I was fortunate to see a presentation by the charismatic author, Carl Honore, promoting this book, and was so captivated by his flare and convinced by his compelling argument that I purchased his book right away. The "Slow book" did not disappoint. It provided amazing insight into how modern day society is obsessed with saving time. To save time, we rush every facet of our lives, perceiving that doing it faster is better. However, this is not the case. Rushing experiences tends to reduce the quality of those experiences. Multitasking tends to cause mistakes reducing productivity at work and school. Personal lives suffer at the expense of overworking. Fast food makes food less enjoyable. I think you get the point. The Slow book does not encourage people to take everything slowly, but emphasizes doing things at the right pace. And in today's world, the pace tends to be too fast. Which is we all need to slow down. Carl Honore uses exceptional examples of how we can slow down almost everything we do. I have suggested the Slow book to all my friends, all of whom are interested but are too busy to read the book because they try to do too much with their time. I on the other hand, have stopped watching the clock, and no longer let time and impatience dictate parts of my life that I can control.

I loved this book so much that I can't really understand the objection of the other reviewer who said it was too slow. If anything I would think it was a bit on the fast side because it covered a lot of ground in a single book and never stayed too long in one place. But from me this is not really a criticism. I think the pacing is just right and the writing is smooth and elegant. I like the author's approachable tone; he's not lecturing, more investigating on behalf of the reader. The most important thing is that the book really nails our "faster is better" culture and shows how slowing down leads to greater pleasure and also productivity in every walk of life, including work. I mean Slow Work – what’s not to like? This book changed my way of looking at life and I have already given a dozen copies to my fastest friends and family. Everyone should run to their bookstore to buy this book. Just be sure you run slowly!

The basic premise of the book was great, slowing down what is basically an out-of-control world wrapped up in the mantra “faster is better.” After enjoying, “A Short History of Progress,” I was hoping this would continue along similar lines. An argument against the frenzied madness of the modern world. Unfortunately, I found this book to be more than a little boring. I’ve read a lot of non-fiction titles lately, a few have been unexciting, but I found myself slogging as hard as I could to get through this work. Anecdotal accounts abound with random statistics thrown into the mix, which began to annoy me after a while. This was much like the overly-abundant use of graphs in “Time for a Model Change.” Even though I love graphs (and anecdotes) they do get tiresome after a while. I found each chapter started out well, but the author tended to digress here, there, and all over the place. That would be fine if each example or experience was like strolling up an unexplored alley in an Italian village, but most were dull and uninspiring. The book is worth a look if you enjoy tales of fine, slow dining and anecdotes about trips to the Continent. If you’re looking for a page-turner with interesting new ideas on slowing down and enjoying the high life, I'd advise you to read elswhere. I'm not quite sure where, but there must be more interesting books on this topic than this one.

This book had nice ideas and was what I consider a light read. It provides excellent contacts for the Slow Movement. Each topic was covered in enough detail for the reader to get the point, but not be bored or overwhelmed. I did exactly what the book said not to do - which was read it all in one week.