Eric Klinenberg at Books Inc.

Monday night, about 50 people showed up at Books Inc. in the Marina to hear sociologist Eric Klinenberg talk about Going Solo, his new book about the rise of living alone. 40% of San Francisco households are one-person households, but this is low compared to trends in Europe & Japan. Mr. Klinenberg called this the biggest social change in the past 60 years that we have failed to identify. He told us that he originally titled the book "Alone in America," but what he learned while researching it really changed his mind about the topic. He repeatedly heard from research subjects that being lonely & alone was preferable to being lonely while in a relationship.

Mr. Klinenberg is a focused & personable speaker, & he talks in pithy, self-contained sentences. In the Q&A, people worried about the breakdown of community life caused by more people living alone, but Mr. Klinenberg thought it quite possible to create communities of single people. Mezés, a Greek tapas restaurant a block away, offered a free appetizer to diners coming in from the event with a newly purchased & signed book.


§ Eric Klinenberg at Books Inc. in the Marina

02/27/2012 7:00 pm