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International bestselling author Nikki Gemmell writes on the power of quiet in today's shouty world.
Quiet comes as a shock in these troubled times.
Quietism means 'devotional contemplation and abandonment of the will . a calm acceptance of things as they are'. Gemmell makes the case for why quiet is steadily gaining ground in this noisy age: Why we need it now more than ever. How to glean quiet, hold on to it, and work within it.
Quiet comes as a shock in these troubled times.
Quietism means 'devotional contemplation and abandonment of the will . a calm acceptance of things as they are'. Gemmell makes the case for why quiet is steadily gaining ground in this noisy age: Why we need it now more than ever. How to glean quiet, hold on to it, and work within it.
56 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2018
5 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Nikki Gemmell
35 books304 followersNikki Gemmell has written four novels, Shiver, Cleave, Lovesong, The Bride Stripped Bare and The Book Of Rapture, and one non-fiction book, Pleasure: An Almanac for the Heart. Her work has been internationally critically acclaimed and translated into many languages.
In France she's been described as a female Jack Kerouac, in Australia as one of the most original and engaging authors of her generation and in the US as one of the few truly original voices to emerge in a long time.
The French literary review "Lire" has included her in a list of what it calls the fifty most important writers in the world - the ones it believes will have a significant influence on the literature of the 21st century. The criteria for selection included a very individual voice and unmistakeable style, as well as an original choice of subject. Nikki Gemmell was selected along with such novelists as Rick Moody, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Froer, Rohinton Mistry, Tim Winton, Colum McCann, Michel Faber and Hari Kunzru among others.
Born in Wollongong, Australia, she now lives in London.
In France she's been described as a female Jack Kerouac, in Australia as one of the most original and engaging authors of her generation and in the US as one of the few truly original voices to emerge in a long time.
The French literary review "Lire" has included her in a list of what it calls the fifty most important writers in the world - the ones it believes will have a significant influence on the literature of the 21st century. The criteria for selection included a very individual voice and unmistakeable style, as well as an original choice of subject. Nikki Gemmell was selected along with such novelists as Rick Moody, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Froer, Rohinton Mistry, Tim Winton, Colum McCann, Michel Faber and Hari Kunzru among others.
Born in Wollongong, Australia, she now lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 18, 2022
✩ 3.4 stars ✩ (Yes, I’ve just finished listening to a book that argues for the importance of quietude. How ironic.)
“Quietude is the first leakings of dawn into the night sky. The golden hour at sunset, when the world is exhaling.”
Nikki Gemmell writes a powerful reflection on the way quietude shapes our lives and how we are running away from it, bit by bit. Being very shy myself, I found solace in her protests against the way people like me, who readily listen but aren’t so good at speaking, who would rather spend time in quiet solitude than at parties, are treated by society.
However, I wish Gemmell followed more structure in her writing. She would flit from one topic to another, from the noisiness of social media to the quietude of euthanasia to her dilemmas as a mother, making it hard to follow at times.
“Quietude is the first leakings of dawn into the night sky. The golden hour at sunset, when the world is exhaling.”
Nikki Gemmell writes a powerful reflection on the way quietude shapes our lives and how we are running away from it, bit by bit. Being very shy myself, I found solace in her protests against the way people like me, who readily listen but aren’t so good at speaking, who would rather spend time in quiet solitude than at parties, are treated by society.
However, I wish Gemmell followed more structure in her writing. She would flit from one topic to another, from the noisiness of social media to the quietude of euthanasia to her dilemmas as a mother, making it hard to follow at times.
November 29, 2018
I wanted to read this because I heard Nikki Gemmell speak at the Brisbane Writers' Festival. More quiet is something I agree that I need to cultivate in my life. And perhaps I didn't appreciate this book fully because I couldn't slow down enough to take it in. There were some sections that I found myself nodding in agreement with, however on the whole, I found the book a little vague and a bit disjointed. A bit "stream of consciousness" at times, which I never manage very well with reading.
It's only a short book - 141 pages and the pages are also small - I thought it would be quite a quick read, but I think it took me about a month - and it wasn't that I was mulling over some of the thoughts...
But Nikki was certainly a great speaker, and I will certainly keep working on the effort to shut out some of today's noise from my life and focus on the quiet.
