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A review by hreed7
Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone by Eric Klinenberg
3.0
I was drawn to this (audio)book because I thought modern romance, which aziz ansari did with eric klinenberg was terrific, and moreover I personally live alone and I figured that this would resonate with me.
Sadly nothing out of this book made me get up from my chair with excitement. Most of the book was simply a long, qualitative recapitulation of things I expected: younger people are more connected by social media and such than ever, and they have more money. Meanwhile adults are divorcing and old people don't want to live with their kids anymore. If you want to hear stories of people with lived experiences like these you'll enjoy this book.
the parts of the book that may in fact stick with me longer are these:
1. there was a brief sketch of the Swedish tradition of moving out of the house and into an apartment of one's own, which I found to be a fascinating contrast to the (typical) American experience of moving in with others after college. Apparently it was a big swedish social democratic policy initiative to create lots of singleton housing and it has created a collectivized cultural experience that I found fascinating.
2. the role that urban development plays in encouraging--or more accurately, reacting to--the rise of singleton living, and I thought it was so interesting that even as there is a greater need for housing for singletons, they do not present as cohesive a voting bloc as families so their needs are not reflected in policy choices. I couldn't help but think of a 99% invisible episode called "the sunshine hotel" about a single room occupancy hotel in the bowery that was home to men with all kinds of situations, and then it was demolished like so many other places that provide essential housing functions.
So, some interesting tidbits, but generally not one for the record books.
Sadly nothing out of this book made me get up from my chair with excitement. Most of the book was simply a long, qualitative recapitulation of things I expected: younger people are more connected by social media and such than ever, and they have more money. Meanwhile adults are divorcing and old people don't want to live with their kids anymore. If you want to hear stories of people with lived experiences like these you'll enjoy this book.
the parts of the book that may in fact stick with me longer are these:
1. there was a brief sketch of the Swedish tradition of moving out of the house and into an apartment of one's own, which I found to be a fascinating contrast to the (typical) American experience of moving in with others after college. Apparently it was a big swedish social democratic policy initiative to create lots of singleton housing and it has created a collectivized cultural experience that I found fascinating.
2. the role that urban development plays in encouraging--or more accurately, reacting to--the rise of singleton living, and I thought it was so interesting that even as there is a greater need for housing for singletons, they do not present as cohesive a voting bloc as families so their needs are not reflected in policy choices. I couldn't help but think of a 99% invisible episode called "the sunshine hotel" about a single room occupancy hotel in the bowery that was home to men with all kinds of situations, and then it was demolished like so many other places that provide essential housing functions.
So, some interesting tidbits, but generally not one for the record books.