About
The incisive and often hilarious story of one of our most interesting cultural phenomena: boredom
It's the feeling your grandma told you was only experienced by boring people. Some people say they're dying of it; others claim to have killed because of it. It's a key component of depression, creativity, and sex-toy advertisements.
It's boredom, the subject of Yawn, a delightful and at times moving take on the oft-derided emotion and how we deal with it. Deftly wrought from interviews, research, and personal experience, Yawn follows Mary Mann's search through history for the truth about boredom, spanning the globe, introducing a varied cast of characters. The Desert Fathers, fourth-century Christian monks, who made their homes far from civilization, offer the first recorded accounts of lethargy; Thomas Cook, grandfather of the tourism industry, provided escape from the mundane for England's working class; and contemporarily, we meet couples who are disenchanted by monogamous sex, deployed soldiers who seek entertainment and connection in porn, and prisoners held in solitary confinement, for whom boredom is a punishment for crimes they may or may not have committed.
With sharp wit and impressive historical acumen, Mann tells the unexpected story of the hunt for a deeper understanding of boredom, in all its absurd, irritating, and inspiring splendor.
It's the feeling your grandma told you was only experienced by boring people. Some people say they're dying of it; others claim to have killed because of it. It's a key component of depression, creativity, and sex-toy advertisements.
It's boredom, the subject of Yawn, a delightful and at times moving take on the oft-derided emotion and how we deal with it. Deftly wrought from interviews, research, and personal experience, Yawn follows Mary Mann's search through history for the truth about boredom, spanning the globe, introducing a varied cast of characters. The Desert Fathers, fourth-century Christian monks, who made their homes far from civilization, offer the first recorded accounts of lethargy; Thomas Cook, grandfather of the tourism industry, provided escape from the mundane for England's working class; and contemporarily, we meet couples who are disenchanted by monogamous sex, deployed soldiers who seek entertainment and connection in porn, and prisoners held in solitary confinement, for whom boredom is a punishment for crimes they may or may not have committed.
With sharp wit and impressive historical acumen, Mann tells the unexpected story of the hunt for a deeper understanding of boredom, in all its absurd, irritating, and inspiring splendor.
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Reviews
"Mann's research traces several fascinating ways boredom has shaped social development and habits . . . [Mann] manages to avoid the biggest pitfall of a book on boredom"
she doesn't solve it."
"[A] brief and lively book of reported sketches on [boredom] . . . I was never bored reading Yawn."
Mary Athitakis, Barnes & Noble Review
"This book of essays on boredom is anything but soporific. Exploring such different settings as the workplace, war zones, and libraries, Mann offers a witty and enjoyable discourse on a ubiquitous state of mind . . . Mann's wit and honesty will draw readers in, relegating actual boredom to the back burner until they've finished reading."
Publishers Weekly