Beginners

November 9, 2020
Journalist Vanderbilt (Traffic) chronicles his attempts to gain new skills in this charming celebration of lifelong learning. While encouraging his daughter to explore new interests, Vanderbilt writes, he was inspired to pursue his own journey of skill acquisition—not for professionalization or utility, but merely for the joy of it. He entertainingly recounts his struggles and triumphs in various pursuits—chess, singing, surfing, drawing, juggling, and making jewelry—in which he achieved no grand successes, but merely the satisfaction of “modest competency.” Noting that dilettante originally meant “one who exhibits delight,” Vanderbilt encourages readers to put aside the fear of making mistakes and looking like an amateur. While readers may wonder about the author’s unusually abundant amount of spare time, he makes a persuasive case for the benefits—cognitive, physical, emotional, and social—of being a beginner. This enjoyable reminder to embrace the “small acts of reinvention, at any age, that can make life seem magical” will appeal to those who enjoyed Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.