paperback, 256 páginas
Publicado el 11 de agosto de 2020 por Melville House.
Nothing is harder to do these days than nothing. But in a world where our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity . . . doing nothing may be our most important form of resistance.
So argues artist and critic Jenny Odell in this field guide to doing nothing (at least as capitalism defines it). Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. 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 is a four-course meal in the age of …
Nothing is harder to do these days than nothing. But in a world where our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity . . . doing nothing may be our most important form of resistance.
So argues artist and critic Jenny Odell in this field guide to doing nothing (at least as capitalism defines it). Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. 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 is a four-course meal in the age of Soylent.
1 Star awarded to myself for finishing this book because it is so meandering and pretentious. I agree with a couple of the premises in this book but I couldn't bear another story about some art piece or anecdote about teaching/bird watching/etc.
Imagine Braiding Sweetgrass was written by an annoying Californian yuppie and that’s this book. I’m glad I read it. It has a lot of good ideas and it challenged me to think about how social media and my internet use affect my life, which is what made me pick up the book in the first place.
However, it would have been a lot more effective if she had trimmed a few hundred pages of fat and just gotten to the point. Overall, though, still a good read.
A fun and rambling defense of doing nothing, and resisting our modern productivity culture. And unlike so many condemnations of our modern world, and all the problems within it, this book is calming. It may not give you the answers, but you may find you emerge from it with a better understanding of how to just 'be'.
My rating is definitely influenced by the fact that the book delivered something else than I was expecting. That wouldn't be necessarily bad, but I didn't find the actual content that interesting.
This book made me realize how much of my value was predicated on my productivity. I had no idea how much of my thinking was appropriated by capitalism. While reading this book, I’ve started to notice the birds that live around me and the kinds of trees that grow in the park. It made me aware of things that have always been there.
It inspired me to put my attention on things that truly matter.
