Hardback: The average adult spends about a third of his or her waking time alone. Yet research suggests we aren't very good at using, never mind enjoying, alone time. Rising tot he challenge, travel writer Stephanie Rosenbloom explores the joys and benefits of being alone in four mouth-watering journeys to the cities of Paris, Istanbul, Florence and New York, showing that being alone isn't something to endure - it's something to relish.
Travelling with friends and family is usually thought of as a privilege. In theory, anyway. In practice, it is more often about debating which sights to see, panicking over diminishing phone batteries and bickering over what to eat. Not much joy in that.
But alone you can do as you please. You can wander markets, relish silence, go to a park. Go to Paris. Why not?
In Alone Time (2018), New York Times travel columnist Stephanie Rosenbloom travels alone in four seasons to four remarkable cities - Paris, Istanbul, Florence and New York - exploring the sensory experience of solitude. Along the way she illuminates the psychological arguments for alone time, revealing that whether you recognize it or not, it is good to be alone now and then.
This is a book about the pleasures and benefits of savouring the moment, examining things closely, using all your senses to take in your surroundings, whether travelling to faraway places or walking the streets of your own city.
Through on-the-ground observations and anecdotes, and drawing on the thinking of artists, writers and innovators who have cherished solitude, Alone Time lays bare the magic of going solo.
About the author: Stephanie Rosenbloom is the staff columnist for the Travel section of the New York Times, where she has been a reporter for various desks (including Styles, Business and Real Estate) for more than a decade.
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