It's only a short book - 141 pages and the pages are also small - I thought it would be quite a quick read, but I think it took me about a month - and it wasn't that I was mulling over some of the thoughts...
But Nikki was certainly a great speaker, and I will certainly keep working on the effort to shut out some of today's noise from my life and focus on the quiet.
February 15, 2022
Reassuring and calming.
October 10, 2024
not sure this one landed for me
never seemed to settle on a central thesis
mix of some interesting topics
never seemed to settle on a central thesis
mix of some interesting topics
April 24, 2023
Some interesting insights but I found the writing hard to read. It felt like the authors thoughts were all over the place and written at random. I felt like it needed more structure and to get away from the verbal diarrhoea in the authors mind.
June 7, 2019
Do not read this book if you have Depression.
This book has the potential to sell its ideas in a calming, accepting and above all quiet manner, but instead, it treads along the well-worn path of pessimistic optimism.
I love the idea that there is hope in quietude, but the sentiment around how it's getting harder to find quietude "in this shouty world", and rambling about smartphones gets extraordinarily tiring.
This book has the potential to sell its ideas in a calming, accepting and above all quiet manner, but instead, it treads along the well-worn path of pessimistic optimism.
I love the idea that there is hope in quietude, but the sentiment around how it's getting harder to find quietude "in this shouty world", and rambling about smartphones gets extraordinarily tiring.
December 16, 2020
“Our brains change in response to our experiences. The printed book, according to [Nicholas] Carr, focuses our attention and cultivates deep and contemplative thought. He argues that the internet, on the other hand, is remodelling our brains in its own image - promoting too much scanning and skimming and flitting.”
A wonderful reflection on the need for more quiet in our incredibly noisy lives.
A wonderful reflection on the need for more quiet in our incredibly noisy lives.
July 4, 2021
Reflections and lessons learned:
“I was quiet but I was not blind…” Mansfield Park
“The quiet places are disappearing…”
My sister didn’t join the family until I was 6 so as the older sister I enjoyed depeche mode, and the silence… I knew at an early age that I wanted to work as a librarian, but it was more about the books and the helping rather than the environment - admittedly it was the place where I went to seek solace, wherever I worked or lived, but this really made me consider quiet from a noise level perspective. Coming from a family that struggle with inner ear issues it’s a topic always at the back of my mind, but examples from the last twenty years were easy to quickly identify once I started thinking about them as a result of the contents of this book - living and working in the city, but falling in love in a backdrop of silence and darkness in a small Derbyshire village despite the person in question having been known as Gobby - moving to a house with no direct neighbours in the evenings for no fear of noise complaints but nothing infiltrating our aural environment - an intriguing but freaky floatation tank experience - airpods discovery excitement - living through ash cloud and pandemic weird worldly silences - middle of the night and early morning pre family and work escapes - extremes of loud music in cars after silent work concentration. I’m not a fussy person about a lot of things in my immediate environment but on a subconscious level a key element that I need control over is the noise levels - it needs to match my mood and demand in that moment, and if it doesn’t then I can easily change environments to find a match.
Learning from this study on the topic includes: Quietism - quietitude - Tortured by the triumphant absence of sound - seeking out sound - Car away from family solace - Churches and eliciting calming experiences - being a parent and craving silence - shyness - Performativeness of the modern world and noise - Sanctuary of stillness description of home - the removal of another sense (sleeping with an eye mask but not able to wear earplugs…) - again, all control - for moments when…
“The noise of the world is crowding in too much”
As a direct result of reading this book we’re going to try and bring in non screen Saturdays… a family day doing things without the tech - simple times like board games, walks, sharing more books and creative hobbies, visiting friends, family and places again - lockdown has been good to learn from and sometimes we have to listen
“Quiet is energised by its opposition to something else …”
“I was quiet but I was not blind…” Mansfield Park
“The quiet places are disappearing…”
My sister didn’t join the family until I was 6 so as the older sister I enjoyed depeche mode, and the silence… I knew at an early age that I wanted to work as a librarian, but it was more about the books and the helping rather than the environment - admittedly it was the place where I went to seek solace, wherever I worked or lived, but this really made me consider quiet from a noise level perspective. Coming from a family that struggle with inner ear issues it’s a topic always at the back of my mind, but examples from the last twenty years were easy to quickly identify once I started thinking about them as a result of the contents of this book - living and working in the city, but falling in love in a backdrop of silence and darkness in a small Derbyshire village despite the person in question having been known as Gobby - moving to a house with no direct neighbours in the evenings for no fear of noise complaints but nothing infiltrating our aural environment - an intriguing but freaky floatation tank experience - airpods discovery excitement - living through ash cloud and pandemic weird worldly silences - middle of the night and early morning pre family and work escapes - extremes of loud music in cars after silent work concentration. I’m not a fussy person about a lot of things in my immediate environment but on a subconscious level a key element that I need control over is the noise levels - it needs to match my mood and demand in that moment, and if it doesn’t then I can easily change environments to find a match.
