Here is a refreshing look at life as it ought to be. Bare feet, gardening, dawdling over the newspaper, oversleeping, and idle summer vacations are...
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reviews
Aug 05, 2011
Sarah
rated it: 
4.5 stars. I adore this book, and it is totally the book I would write, if I could, you know, write books. I've always recognized in myself a deep hedonistic streak, not so much in the "snorting coke off strippers at an orgy" image that that that word conjures up, but as far as seeking and appreciating pleasure from small everyday things--a fresh peach, an afternoon spent laying on a hammock reading, the smell of fresh cut grass--sensual experiences, in the non-sexual meaning of that
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Nov 02, 2010
Michael
rated it: 
For those of you who are Pleasure Seekers...(like me). ;)
I was intrigued by the title of this book so I had to get it. I needed to learn about endangered pleasures that I may not be participating in. I was reminded of the pleasures of taking naps & sleeping 'totally' undressed (without constraints) & traveling & barefeet & natural things like birds singing. It was a nice book with some worthwhile lines & PLEASURES 'to live by'. I'm just happy to know that I've been living by the book More...
I was intrigued by the title of this book so I had to get it. I needed to learn about endangered pleasures that I may not be participating in. I was reminded of the pleasures of taking naps & sleeping 'totally' undressed (without constraints) & traveling & barefeet & natural things like birds singing. It was a nice book with some worthwhile lines & PLEASURES 'to live by'. I'm just happy to know that I've been living by the book More...
Jul 07, 2008
Tim
rated it:
Endangered Pleasures, I will admit, has been the bathroom book for the past few months. As such it is a little warped by humidity, but Harpers hardly printed it on fine paper to begin with. The book's title and small chapters (1-4 pages, perfect for the bathroom) appealed, as did the author's choice of subjects from working to bed to books, but at first her sophistication overwhelmed the tone for me. She began as the seeming urban hipster, but by the end she had settled into rural and family
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Sep 07, 2009
Vicki
rated it: 
This is a book I take off the shelf several times a year, for a nice leisurely thumbing. It's full of essays on the merits of going naked, the taking naps, and pretty mush all the stuff I love to do. I love the case she makes for the necessity of the occasional swear word. Barbara Holland and I could be friends, and you will probably think she'd make a great friend too, after reading this delightful book.
Jul 13, 2008
Dottie
rated it:
Light and fun and a bit off the beaten path type reading but very much enjoyed these little treatises on fading pleasures, recently banished for the PC or the good health or the whatever reason. How could I resist when those items heading the title list were NAPS, BACON and MARTINIS (of which I have yet to sample my first -- it may NEVER happen to be honest -- what can I say? that's the way the cookies crumble). And then of course the tag along in the title -- profanity -- -- that one had had
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Aug 03, 2007
Kay
rated it:
Vintage Holland. Each compact piece, no more than a few pages in length, is a humorous defense of (mostly) things that are no longer considered good for us or non-PC, but there are essays on overlooked simple pleasures of everyday life as well, such as getting mail or walking barefoot. Barbara Holland has long been one of my favorite essayists, and here she's at the top of her form.
One of the most charming aspects of the book is that it plays devil's advocate, arguing both sides More...
One of the most charming aspects of the book is that it plays devil's advocate, arguing both sides More...
Aug 08, 2010
Amanda
rated it:
This is a book of very interesting, but very short essays about different things that the American puritan society has dismissed as sinful. The topics range from simple breakfast coffee to going barefoot. Some of the things that she says are deemed unnecessary aren't in my life, but I guess it depends on your upbringing. An all right read.
Jan 05, 2009
Joyce
rated it:
Such a fun read - short essays on things we deny ourselves these days, like a good nap, bacon, bare feet, the morning paper and the second cup of coffee. An indulgence just to read!
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Jan 08, 2009
Lauren
rated it:
This book is meant to be read in short bursts, a chapter or two a day. Holland has an amazing way with words, it's worth reading just for that. But it's also her grounded "look on the bright side" perspective that will add a little lift to the day and may make you rethink things like work, winter and even waking up early. A little at a time, though, otherwise it gets a bit tiring.
Overall, instead of feeling like a forced smile, she comes across as a knowing grin.
Overall, instead of feeling like a forced smile, she comes across as a knowing grin.
Dec 08, 2011
Shari
rated it:
short essays extolling everyday pleasures often overlooked. good bathroom book! three and a half for entertainment value.
Jul 23, 2011
Rebecca
rated it: 
The book had an interesting concept; but lacked seriously in the delivery. It was a boring read.
