When a multimedia, digital artist and educator writes a book about distancing one's self from the internet, you know that you're in for some untread territory. Odell makes the case for tuning into the place(s) one finds oneself in, for opening one's awareness to birds, plants, air, and water, and suggests myriad reasons why these practices are infinitely more rewarding than another scroll through Instagram. Highlights for me were: ancient Greek culture, a history of back-to-nature communes in 1960s America, bioregionalism, the Oakland rose garden, and a deep dive into new artists, specifically Mierle Laderman Ukeles. But, because you are a different creature, and because this book is filled with so many gems, your list will be invariably be very different from mine. So read it, and let's compare notes.Publisher description:
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 (at least as capitalism defines it) may be our most important form of resistance, according to critic Jenny Odell. 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, this is an action plan for thinking outside of capitalist narratives of efficiency and techno-determinism. Timely and persuasive, this book is a four-course meal in the age of Soylent.
Find How to do Nothing in our online catalog.
Find How to do Nothing in our online catalog.