** Quiet by Susan

I am rarely accused of being too quiet, which may be one of the reasons why I did not relish Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, but I am interested in my introverted friends, and I feel that this book does them a disservice by positing a few facts that I think are untrue, and in particular that introverts are much more shy and sensitive than extroverts. My feeling is hurt .

I also disliked the sometimes whiny and defensive tone used to defend the many contributions of introverts. (maybe we in Silicon Valley are different: we can see ever day that great technologies are created by introverts and they certainly hold up half of the sky, to mix metaphors.) And the book occasionally destroys its own arguments, as when it cites a drop in empathy in college students of 40% in 10 years — surely we could not have “disappeared” 40% of introverts in that period of time — since introverts are supposed to be the sensitive, empathic type, remember.

that being said, the author gives some great advice to ease the plight of introverts in an extroverted world, from turning down the noise level (hey, maybe I am an introvert after all!) to listening to the quieter folks in our midst (this reminded me of the excellent Leading Geeks). “Those who know do no speak. Those who speak do not know” [Lao Zi]