Sep 05, 2008
Tim
rated it:
A series of essays detailing, one by one, all the things that grownups used to enjoy but have convinced themselves to let go of during the last decade or three. Until I read this book, the differences between how we live now and how we lived then never seemed so immense. I suppose it's because it's all happened so gradually. It's hard to imagine anyone reading this book and not feeling shame at what we've let ourselves be led into, and the price we've all paid.
Sep 22, 2010
Martha
rated it:
Barbara Holland just died. Look up her obit in the Washington Post for Sunday 19 Sep 2010. She was a true rowdy girl. She lived not far from me, and I met her once. Her book Bingo Night at the Firehall is about the way my Virginia county used to be. Most of her books, at least the later ones, are a big Remembrance of things past, and she was right about a lot of them, but her indulgences sure made life difficult for her. I'm sorry she's gone.
Oct 01, 2011
Julie
rated it: 
I bought this for the title alone. Unfortunately, the contents didn't live up to my expectations. "In defense of..." led me to believe it would delve more deeply into why these pleasures are justified and how our American culture (mistakenly!) shuns them in the name of productivity. Instead of defending these lost pleasures, the author simply provides short essays about each and how things used to be.
Jul 25, 2010
Rick
rated it:
Most of these essays are a little hit-or-miss, as if she wrote about smoking and drinking and setting things on fire, then decided to write enough essays along the same lines to fill a book. However, the essay on smoking is one of the best things I've ever read. If you're a smoker, or you used to be, you really should read it, and then discover on your own how good the others are.
May 13, 2008
Ben
rated it:
Slightly uneven, and trails off at the end, which disappoints. A book about pleasure should climax. But this is an extraordinary, witty, wise, essential, generous book. Fine, lucid writing and a topic you must embrace. Let go of your secular puritanism. Let go of your guilt, your smug self-righteousness, your haughty self-flagellation. Eat, drink, be merry, be well.
Dec 17, 2008
Kelly
rated it:
I'd been looking forward to this one for a while, but it was a let down. I thought Holland's tone was dull and even a bit condescending (though that may have been a point, I think the book had much more potential). Likewise, Holland suffers from Oldenburg disease: longing for something long gone and romanticizing the woman-in-the-kitchen trope.
Jun 07, 2009
Jill
rated it:
eh - I wanted this to be more than it was. It's little essays on different things that start out as pleasures, but they get thin by the end of the book. Sometimes she is just lecturing or bemoaning the state of affairs. I was bored at the end and only finished it because I could read it so quickly. I do like naps and bacon.
Sep 29, 2008
Dawn
rated it:
I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it didn't really deliver. The writing was conversational and at times charming, but I found it to be less an ode to joy than a rather sexist and at times colonialist lament on the passing of the good old days. Maybe it's just too dated for me.
Oct 12, 2010
Elizabeth
rated it:
Oh man, what a fun little book! I am a confirmed fan of the four vices mentioned in the title, and read it while indulging in another - a long, hot bath accompanied by a glass of wine. OK, I don't know if the former is considered a vice, but the latter probably is. I may have to give this a reread soon.
Mar 21, 2008
Anna
rated it:
Yes! Thank you! Delightful writing on delightful topics that I intend to explore in more depth with each pasing week. This is my favorite post-divorce gift...but don't feel like you need to go to all that trouble if you just want to read it for fun.
Feb 14, 2008
Dick
rated it:
A fantastic apologia of the Epicurean lifestyle. I would have enjoyed it even more if I weren't reading it over the holidays, when I too was enjoying too much sleeping, too much eating, too much drinking.
Oct 22, 2010
Amusing with deep stabs of truth. Several of these little essays are good and true enough that I want to carry them around and make people read them, watching their faces as I do...
Dec 17, 2009
Joyce
rated it:
Collection of amusing nostalgic essays by a woman who can find happiness in sleeping in, bare feet, unemployment, saving money, spending money and so on. Put a smile on my face.
Feb 07, 2011
Mary
rated it:
I picked this up after reading Ms. Holland's obit. RIP. It's sweet, and there are some fine points about taking pleasure in life, but it annoyed more than inspired.
Sep 26, 2011
Susan
rated it:
A charming book of light, short (1-2 pg) essays on a variety of pleasures from reading to dogs, profanity to naps, bacon to cats. Delightfully humorous.
Sep 22, 2009
Jeremy
rated it:
Easy reading, but not generally funny and rarely witty. The vices you have do seem to be more enjoyable essays, but all in all don't bother.
