Hardcover, 256 pages
English language
Published April 8, 2019 by Melville House.
In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But in this inspiring field guide to dropping out of the attention economy, artist and critic Jenny Odell shows us how we can still win back our lives.
Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. And we must actively and continuously choose how we use it. We might not spend it on things that capitalism has deemed important … but once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind’s role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress.
Far from the simple anti-technology screed, or the back-to-nature meditation we read so often, How to do Nothing is an …
In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But in this inspiring field guide to dropping out of the attention economy, artist and critic Jenny Odell shows us how we can still win back our lives.
Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. And we must actively and continuously choose how we use it. We might not spend it on things that capitalism has deemed important … but once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind’s role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress.
Far from the simple anti-technology screed, or the back-to-nature meditation we read so often, How to do Nothing is an action plan for thinking outside of capitalist narratives of efficiency and techno-determinism. Provocative, timely, and utterly persuasive, this book will change how you see your place in our world.
Not a “self-help” book, it is a call to action. There were some pretty good ideas in there, and helpful references/anecdotes.
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.
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!
Captures so many of my interests this decade in a nuanced art crit approach to turning our attention away from divisive shallow advert-brand-social-media toward the people, land, and shared mental space we deeply inhabit.
