Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life by Zena Hitz -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me on Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. Feel free to share from a book that captured your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Midway through the journey of my life, I found myself in the woods of eastern Ontario, living in a remote Catholic religious community called Madonna House.

-- from Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life by Zena Hitz. I just finished this and loved it. Hitz examines the joys of intellectual pursuits, how “leisure” differs from “recreation,” and why our regular jobs are not (usually) intellectually fulfilling. This was on my TBR 24 in '24 nonfiction stack.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings so we can find each other.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head if Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from Lost in Thought:

When we cultivate an inner life, we set aside concerns for social ease or advancement. We forget, if only temporarily, the anxious press of necessities.

What a lovely thought!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

In an overloaded, superficial, technological world, in which almost everything and everybody is judged by its usefulness, where can we turn for escape, lasting pleasure, contemplation, or connection to others? While many forms of leisure meet these needs, Zena Hitz writes, few experiences are so fulfilling as the inner life, whether that of a bookworm, an amateur astronomer, a birdwatcher, or someone who takes a deep interest in one of countless other subjects. Drawing on inspiring examples, from Socrates and Augustine to Malcolm X and Elena Ferrante, and from films to Hitz's own experiences as someone who walked away from elite university life in search of greater fulfillment, Lost in Thought is a passionate and timely reminder that a rich life is a life rich in thought.