How to Do Nothing - Jenny Odell

How to Do Nothing

By Jenny Odell

  • Release Date: 2019-04-09
  • Genre: Engineering
Score: 4
4
From 150 Ratings

Description

** A New York Times Bestseller **

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: TimeThe New Yorker NPRGQElleVultureFortuneBoing BoingThe Irish Times • The New York Public Library • The Brooklyn Public Library

"A complex, smart and ambitious book that at first reads like a self-help manual, then blossoms into a wide-ranging political manifesto."—Jonah Engel Bromwich, The New York Times Book Review

One of President Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of 2019"

Porchlight's Personal Development & Human Behavior Book of the Year

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.

Reviews

  • Deep Dive into New Perspectives

    5
    By dantomaszew17
    Odell instantaneously roped me in with an emotional and valiant challenge to consumerism. She then surprised me with a deeply referenced world of activism. Her writing style reflects the natural, worldly beauty she so graciously respects. She showed me how to be proud of standing still (or sitting still — or lying still), no matter how much public shame is thrown at those who defy capitalistic progression. This is a detail often overlooked, but very crucial for practical change — and very worth your time.