Scan barcode
chefd's review against another edition
4.0
This book took at look at the way singles live - singles meaning never married, divorced or widowed and how the minority is slowly becoming the majority.
laulenab's review against another edition
4.0
A good read. Klinenberg was not advocating one way or the other, his book simply explores the increasingly common social phenomena of living alone and what living alone means for different age groups.
barbarianlibarian's review against another edition
3.0
a little dry and academic. it was interesting to read all the points about how worldwide culture has changed in ways that promote solo living, but at the same time housing and service resources haven't really increased. near the end is a bit about how cool Sweden is - i always seem to read about what a cool country it is, i want to move there!
fragglerocker's review against another edition
4.0
A relatively quick read on a major demographic shift in the U.S.: more and more more people are living alone. I was impressed by the author's relative evenhandedness -- presenting the pluses and minuses of single living, and not only focusing on the younger end of the distribution, but including the elderly singles. I plan to give this book to my parents to both educate them on my life path (I'm not a weirdo for being unmarried in my early 30s) and to get them thinking about their lives and their friends as they move into retirement.
tofupup's review against another edition
3.0
This feels a little outdated now, but that's not its fault. The audio book narrator was not especially interesting to listen to. I did enjoy the facts about various aspects of living alone at all phases of life and for a variety of reasons.
lorenewescott's review against another edition
5.0
This book was written as a result of sociological studies and surveys performed by the author and graduate students in various cities (mostly in the US). It's a little bit dry, but I enjoyed the mix of academic material and anecdotes.
Merged review:
This book was written as a result of sociological studies and surveys performed by the author and graduate students in various cities (mostly in the US). It's a little bit dry, but I enjoyed the mix of academic material and anecdotes.
Merged review:
This book was written as a result of sociological studies and surveys performed by the author and graduate students in various cities (mostly in the US). It's a little bit dry, but I enjoyed the mix of academic material and anecdotes.
jrc2011's review against another edition
3.0
The title of this book is entirely deceptive: I was expecting more information about the benefits or advantages. The early chapters describe the historical rise of solo living in parallel with the industrial age and the entry of women into the workforce. The information about the availability of housing for single dwellers was interesting -- from hotels to apartments to SROs and smaller houses.
Ultimately, this book essentially an overly long attempt to validate data in a study with anecdotal interviews claimed as "qualitative" research. The author keeps throwing in things about our obsession with the "cult of individuality." He routinely describes the benefits but then tears down the same. The overall tone of the book is rather like a series of blog posts or lifestyle magazine articles that seem to draw from the same handful of studies. The repeated use of description of the interview subjects doesn't increase the credibility -- just seems pseudo-journalistic.
Ultimately, this book essentially an overly long attempt to validate data in a study with anecdotal interviews claimed as "qualitative" research. The author keeps throwing in things about our obsession with the "cult of individuality." He routinely describes the benefits but then tears down the same. The overall tone of the book is rather like a series of blog posts or lifestyle magazine articles that seem to draw from the same handful of studies. The repeated use of description of the interview subjects doesn't increase the credibility -- just seems pseudo-journalistic.
ashlleya's review against another edition
3.0
Very neutral analysis of the demographic shift the world is experiencing
Uplifting to know I am not alone in my desire to be alone
Uplifting to know I am not alone in my desire to be alone
tamarahala's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book would make me feel good about my Solo life but somehow it made me feel more depressed?
shibosan's review against another edition
3.0
Не ждал многого от этой книги, казалось - ну о чем тут писать можно? И поначалу так и было - занимательные, но не более, статистика и исторические экскурсы. Но автор довольно интересно рассказывает о том, как различна жизнь одиночек разных возрастов, полов, национальностей и социального положения. О тех, кто выбрал одинокую жизнь сам и о тех, кто живет так вынужденно. Кто пришел к жизни соло, и кто уходит, устав о нее. О проблемах, с которыми сталкиваются одиночки и даже о дискриминации одиноких, как бы чуднО это не звучало.Дочитывал книгу с большим интересом, заставило задуматься о будущем. :)