As for his engaging new book, Toohey needn't worry:
Boredom, with its wise insights, is never boring.-Carmela Ciuraru,
Boston Globe -- Carmela Ciuraru * Boston Globe *
Readers who are willing to meander from science to literature to art and other realms will find themselves engaged.-Nina C. Ayoub,
The Chronicle Review -- Nina C. Ayoub * The Chronicle Review *
There are plenty of fine things here to keep a receptive mind alert.-Alain de Botton,
The Times -- Alain de Botton * The Times *
Few writers on boredom can match Peter Toohey when it comes to finding pleasure, excitement and even a perverse kind of glee in his subject.-Robert Douglas-Fairhurst,
The Daily Telegraph -- Robert Douglas-Fairhurst * The Daily Telegraph *
Mr. Toohey presents his case with verve.-Elizabeth Lowry,
Wall Street Journal -- Elizabeth Lowry * Wall Street Journal *
'Peter Toohey is a wonderful scholar, whose work on classical literature both instructs and delights.' - Darian Leader -- Darian Leader
'Forget ennui: Peter Toohey makes the case that the simpler, everyday kind of boredom we all experience is far more important than the pretentious world-weariness of French philosophers. Being bored can be excruciating, but it can also spur people to the heights of creativity. Toohey succeeds in making boredom interesting.' - Dylan Evans, author of
Emotion: The Science of Sentiment -- Dylan Evans
'Who would have thought that boredom could be so stimulating?' - Michael Foley, author of
The Age of Absurdity -- Michael Foley
A thoroughly enjoyable exploration of the history a maligned emotion, which according to the author, may actually be designed to help us flourish.-
The Bookseller * The Bookseller *
[Toohey's] crisp conversational prose is untainted by jargon or pretence. His arguments display impressive erudition: history, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience and aesthetics all get a guernsey. If good writing requires authorial boredom, Toohey was undoubtedly tortured by tedium while writing this sharp, humane and funny book.-Damon Young,
The Australian -- Damon Young * The Australian *
...quirky and contentious.-Stuart Kelly,
Scotland on Sunday -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *
Toohey has lots of exciting things to say about boredom.-Craig Brown,
The Mail on Sunday -- Craig Brown * The Mail on Sunday *
In Boredom: A Lively History Peter Toohey, a professor of classics, makes a strong case for boredom as a universal emotion, experienced by humans throughout history and throughout all cultures, with many practical and emotional benefits.-Ian Sansom,
The Guardian -- Ian Sansom * The Guardian *
...... [Toohey] writes breezily and entertainingly about one of the world's most boring subjects: boredom itself.-Tim Heald, The Tablet
-- Tim Heald * The Tablet *
[Toohey] makes a persuasive case that there are even benefits to boredom, and at the very least this engaging read proffers a temporary antidote to the noonday demon.-Kelly McMasters,
Newsday -- Newsday * Kelly McMasters *
Highly entertaining.-Gordon Pitz,
PsycCRITIQUES -- Gordon Pitz * PsycCRITIQUES *
....a playful but scholarly study.-
Sunday Herald * Sunday Herald *
It's a brave author who chooses boredom as the subject for a book. How to describe this least glamorous of emotions, or delve into its essential qualities, without concocting a truly dull tract? Peter Toohey's method is to whip through the history, meaning and artistic representations of boredom at such a jaunty pace that there's no time to be bored at all.-Helen Zaltzman,
The Observer -- Helen Zaltzman * The Observer *
A lively, eminently readable book.-S. Halling,
Choice -- S. Halling * Choice *
Toohey's book is a veritable boredom bible, plus it's got some funny bits and lots of nice pictures.-Chris Moss,
Time Out -- Chris Moss * Time Out *
A fun and illuminating argument for the benefits of boredom.-Angus Clarke,
The Times -- Angus Clarke * The Times *
