Quiet: The Power of Introverts

Why I'd hand it to you

Susan Cain argues that American culture prizes bold, outgoing personalities and overlooks the strengths of quieter people, who often think deeply, listen well and lead in their own way. She mixes research with stories from schools, offices and churches. Many introverts feel understood reading it, and parents of quiet kids get useful perspective. A few cautions. It runs long, it sometimes treats introversion and extroversion as tidier categories than they are, and outgoing readers may feel a bit caricatured. Still, it can change how you run a meeting, a classroom or a household, and that is worth something.

— Matt Jordan