The Hedonism Handbook: Mastering the Lost Arts of Leisure and Pleasure

Rating:
Summary: But this book!
Review: Every once and awhile a charming little book comes along that leaves you refreshed, and maybe a bit giddy.

This is such a book, it is one of the best and least expensive vacations I have ever taken. At the end you want to take the author out for a great time just to say thanks. I owe him two because of his last book as well.

Many of my friends will be getting copies this holiday season.

Rating:
Summary: This book rocks!
Review: Finally, we hear some common sense - instead of the extremes. I'm glad that Flocker pointed out that hedonism doesn't have to mean total irresponsibility; and that the philosopher Epicurus did not advocate total chaos but instead said something to the effect that a pleasure that brought pain wasn't worth it. (Epicurus is my favorite philosopher, and I like to see his message properly presented instead of being distorted.)

OK, so protect yourself against disasters (health, financial, and otherwise) - but once you've done that, PARTY ON!

I want to buy a copy of this for everybody I know. Especially the really uptight people (you know - the work-worshippers and health nazis.)

Rating:
Summary: What a wake up call!
Review: For some reason this book caught my eye. "Hedonism," a subject I vaguely recall studying in college. I picked up and flipped through a few pages. It seemed quite humorous and naughtily interesting. I went home and read the whole thing in one night. I just loved it! This book is about living your life the best you can live it. Enjoying the small stuff and not sweating the small stuff. Spoiling yourself a bit without becoming a total jackass. It is about living luxuriously, looking forward to old age, eating good food, having delicious wine and terrific friends. It makes you think and it makes you feel great! And on top of it all it is filled with fun history and lots of humor! It gives you a much happier outlook on life. LIFE IS GOOD!

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Summary: Refreshing book, makes stop and think for a second
Review: I grew up with the notion that hedonism is a bad character trait and has to be avoided at all cost (it even made me hesitate for a moment picking up the book from and checking it out), only to end up in the extreme workaholic, career-chasing crowd of today's America. I picked up the book because I felt something was wrong with the way I was living my life. And it was just the right book for that situation: it examines the silliness we all have put in our life, as well as the misguided puritan and martyrlike behaviors of the other extreme and advocates a way of healthy balance between focusing on what's important in your life, without going over the edge on either end of the spectrum. Well done!

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Summary: Everyone should read this
Review: Its way too easy to forget to relax and enjoy life. I'm in college right now and found myself kind of unhappy and I couldnt' really figure out why. When I read this book, it reminded me that life is there to enjoy and that I needed to find some balance. Plus, its fun to read. The author has a good sense of humor about things (and is kinda cute based on the picture in the back, by the way). Just reading the book makes you kind of reevaluate your life and what really makes you happy rather than what you are doing now to make yourself happy. Of course achievement is still important, but its the little things that make life fun and worth living. I had fun reading it, and its probably nto meant to be taken that seriously, but it really did make me think about what makes me feel good.

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Buy!
Review: Michael Flocker is an excellent author. I recommend this book and his last. They are must-have and must-reads!