Idleness is widely thought of as being intrinsically at odds with how the rest of the world functions, and despised for it. However, throughout history, great thinkers and revolutionary social movements have plugged into a different way of thinking on the subject: that idleness is not a vice preventing success, but in fact the very key to a good existence. This philosophy of allowing life to happen, rather than doggedly chasing a better future, was true of Aristotle, Samuel Johnson, the flâneurs of Paris, and modern author and essayist on the subject of idleness, Tom Hodgkinson.
This philosophy of idleness as a way of life is at the heart of Berlin, more perhaps than of true of any major city in Europe – and this event is an opportunity to acknowledge and embrace it, with good words, cheap alcohol, and the company of other committed idlers.
Hosted in the bookshop Zabriskie, this is the first Read What You Want! event for which you don’t need to bring your own book. You can, if you want – but if you can’t be bothered, just borrow one from Zabriskie’s shelves.
Then pull up a cushion or mattress – bring your own if you can muster the energy – and read, snooze, whatever. If you wish to read out loud, a few of us will be doing so, but it’s not essential.
Not been to a Read What You Want! event before? We are a pseudo book club – a reading club, in fact. Our events allow us to come together in new places, and explore how the act of reading affects how we interact with our surroundings. Our previous events have taken place over picnics, on the Ringbahn, and in a cemetery, and have often included performances and lectures from special guests.
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