Unfortunately, about halfway through the book, there is a dramatic shift in tone where the author abruptly begins to relate everything to his Christian world view. This was a surprise because the cover and the information on the back of the book say nothing about religion, though it is clear that this was the purpose of the book all along. I felt rather deceived, as if I had just let a missionary into my home under false pretense. We are told that a meaningless life causes boredom, and that the only way to avoid meaninglessness is through religious faith. The author fails to convince at this point, especially after his previous discussion of the problem of boredom in early Christian monks! On very little argument or evidence, humanistic philosophies and "tolerance" are blasted as causing boredom and the rest of society's ills. Hmm, where have I heard this before?
The book ends with recommendations that borrow heavily from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's research on flow and the statement that we need to "serve" God if we are going to have a good and meaninful life. I consider this book more propaganda than anything else, and cannot recommend it.
J. Corey Butler
Still Bored in a Culture of Entertainment discusses the rise of boredom in modern culture from a Christian perspective. Winter, a Psychiatrist and theology professor at Covenant Seminary (in St. Louis) looks at the subject of boredom from various angles.
He discusses the two main types of boredom (short term and the more permanent type), analyzes trends in modern culture that nurture boredom (over stimulation and constant entertainment), and how personality types make one more or less prone to boredom. He also documents how boredom has been viewed over the ages.
Winter analyzes how post-modern philosophy contributes toward indifference and meaninglessness, how boredom encourages addictive behavior or risk taking, and then offers a battle plan for the Christian to tackle boredom through six steps (remember the big picture, delight in the simple and ordinary, cultivate wonder, develop strong interests, actively engage instead of passively expecting others to initiate).
Some quotables include: "Boredom is a subtle form of negative thinking...", "...to the contemporary mind, goodness and beauty often seem boring and unstimulating...", and, "experience and intuition are supported by research that has found links between boredom and all sorts of negative states of mind and behavior..."
Much of the material in this book can be expanded upon by reading these three volumes, "Bowling Alone", "Natural Prozac", and "The Overspent American." I think this is a fine book, though a bit boring at times (sorry, but it is true!). Good stuff nonetheless.