Can you admit that the desire to be idle has taken control of your life? Come to the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Society of the Indolent, where Mark Kingwell, Joshua Glenn and Seth will celebrate the release of The Idler's Glossary (Biblioasis) by outlining their "11 Step Program For Idlers" – A This Is Not A Reading Series event presented by Pages Books & Magazines, Biblioasis, and EYE WEEKLY.


THE IDLER'S GLOSSARY: "Dawdler." "Layabout." "Shit-heel." "Loser." For as long as mankind has had to work for a living, which is to say ever since the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, people who work have disparaged those who prefer not to. Joshua Glenn's glossary, which closely examines the etymology and history of hundreds of idler-specific terms and phrases aims not merely to correct popular misconceptions about idling, but to serve as a preliminary foundation for a new mode of thinking about working and not-working. Never again will you be able to describe an indolent person as "languid," Epicurean behavior as "dissipated," or an idler as a "slacker." Mark Kingwell's introductory essay offers a playful defence of the idler as the true citizen of the world, enlisting support from literary and philosophical sources, putting forward a case for the ultimate reevaluation of all values. Seth's charming illustrations highlight the pleasures of introducing a bit more idleness into life alongside the everyday horrors endured by the vast majority of those leading lives of quiet desperation. The Idler's Glossary is destined to become the Devil's Dictionary for the idling classes, necessary reading for any and all who wish to introduce more truly "free" time into their daily lives.

Labels: book launches, events, Ontario, Toronto