How To Do Nothing

Am disappointed by Odell's How to do Nothing—at least Odell's part—as it is, at its core, a self-hating self-help book about paying attention, which she has Katamari'd through some interesting stuff by other authors.

The book seems an earnest project that, well, starts as if to address material and political circumstances—but doesn't, and instead champions a vague programme of paying attention better (and that, if you don't, you don't have access to a true and full human experience).

Like, it's not dissimilar to Flow. Except that it's wearing a lot of stuff from Thoreau, Buber, Solnit, Ehrenrich and mentions some cool art installations.

The main thesis is against consumerism, optimization, productivity and utility. Intentionally or not, my experience of the book embodied those principles: most of the times I was lost in thought or had already forgotten what the original argumentative line was; I was strolling around an unkept park of ideas. I wasn't expecting so much of the book to focus on the praise of specific artists, the blessings of bird watching, and Oakland.

A lot of the commentary is written like in-the-weeds literary criticism, which I think is a bit unapproachable for people not used to speaking in highly abstract concepts and so many analogies, metaphors and metonymies. Not a book for me, I guess maybe because I need some prior "manifest dismantling" of my ideals on how books ought to be written.

Pretentious, inconsistent and unpragmatic. Four Thousand Weeks is a much better philosophical self help book, while Stolen Focus is a much better deep dive on the technology industry. This occupies a fluffy area in the middle, where the only practical advice given is to start birdwatching.

There are glimmers of interesting points about the impact of social media on activism and how the attention economy disproportionately affects different groups, but that is overshadowed by the rest. There are half baked ideas throughout, e.g. bioregionalism - given half a page of explanation before she strays off into waffle again. Frequent diversions to talk about modern and performance art honestly alienate all but those that are fully immersed in that sphere (that is not inherent to the topic - it is her tone that makes it unrelatable). Overall an unsatisfying read with little to take away from it.

Not a “self-help” book, it is a call to action. There were some pretty good ideas in there, and helpful references/anecdotes.

An artist's perspective on the commodification of attention and potential paths of resistance by seeking a deeper connection to the local environment.

Em va anar molt bé per a un vídeo i hi ha parts que de segur que hi tornaré en el futur.

A fantastic work of cultural critique with some deep ecology thrown in to fill the void where apps used to be. It gets a little unfocused near the end, but the fist 75% is so good. It provides an excellent overview on generative refusal, amateur ecology, and community connectedness presented from the point of view of a tech enthusiast turned bird-watcher.

Going into my reread list. There's a surprising amount of good history in here that I wasn't expecting.

Sehr schönes Buch.

This was a good book to start the year with. It intersects with Jaron Lanier's criticisms of social media while also recognizing that complete disconnection is impractical, at best, for most of us. Her ideas for taking more control of your own attention, bringing it closer to home, and deepening it, are good and perhaps a good practice to enact for the new year.

This is less of the self help book it's presented as than it is a social criticism of social media and it's impact on our lives. The author has thought deeply on the role of attention in our lives and discusses various historical events and pieces of art that help her to develop her thesis. The end result is a book that certainly makes you feel a bit smarter, encourages a more humane and collectivist approach to life, but also contains a streak of nihilism that makes it a bitter pill to swallow. It's academic nature makes it a bit of a tough read, but I think it was worth the effort.

3.5/5, feel like I need to re-read this book.

Odell is an artist and thinker who seamlessly threads together disparate ideas to create a philosophy of 21st Century sustainable living. This book's strongest element is its richness of sources. Drawing from historians, contemporary subcultures, philosophers and artists, How to Do Nothing is a well-structured roadmap for resistant activism without withdrawal from society.

Odell is energetic, using examples from her own life and stories from many others' to synthesise this in a book that is thoroughly researched. She argues for actively choosing to move against the presented myth of progress mostly by learning attentiveness and engagement. Some of the language uses distracting modern slang that would suit a blog or a conversation, but weakens the poignancy of Odell's otherwise thoughtful arguments, but this is a small negative in an otherwise hopeful book.

This book was excellent! It's a 4.5 stars for me. I really enjoyed how Jenny touches complicated topics with great lightness. It's thought provoking and I will be thinking about the book for a good while. I also was super judgemental of bird watching in the past and I caught myself watching the birds in my backyard with a whole new light. So I think this book achieved the author's intent.

It's not a 5 stars because I think the book gets a little lost in itself at times but definitely recommend reading it.

PS: I rarely write reviews but this one deserves better ratings in my opinion. I think it's easy to read, covers great topics and I really enjoyed how Jenny weaves her experiences to highlight them. Read this with friends!

Maybe too philosophical to my taste. Although the title book starts with "How to..." it's not really a manual. It's more like an exposition of the author's memories and her musings about art. Art like a critic of the status quo. There is a lot of talk about art. It was not my cup of tea.