Shop Class As Soulcraft.

so, who is reading, has read, this? I'm almost half-way through it. It's a quick, if very, very wordy read. I like the origin of idiot in Greek. It seems to be loosening up and getting to the point by 1/3 the way in. I suppose I should've finished it first before posting, but hey I'm bored.

my aunt read it and recommended it to me but i havent gotten to it on my list yet.

I read that a while back. Something to be said for the personal agency concept, although I see the author still has a relationship with a university to keep the paychecks coming in. He is kinda wordy - not sure if that's the university influence or if he's overcompensating as shop guy/craftsman making sure readers get that he's an educated guy.

I'm not really detecting any emotion or humor, which is kinda strange. He's a little too detached, but I'm liking it so far.

My friend sells books to universities/schools - it's published through those channels rather than the entertainment side of things, but it did cross over to book stores. Think of it as a lighthearted, whimsical - even, thesis.

ahh. he should've done a version for ye olde publick then. but I think I'd rather have a book by John Brown or someone else from here, and with the impact of a Joel Osteen book.

nutherjrfan wrote: I'm not really detecting any emotion or humor, which is kinda strange. He's a little too detached, but I'm liking it so far.

This is how I felt when I read it too. The first half was far too wordy for me and didn't deal with the fun stuff enough (working on E36 M3). The second half is better and although I enjoyed the book it is not a favorite. Love the topic, position and theory just not necessarily the final package. YMMV

I've started it, but put it down and lost it amid my sea of fiction. I know that it will be found soon enough and finished. Absolutely a wordy tome.

Read it and liked it more for the idea than the execution. At times he takes a very simple idea/concept and seems to further complicate it for the sake of overcomplication and page count...or maybe that's the psychology coming out.

Overall, a great idea and a concept that's coming more and more to the forefront. He accurately points out that, at minimum, we should be able to fix and interact with the stuff we own. Generally, the first part of the chapter is the good stuff - a real life example that's entertaining, to the point, etc. The pages in between are re-stating and delving deeper into the same point, and by the end of the book I found myself skipping ahead.

oldtin wrote: I read that a while back. Something to be said for the personal agency concept, although I see the author still has a relationship with a university to keep the paychecks coming in. He is kinda wordy - not sure if that's the university influence or if he's overcompensating as shop guy/craftsman making sure readers get that he's an educated guy.

from my experience with academics, being wordy comes from overcompensating to make sure people get that you know everything, which is caused by the way academia works.

I read it last year. As mentioned, the first half is pitifully verbose, but then he seems to find himself and it gets better - more real, and a bit of humour. But not much better.

Philosophically it is a wonderful read (he does have a PhD in Political Philosophy), but I had a hard time making it through each chapter before falling asleep (I don't have a PhD).

There is almost a "Coles Notes" version here, which is a much better (faster) read, and pretty much tells you what you want to know about the topic anyway: The Case for Working With Your Hands

I'm enjoying it right now as well.

SkinnyG wrote: the first half is pitifully verbose,

I would have used the word "painfully", but other than that..... I made it about 1/3 into it, then it got left behind. I'll get back to it sometime. I like the philosophy, just not the wordplay. I get bored needing a thesaurus as a reading assistant.