Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It: Essays

Can a would-be hepcat 40something become so jaded by his rootless travelling life that he becomes bemused by his lack of interest in the world around him? Yep. And this book tells the story. Dyer is a great writer, and this may not be his best book, but it is my favorite. It's hard to give less of a crap than he does, and IMPOSSIBLE to make not giving a crap this compelling. I feel I should mention that I don't give a crap if you read this book or not.

I'd describe myself as a fairly jaded reader (I review for seven different newspapers--a fab but exhausting job) and any time I begin to take myself a bit too seriously I tuck into this for comic relief. I won't reprise what the other reviewers have said about its contents, but the most salient feature of Dyer's writing is the HUMOR. You'll laugh so hard you'll cry, even in the middle of a hipper-than-thou coffee shop. I can't recommend this book enough.

Don't buy this book if you're looking for some version of Yoga Lite. It's actually a serious collection of personal essays that chronicle globe-trotting Geoff Dyer's travels between the ages of 20-40. As such, it's really a story about growing up, maturing into some version of adulthood, coming to piece with what Is. Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It is not about yoga - but it IS about finding inner peace.

I never write reviews of books, but I came to forward this book as a "recommend" to a number of friends after having picked it up in London on a recent business trip. I was intrigued by the book recommendation "quotes" which included one from Steve Martin---one of my favorite all time "people" encompassing a variety of categories--as well as the title as some one who occasionally gets around to doing yoga. I quickly became "hooked". This book has a great many levels. It would be easy to write Dyer off as a "stoner" who needs to get a life in order to stop whining about traveling around the world to exotic places. But a good meaningful reading of this book provokes wonder at the talent of the writer, the ideas and emotions put forth, and the breadth of knowledge involved. His descriptions of the music festival in Detroit is "on target" and one of the best descriptions/discussions of my hometown that I have ever read. I am now going to find and buy more of this truly talented and thought provoking writers' books. For those looking to think as well as be entertained, I can think of no better book.

Geoff Dyer is brilliant and hilarious. I couldn't put it down. One of the best things I've read in awhile. This is a collection of travel essays, and yet it's not. His approach to travel seems to be one of getting stoned so that one may enter the mundane. And he writes about the mundane as if it were the most fascinating place in the world. Forget travel guide books. Just go someplace and do nothing. And after awhile the nothing becomes something. I think you have to be a bit bent to enjoy this book. And if you are, you'll love Dyer's offbeat view of the world. I did.