How to Be Idle: A Loafer's ManifestoFrom the founding editor of The Idler, the celebrated magazine about the freedom and fine art of doing nothing, comes not simply a book, but an antidote to our work-obsessed culture. In How to Be Idle, Tom 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—while reflecting on the writing of such famous apologists for it as Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Nietzsche—all of whom have admitted to doing their very best work in bed. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 14 | |
| 30 | |
Skiving for Pleasure and Profit | 39 |
The Hangover | 51 |
The Death of Lunch | 58 |
On Being Ill | 68 |
The Nap | 79 |
The Pub | 162 |
Riot | 174 |
The Moon and the Stars | 185 |
Sex and Idleness | 194 |
The Art of Conversation | 205 |
Party Time | 215 |
Meditation | 224 |
Sleep | 232 |
Time for Tea | 88 |
The Ramble | 99 |
First Drink of the Day | 112 |
On Fishing | 122 |
Smoking | 132 |
The Idle Home | 146 |
On Holidays | 243 |
A Waking Dream | 261 |
Further Reading | 273 |
Acknowledgements | 285 |
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Common terms and phrases
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