This is a solid book. Susan Cain is pretty careful to base her ideas on scientific studies. Occasionally she'll cite something that's based on a single study, which is rather pointless, but for the most part she backs up her stories and anecdotes with good evidence. I still wish that more nonfiction writers were willing to explore science that aims to contradict the point they want to make, but even writers (like Gary Taubes) who do that sometimes end up writing books that aren't exactly waterproof. So, oh well. I've learned to take bestselling nonfiction books with a large grain of salt. 
 The entire time i was reading the book i kept thinking of people i know--mainly myself. Am i an introvert or not? At first i thought perhaps i'm an "ambivert," which Cain says is a real thing. And then i decided that i'm probably just an introvert who likes attention and hates to be completely alone. I like birthday parties and performances, and public speaking is pretty far from my number-one fear. I also feel like i don't have some of the good qualities that introverts are supposed to have, like the ability to concentrate deeply. So i do think i am an introvert, but Quiet actually kind of made me feel like a crappy one. 
 The book addresses the fact extroversion is the preferred temperament in corporate America. It made me think a lot about my career as a web designer and how being an introvert made it more difficult for me. I wanted my work to be able to speak for itself, but my bosses wanted me to speak for it instead--and speak a lot. And they were always so talkative and energetic that it made me retreat into my own head all the more, which i learned in reading this book is a normal introverted reaction to gregariousness. This is why i am basically a digital librarian now. I hardly ever have to speak to anyone, and it's wonderful. 
 I must say, though, that the red-on-gray cover of this book must be illegible to the colorblind. So there is still something of a designer in me. 
 It was refreshing to hear about the strengths that are unique to introverts, and the fact that even in our extrovert-favoring society introverts are managing to get into some positions where they can do great things. I also found it validating to read that my shyness and hesitance are not actually something that's wrong with me, they're just ways in which i am different for both internal and external reasons. I was pleased to learn that teamwork has been shown repeatedly to be counterproductive in terms of generating good ideas, and that open-plan offices are bad for many reasons. 
 There was a lot of practical advice and interesting information in this book, and it didn't try to be revolutionary. It simply presented the facts, and they were interesting ones.