Learning from this study on the topic includes: Quietism - quietitude - Tortured by the triumphant absence of sound - seeking out sound - Car away from family solace - Churches and eliciting calming experiences - being a parent and craving silence - shyness - Performativeness of the modern world and noise - Sanctuary of stillness description of home - the removal of another sense (sleeping with an eye mask but not able to wear earplugs…) - again, all control - for moments when…
“The noise of the world is crowding in too much”
As a direct result of reading this book we’re going to try and bring in non screen Saturdays… a family day doing things without the tech - simple times like board games, walks, sharing more books and creative hobbies, visiting friends, family and places again - lockdown has been good to learn from and sometimes we have to listen
“Quiet is energised by its opposition to something else …”
April 27, 2020
I used to read Nikki Gemmell's journalistic musings, until I gave up on the publication she write for, but up until then she was one of the reasons for continuing to read it.
Here, she tackles the topic of quiet, in a personal, sometimes style and much personal information about her life and family and various related issues. I think she sets her standards of self too high here, but I'm not a mother or a parent and I haven't experienced the kind of family life that surrounds her. Having said that, some of her presumptions about mothers and children may not be as universal as she thinks, from my observation and reading, anyway.
She admits to shyness in a way that makes sense to me (introversion is a separate issue of course) and there are the usual things about space and noise.
This is a slim text, the size of a hand (someone's anyway) and part of a series of similarly sized musings, and probably could be read in an hour or two; I read it in two sittings a month apart, no reflection on the book, just my idiosyncrasies as a reader. It's a thoughtful book, well written and quiet in a particular way, even though it doesn't appear to have been written for people like me.
Here, she tackles the topic of quiet, in a personal, sometimes style and much personal information about her life and family and various related issues. I think she sets her standards of self too high here, but I'm not a mother or a parent and I haven't experienced the kind of family life that surrounds her. Having said that, some of her presumptions about mothers and children may not be as universal as she thinks, from my observation and reading, anyway.
She admits to shyness in a way that makes sense to me (introversion is a separate issue of course) and there are the usual things about space and noise.
This is a slim text, the size of a hand (someone's anyway) and part of a series of similarly sized musings, and probably could be read in an hour or two; I read it in two sittings a month apart, no reflection on the book, just my idiosyncrasies as a reader. It's a thoughtful book, well written and quiet in a particular way, even though it doesn't appear to have been written for people like me.
February 19, 2020
A very short listen - done in my one day commute and I believe only 140 pages in length. I was drawn to this book as I am a big believer in “quiet” and “quietitude” as the author names the experience and was mostly interested to read the current thinking on the experience. Much has been written about quietness ( or calmness) in the teachings by Buddha so a more contemporary book I though was a good idea. Anyway - it was ok. Lots of great thoughts, some good insights, nodded my head a lot but overall the book felt very disjointed and not logical or well edited. It was like reading the research notes rather than the finished book! Nonetheless I am guessing that this book is tapping into the possible beginnings of a new “trend” even though the benefits of calming or quietening the mind and our environment are ancient knowledge!
November 15, 2020
I appreciated this meditation on quietness. Nikki Gemmell cites research stating that constant internet usage is refashioning our brains, making us more open to distraction and inattention, and less able to concentrate on deep things. She advocates more quiet time, where we carve out space to just be. This might come in the form of gardening, being in nature or in the thrall of a creative pursuit - anything that allows the mind to rest, think for itself, or creatively imagine. We instinctively know this to be true but we battle guilt about “wasting time”. 🎧 Nikki provides her own narration and I thought she performed well.
