Excellent book: Quiet, by Susan Cain

This aint related to betting or trading in any way but I'm just about finished a book which I thought was excellent so I thought I'd recommend it here.

Despite the fact that I blog regularly and write for a bestselling newspaper, I'm actually a quiet person at heart and wouldn't really be described as 'outgoing'.

It's not that I don't like having a laugh or having a bit of fun - I do. But I'm also happy in my own company too and don't feel the need to be the centre of attention or always express myself.

People like me are often described as introverts, and being introverted is usually seen as a negative in today's world - but with so many noisy people out there blabbing about nothing, sometimes it's nice that people are quiet and I usually value the opinions of other people who don't just talk for the sake of it.

Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking

This book looks at this issue and so much of it rang true. Cain is an excellent writer and the book was very entertaining. Well worth a read if you are one of those quiet people like me - but even my extroverted wife found it very interesting too:


Our lives are driven by a fact that most of us can't name and don't understand. It defines who our friends and lovers are, which careers we choose, and whether we blush when we're embarrassed.
That fact is whether we're an introvert or an extrovert.
The introvert/extrovert divide is the most fundamental dimension of personality. And at least a third of us are on the introverted side. Some of the world's most talented people are introverts. Without them we wouldn't have the Apple computer, the theory of relativity and Van Gogh's sunflowers.
Yet extroverts have taken over. Shyness, sensitivity and seriousness are often seen as being negative. Introverts feel reproached for being the way they are.
In Quiet, Susan Cain shows how the brain chemistry of introverts and extroverts differs, and how society misunderstands and undervalues introverts. She gives introverts the tools to better understand themselves and take full advantage of their strengths.
Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with real stories, Quiet will permanently change how we see introverts - and how you see yourself.