Ennui to Go: The Art of Boredom

by Jon Winokur

The Romans called it Taedium vitae, “the tedium of life,” and Nietzsche described it as “that disagreeable, windless calm of the soul.” By whatever name it’s known, ennui has reached epidemic proportions. The good news? Ennui causes all sorts of fascinating behavior — and lots of terrific quotes collected in this surprisingly fun book. They range from Louis XV’s “What would life be without coffee? But then, what is it even with coffee?” to Oscar Levant’s immortal “So much time, so little to do.” Contributors include Gore Vidal, M. F. K. Fisher, Eddie Murphy, Andy Warhol, Fran Lebowitz, and many others.

Genres: Philosophy

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 29, 2005

About the author

Jon Winokur (b. Aug. 5, 1947) is an American writer and editor. Born in Detroit, the son of Martin M. and Elinor Winokur, he attended Temple University (BA, 1970) and the University of West Los Angeles (JD, 1980). He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Jason Reeser · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite around this house. Full of great quotes. And whenever I'm bored, I just pick it up, thumb through it, and I'm suddenly laughing, or feeling full of wisdom. The perfect cure for ennui.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has made me start to believe that the purpose of life is to escape ennui, or boredom. It has also made me realize the reason I love sleep--it is a brief break from the inescapable fact that most of life is bordering on the feeling of ennui.

[PJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's boring to read a book about boredom.

[Stephy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried. The book suffers from terminal ennui.

[Celina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was boring