I have a generally negative view of pop psychology books, but couldn’t resist this one. And although it is lightweight and pretty ascientific, there were just enough “hey, that’s me!” moments to make me feel like I learned something.

Laney is a librarian turned psychologist who is herself an introvert. Despite the title, she focuses very little on the actual advantages of being an introvert. (For the record, we are loyal, thoughtful, persistent, good listeners, good teachers, able to focus deeply, put ourselves in others’ shoes, think outside the box and make unpopular decisions.) Instead, most of the book focuses on coping skills for introverts who must navigate a world that values extrovert qualities.

Her writing style is perky—lots of bullet points and lists—and there is a fair amount of fluff. Most of the coping techniques she shares are beyond obvious and some of them are touchy-feely-icky. On the other hand, it’s nice to hear from a mental health professional who agrees that “staying home” is a perfectly reasonable choice among options for dealing with pesty parties and other social events. And I ended up flagging a bunch of pages for my extrovert husband and friends to read since they don’t always find my introvert qualities to be especially endearing.

Nothing earth-shattering here, but I think most introverts would find it worth a quick skim.

A fellow introverted author friend suggested I read this book and I'm glad she did. I had no idea that 75% of the population is extroverted. We introverts are living in an extroverted world!

Extroverts get energy by being around people, while introverts are drained of energy in those same circumstances. Introverts need to recharge their batteries with solitude.

This book not only explains the different hard-wiring between innies and outies, but also gives strategies for innies to cope in an extroverted world.

Like many self-help books, this one has a lot of repetition, so it only took a couple of hours to read. Well worth it.

For introverts (like myself), it is easy to feel like an island, lost all alone in your head. The replies from Ode readers were heartwarming & honest, proving that the 1 in 4 of us that are introverts aren’t alone.

A book like this should be required reading in all schools, probably around middle-school-level. The concept of being an introvert is widely misunderstood, and author Marti does a downright phenomenal job at debunking those myths. From page 19:

Introversion is at its root a type of temperament. It is not the same as shyness or having a withdrawn personality, and it is not pathological. It is also not something you can change. But you can learn to work with it, not against it … The strongest distinguishing characteristic of introverts is their energy source: Introverts draw energy from their internal world of ideas, emotions, and impressions. They are energy conservers. They can be easily overstimulated by the external world, experiencing the uncomfortable feeling of “too much.”

For a more relative analogy, Marti writes on page 20:

Introverts are like a rechargeable battery. They need to stop expending energy and rest in order to recharge. Extroverts are like solar panels … Solar panels need the sun to recharge – extroverts need to be out and about to refuel.

After an intelligent introduction to the differences between introverts & extroverts, Marti goes on to cover evolutionary & biological reasons how & why the two key personality types developed. While psychology is an important element when talking about introverts, Marti provides detailed information about scientific documentation introversion, extroversion, and how the differences affect our thought processes. Finally, she wraps up the book with 3 full chapters with tips, tricks, and advice on how to live a full, progressive introvert life.

I can’t say enough about how impressive this book is. While I had a feeling I was a bit of an introvert, reading The Introvert Advantage only stood to cement the concept. Many folks I’ve met just don’t understand me & I’ve never really known what to tell them. Thanks to Marti’s book, that has all changed. For the first time in my life, I’m not terrified by the concept of socializing because I know, thanks to what I’ve learned, I know how to handle any situation that comes along in my life … in my own introvert-style way.

I had high hopes for this book. There were a few interesting nuggets about brain chemistry in here that I found interesting. The rest of the book was a sorry set of self-help techniques that either: 1) didn't apply to me as an introvert, or 2) seemed to overdramatize the ramifications of being an introvert. I'm not sure what kind of an introvert would benefit from this book.... If you're an introvert who feels COMPLETELY abnormal, it might benefit you.

I was really disappointed in this book. First, she attributes certain qualities to introverts that are actually not introvert qualities at all (ie adhering to deadlines) but more judging vs perceiving qualities. Second, I found the tone to be almost condescending. She goes back to the very basics of social cues and the second half of the book droned on with very obvious points with the assumption that introverts have absolutely no idea how to function in society.

I felt like the author was simply speaking to people like HER, not all introverts. Her introvert experience is not the same as mine and I felt like most of the book didn't apply to me all that much.

Some useful points, but you have to slog through a lot to get to them. Points are repeated more than needed. The energy metaphor is done to death. Too much cheerleading for introverts and not enough info on how to thrive.

It seems like the author expected people to only read one or two chapters. If you read them all they're highly repetitious.

The book led me to understand and accept many aspects of myself which made me feel like an outcast. I,for the most part of my life felt that there was something wrong with me and I never had my personal backup system or confidence up until a few months ago. Even then, I felt uncomfortable about certain things and I had no idea why I behave the way I do when everyone else fit right into what was considered "normal". So, I thank the author for writing this book and it is nice to know I'm not flawed as I believed to be.
But the title still seems quite disconnected, cos it doesn't feel like a book about introverts. Most of the time it was about understanding extroverts, why they are great, wow, stuff like that. I appreciate it, but this book was supposed to be about something but constant deviation gets annoying after a while. Also, sometimes it felt like teaching a baby to walk, oh come on, we're not retarded, neither are we in a drowning expedition for you to keep reminding us to breathe, that was irritable. Well other than that, I always appreciate a book which tells me a lot of things I don't know and this one rightly fits there and was even interesting than prolonged lectures most books under this category generally provide. :)