of gave me permission to be introverted instead of striving, and not succeeding to put on the extroverted mask that so many of us have. It also brought up some points about introverts that I have been able to take make into ideas and advice in my life.

Introverts don't like to talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Introverts don't do so well when put on the spot. It isn't that we don't know our stuff. The stress of talking in front of people (without having practiced a script) can be too distracting to perform well. In school introverts are often seen as less smart at their extroverted peers. Not only is there the whole speaking up in front of people thing, but introverts really don't like "taking a stab at it" in front of people, or sharing partly formed ideas. When asked (for a study) to come up with problem solving ideas extroverts come up with a large number if ideas in a short amount of time, where as introverts come up with fewer. When compared, there were approximately the same number of QUALITY ideas.

 I really wish that this book had been around earlier. Throughout nursing school we had to do self critiques.  I always had trouble coming up with examples to show my leadership in clinical practice. I didn't see myself as a leader. This book showed me how introverts often have alternate ways to lead. Introverts are more likely to lead by taking many people's perspectives into consideration. In nursing I have taken this to mean leadership through collaboration. I think that my critiques in school would have been much more useful with my new perspective on power and leadership.

Reading

 As a child I struggled with reading. I remember reading in partners in grade one. We each had to read a simple book to the other person. I picked the same book as my partner, and had them read first, so that I would know the story. In grade two I started to be home-schooled. I remember sitting down with my mom to read chapters of Little house in the big woods,and the other books in the series. I enjoyed the story, but I dreaded the reading. I did enjoy the Berenstain Bear books (the little ones with four words on each page), not so much for content, but because I could read them by myself.

I remember when I realized that there were books out there that I could really enjoy reading and become absorbed into. In the mid-late 90s my brother got Star Wars on VHS, and in 1999 Episode came out. I loved this particular fandom/genre. I decorated my room to look like space, the games that I played were based on Star Wars, and I coveted the great toy lightsaber. This same brother grew out of a series of books, and gave me the Jedi Apprentice series.

These books were easy to read. They were short-ish, had simple language,  lots of action, and they had characters who I already knew and loved. I've read them over and over. They are still sitting on my bookshelf, warn edges, stains, and tape along the spines. These were my steppingstones into the world of reading.

Around the year 2000 the big bookstore Chapters opened in my home town, and as far as I remember, it was on one of our first trips there that my other brother discovered the Harry Potter books. Neither one of us were big readers, but we powered through the (then two) books quickly, and the third when it was released. I was so interested that I didn't even think twice about tackling the around 700 pages of book four, and the final book took me less than two days to read.

In grade eight, my English teacher (a long term sub) gave us "free reading" time. I didn't have a new book at the time, so I picked up my oldest brother's copy of The Lord of the Rings. For the next couple of months, those books barely left my side. I found it easy to be transported into Middle Earth, and when I finished it I had a "what now" moment.

I went to Chapter in order to find another book for "free reading" time, and I found it. Right up front, on the new releases table, I saw it. Star Wars: Star by Star. A Star Wars book for grown-ups had been my dream. As I read it, it seemed a little out of context, but that didn't matter. It was Star Wars. After I finished, I wanted to know if there was more. I was shocked to see that there was a whole series. An entire bookcase in Chapters dedicated to Star Wars, and my book had been the latest release. My feelings of foolishness were overshadowed by the thought that I had YEARS of Star Wars books to read. It took me through high-school to read this series. I had a small group of equally geeky classmates who used my collection as a library. They are still adding onto the series, but my interests changed. University, and life got in the way, and I was spending less and less time reading. I read text books, and online, but not many tangible, solid, books.

This past summer I decided to get back to reading for enjoyment. I perused the book store, and have picked up a fair number of books. This blog is to reflect on what I am reading.