November 7, 2021
DNF around the ten-to-fifteen minute mark of listening to the audiobook.
I was intrigued by the topic of this 'Small Books on Big Ideas' instalment, and was nodding along engaged right up until the author equated 'men' (unclear if Gemmell was including both the male sex and gender in her generalisations, or just sex alone) to loudness, violence and war.
A book that generalises genitals or identities with perceived negative attributes and behaviours based wholly on that fact, loses all credibility and my interest!
I was intrigued by the topic of this 'Small Books on Big Ideas' instalment, and was nodding along engaged right up until the author equated 'men' (unclear if Gemmell was including both the male sex and gender in her generalisations, or just sex alone) to loudness, violence and war.
A book that generalises genitals or identities with perceived negative attributes and behaviours based wholly on that fact, loses all credibility and my interest!
May 12, 2018
This series of Little Book Essays has been reignited.
Many will be familiar with Nikki via her weekly column in the Weekend Australian Magazine.
Although the essay is a homage to the benefits of quiet and finding nature, Nikki herself sounds frantic.
A mother of four with a full plate of work commitments is a very full life.
Maintaining a balance in all this is a rare skill that most of us don't achieve.
Very pertinent in the lead up to Mother's Day.
Many will be familiar with Nikki via her weekly column in the Weekend Australian Magazine.
Although the essay is a homage to the benefits of quiet and finding nature, Nikki herself sounds frantic.
A mother of four with a full plate of work commitments is a very full life.
Maintaining a balance in all this is a rare skill that most of us don't achieve.
Very pertinent in the lead up to Mother's Day.
May 22, 2018
I truly adore Nikki Genmell’s writing and this is no exception. A reflection on quietude and it’s transformative power in the modern world. I particularly loved the connection between quiet and Les Murray’s coined word, ‘sprawl’.
At times, I found Gemmell’s writing too scattered- travelling from motherhood to sex to place to connection to land fleetingly- and I felt like this piece could have benefitted from categories but otherwise, this has given me a lot to think about.
At times, I found Gemmell’s writing too scattered- travelling from motherhood to sex to place to connection to land fleetingly- and I felt like this piece could have benefitted from categories but otherwise, this has given me a lot to think about.
January 10, 2020
Almost everything she wrote about resonated - from the sense of disquiet in a busy world generally which lead to internal disquiet as a parent and impacts reading as well as the need for simplicity and paradoxically how complicated that can be.
I’ve always loved her writing, there are only a few places where I felt the prose could have been simplified slightly in making the points she did, otherwise a good read to start the year on.
I’ve always loved her writing, there are only a few places where I felt the prose could have been simplified slightly in making the points she did, otherwise a good read to start the year on.
August 4, 2018
Some lovely insights in this book, but the writing meanders along gently without really going anywhere. A book published in 2018, a book about mental health, a book about a problem facing society today.
July 4, 2018
We live in a world full of noise - light & sound, & some of us crave & need quite. Nikki explores why.
October 12, 2018
Superb medicine for the lungs, the mind, the body and soul.
Let's make our personal vocation to dwell and sometimes journey through our own quiet places.
Let's make our personal vocation to dwell and sometimes journey through our own quiet places.
February 12, 2019
Loved this! But the red cover set my teeth on edge! What were the publishers thinking?
May 30, 2019
This is a small book very quick and easy to read but also thought provoking on quietude. Liked this little gem so much. It is one of those pick up again to be read many times over.
December 13, 2019
Gemmell's writing is sublime and silences the outside world for an hour or two. I wrote down many of her gems so that I may continue to find pockets of solitude.
April 10, 2020
A timely read and a beautiful exploration on the benefits of quiet.
July 15, 2020
A lot of ground is covered in this little book and I feel in doing so some of the quiet gets lost. Still worth a read.
October 22, 2021
A book that, for me , tried too hard to be clever and thought provoking.
Not much that was insightful and not much that was memorable about it.
Not much that was insightful and not much that was memorable about it.
September 23, 2020
I listened to it.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews