Overview

“Fascinating and full of beauty.” —Katherine May, New York Times bestselling author of Wintering and Enchantment A joyful exploration of the forgotten art of marking time from nature’s daily rhythms and a call to notice the wonders of the living world, wherever you are. Most of us live fully digitized lives, staring at screens and tracking our data. We think of time as the relentless march of abstract, identical hours that control the shape of our days. But what might we gain from exploring the forgotten art of sensing the natural patterns of the world around us? Cathy Haynes argues that by devoting more attention to the living rhythms of plants, animals, and light, we stand to reap inner riches that can bring us fascination and delight. To discover a new sense of time, she draws on the knowledge of astronomers, botanists, ornithologists, town planners and experts on sundial-making, shepherding, and traditional work songs. In an earlier world, we used to mark daily cycles by shadows shrinking or the midday glow over a mountaintop. We called a phase of darkness “cockcrow” and named lively flowers for when they open and close. When working, we may have synchronized a task by singing. We’d notice the quality of the light changing at dusk and might mark the passing of night by the motion of the stars. The Fullness of Time is an alternative history of timekeeping and an invitation to tune into the subtle changes happening around us throughout the day—even in the concrete-and-glass heart of the twenty-first-century city. Charming, gentle, and wise, it is a reminder that there are wonders to be found right before us if only we look around.

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9780593715451

Table of Contents

Reviews

“Most books about time teach you how to control your hours. This one teaches you how to inhabit them. The Fullness of Time is a quietly radical invitation to notice more, rush less, and live deeper.” —Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When “A deeply absorbing exploration of the ways we mark time. Fascinating and full of beauty.” —Katherine May, New York Times bestselling author of Wintering and Enchantment “The Fullness of Time brims with wonders on every page. Thank you, Cathy Haynes, for an antidote to our twitchy, ticky, digital haste, and a portal to sacred, eternal, time in all its wholeness and perfection.” —Sy Montgomery, author of Of Time and Turtles “Fascinating and enchanting! Each chapter broadens and lifts our awareness, reminding us that we get to choose where we focus our attention between one dawn and the next.” —Tristan Gooley, bestselling author of The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs “Haynes. . . makes an engaging book debut with a naturalist’s view of marking time. . . . Curiosity and enthusiasm impel a foray into the natural world.” —Kirkus Reviews “A beautiful book about the ways we measure time with plants and animals, bodies human and celestial. An immersive, mind-shaping read.” —Kieran Setiya, author of Life Is Hard “Cathy Haynes shows us that by opening our senses, we can all discover the rich horological abundances in the world around us. What a simple, yet powerful, gift!” —Juli Berwald, author of Spineless and Life on the Rocks “A deeply attentive view over signs of the time; time—as Haynes chronicles so beautifully—in its fullness. A revelatory and utterly wonderful book.” —David Rooney, author of About Time “Immaculately researched and beautifully written, Cathy Haynes resurrects the forgotten alchemy of timekeeping.” —Lara Maiklem, author of Mudlark

Author Information

Cathy Haynes is a curator, writer, artist, and educator who has been developing a creative practice on aspects of time for more than two decades. She has been Timekeeper in Residence at University of College London’s Petrie Museum, Artist in Residence at the Chisenhale Gallery, a curator for Art on the Underground at Transport for London, and a founding faculty member at Alain de Botton’s School of Life. She has contributed to Cabinet Magazine, The Guardian, The Human Zoo on BBC Radio 4, and Monocle Weekly. She lives in London.

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