Pleasure Book

by Julius Fast

Describes a wide variety of activities and states of awareness that provide enjoyment and pleasure

Paperback

Published January 1, 1977

About the author

Julius Fast was an American author of both fiction and nonfiction. In 1946 he was the first recipient of the Edgar Award given by the Mystery Writers of America for the best first novel of 1945.

Reviews

[Arizonagirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book makes it sound prurient, but it's not. The author interviews his friends and acquaintances about the things in life that give them pleasure--everything from antiquing to watching wildlife--and then the author sometimes tries them himself. The chapters are very short and in no particular order, so it is perfect for picking up and randomly reading a chapter. It was written in 1975, so the language is a bit dated, but the concepts are still applicable. I got the book in high school (I also had Julius Fast's book on Body Language) and I remember one chapter in particular. It was about bathing in a large bathtub. "On one side of the tub from floor to ceiling is an enormous picture window with a view of trees and distant mountains. There are dozens of potted plants along the window sill, almost creating the illusion of a wooded pool." This sounded amazing to me (and still does). There are a lot of typical hobbies included in the book such as golfing, window shopping, and fly fishing and some more unusual ones like taking a long lunch break to go see a movie, wedding crashing, and checking into a fancy hotel in your hometown just to pamper yourself and get away for a day. This is my May book of my goal to read one book I own each month. This one is a keeper.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book in the 70's. Need to read it again as a retiree.

[AS · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that’s old enough (but not well-known enough) that I don’t know if I’ll find it again, but I would love to reread it if I do. I remember finding this at the library when I was in eighth grade and devouring it. It’s a collection of short essays about many different simple pleasures and hobbies.
(Unfortunately the title is suggestive enough that I had to wade through a long list of titles about kinky stuff to find the listing here. But the book is completely G-rated.)