politerobot

Loved it. Absolutely loved it. Just about every page had me going "This is me, this is me!" There were so many perfect descriptions of thoughts, actions, feelings and situations I've been in, to the point of being uncanny. I also loved that fact that she's not blatantly saying ALL introverts are like this, or ALL extraverts are like this, but that there's a baseline that we tend to have in common - and that it's ok to differ from this baseline. The book is also surprisingly funny, in addition to being very enlightening and scientific. She mixes case studies, facts and statistics nicely with touching personal stories, interviews and funny observations and comments.

It's a book that made me realise several things about myself - why I've always been bad at group work and brain storming, for example, or why I almost always prefer communicating through writing. I also realised there are other people too that feel the need for solitary "down time" after lots of socialising - I'm not just a weirdo. It was so interesting reading all those interviews with people who could basically have been me.

It made me feel pleased with being the introvert I am, and it also gave me tips and strategies for dealing with situations when I need to go outside my introverted comfort zone. It gave me insights into some of the things I've found inexplicable in myself, and gave me words to describe those things. I'm a "high sensitive". Now that I know that, I can deal with it, and I can prepare better for situations which will make me feel uncomfortable because of this fact.

It made me realise that there isn't something wrong with me for liking solitude, for being bad at small talk, for being (painfully) empathic.

It has made be realise it's ok to be introverted - as the cliché saying goes: It takes all kinds to make a world.