The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked- 21st Century Edition,   ISBN:9781580085526

Customer Rating: 

This is an imaginative book that is full of good thoughts about how to build a life around something other than a full-time job. The author is to be commended for his "out-of-the-box" thinking about the subject, and his generally upbeat and encouraging tone.

However, a major caveat is that the above mainly applies to elderly retirees (especially those well-off and covered by Medicare) and those who are independently wealthy. For the rest of the readership, unfortunately, there is just not that much here of practical value, for one simple reason: there is no easy way to pay for the lifestyle the author advocates, and he is of little help in providing such a path. I have to concur with other reviewers that a life on $6000 a year is just not possible for most people, even if we adjust this figure for inflation (the book is several years old, I think). Health care is the single biggest factor, especially in the U.S. which unlike the author's home country, does not have universal health care. A single major illness or other adversity can easily wipe out decades of life savings (sometimes even despite insurance help!), leaving the author's exhortations to quit one's job ringing hollow if such a scenario were to unfold - imagine the combined effects of financial distress following soon after a premature departure from the workplace and the concomitant loss of one's earning power. I don't think there would be much joy in a situation like this. What if one has children who depend on you? - that would make it even worse.

Another factor to consider is the reality that in many professions, it is hard to get back onto the career path if one leaves it - the old adage about off-ramps being a lot easier to take than on-ramps. If one reads this book and then departs the workplace at too young an age, and then changes their mind later and wants back in, they may find that process arduously hard, or impossible.

Despite all this, I think the book still holds some value, particularly for those who really do have the financial cushion to retire or who because of age are facing that path anyway. For those folks, this book can provide encouragement and a refreshing point of view. For others, particularly those of lesser financial means or at an earlier stage in life, the book seems impractical.

Customer Rating: 

This is a handy, well crafted exploration of retirement. Having done it once (and looking forward to it again soon) I experienced many of the issues and observations first hand. One of the better guides to tackling the very personal topic of retiring, putting it into context, asking the (surprising) deep questions that make-or-break my retired experience, and useful references. If you're only buying one of the many new guides, this is a great choice.

Customer Rating: 

Perhaps a bit too "evangelical" in its delivery for me, but a good read and a good reminder that work does not need to be the be-all and end-all of one's life. While it is particularly directed to those about to retire, those overworked or those unemployed, those over-it-all like me get some great pointers too. As someone contemplating a shift, but scared to make a move, this book was useful in giving me ideas to act on now as well as some confirmation that a change for the better can happen. A good and necessary corrective to the endless materialistic messages given to us in our consumerist society.

Customer Rating: 

Although this book was written many years ago, I think the topic is more relevant than ever, as more and more people finally realize that there must be a better way than sitting every morning in a traffic jam. People no longer want to be branded as "living dead".

I think this positive book can be especially helpful to people who have lost their jobs, do not have a plan B and fear for their future. But also for all people who are not satisfied with their current job, which means over half of the working population.

I like the direct and honest way the author describes many things. Not always politically correct, but telling people what they need to hear... I also really enjoyed all the great quotes throughout the book.

A major thing that you can only understand once you have been without a regular corporate job for a while is that you have the "freedom to think, to reflect and to act". In other words, you will be far more creative when you are not mentally imprisoned in a corporate structure. And creativity is really what the world needs right now. Not more bureaucracy.

The Joy of Not Working has been a wonderful inspiration source both for my own life (I fired myself from two corporate jobs and went backpacking around the world for a year after my second resignation) and for the current project I am working on: a website to inspire healthy living.
I wish I had followed even more of this book's advice. But it is never too late, I am "working" on it.

Customer Rating: 

If you have a full-time position, even one you mostly enjoy, this book will give you hope for an even better job future. The author persuades you to ask yourself the question, "Well, why not?" You will also learn some valuable life lessons along the way. Zen master Zelinski teaches that if you do the easy thing, life gets hard; but if you do the hard thing, life gets easy. The book is light-hearted and very funny, making for great summer reading.