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How to Be Idle: A Loafer's Manifesto

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From long lunches to the art of the nap -- all the inspiration you need to take a break from your fast-paced, overworked life.

Yearning for a life of leisure? In twenty-four 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.

From the founding editor of the celebrated magazine about the freedom and fine art of doing nothing, The Idler, comes not simply a book, but an antidote to our work-obsessed culture. In How to Be Idle, 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.

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.

"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." -- The Spectator

"Irresistible... a true literary gem." -- USA Today

"Excellent." -- The New York Times Book Review

"A joyful tribute to how we could live." -- The Providence Journal

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  • We started tracking this book on June 10, 2013.
  • This book was $7.99 when we started tracking it.
  • The price of this book has changed 176 times in the past 4,484 days.
  • The current price of this book is $2.99 last checked one day ago.
  • This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $1.99.
  • The lowest price to date was $1.99 last reached on July 13, 2025.
  • This book has been $1.99 20 times since we started tracking it.
  • The highest price to date was $12.99 last reached on September 18, 2023.
  • This book has been $12.99 5 times since we started tracking it.

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  • Text-to-Speech: Disabled
  • Lending: Disabled
  • Print Length: 306 Pages
  • File Size: 30 KB

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