Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Come non fare niente. Resistere all'economia dell'attenzione by Jenny Odell

2 reviews

nataliebootlah's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

How to Do Nothing is a philosophical look at how corporations rely on our willingness to pay attention to what they tell us to pay attention to, otherwise known as the attention economy. 
 
While I did not particularly love this book, the discussion I had with my book club and changes I’ve made so far are telling of the book’s influence. I found How to Do Nothing to be a passionate information dump of why we should pay attention (ba-dum-tiss) to where we’re lending our attention. Should it be on the phone in our hands, constantly indulging in the algorithm? Or, should it instead be on what’s happening in the real world, our lives, and with our family and friends? 
 
I personally took away that to “do nothing” in the context of this book, is a form of protest against the belief that productivity needs to be constant at the expense of our well-being, the growth of our communities, and the destruction of our environment, all while making corporations rich. 
 
I already knew how easy it is to get lost endlessly scrolling for hours on this little app, but I needed a kick-in-the-ass wake up call. There’s a lot going on in the real world (duh) but distraction and FOMO are real. This was a reminder of how important it is to disconnect from my phone and acknowledge and critique what's most important to give my attention to. Thus, I am trying (key-word ‘trying’) to re-engage with the world in thoughtful ways. If you don’t see me online as much, imagine that I’m frolicking in fields, spending time with friends, taking down the patriarchy bit by bit, and burying my nose in new books.
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leweylibrary's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

The introduction is 🔥 and made me think this was going to be like Four Thousand Weeks but with more of the vibe of Rest is Resistance. It didn't totally live up to that hype, and I do think the title is a bit misleading. It's not so much about "how to do nothing" as it is how to refocus your attention in the midst of the attention economy. It was really just about being present and setting boundaries which are all great tips but jeez there was a much less wordy way of getting there lol. The parts that waxed on and on about art and philosophy just weren't all that interesting to me. I was glad when a section would end and she would refocus back on the real guts of the book, those parts were what kept me going.

There were also parts I really wasn't expecting but really liked, such as the part about cults and communes (aka running away from society doesn't really work) and labor unions. Those parts also helped keep me interested. There were some great parts about capitalis 's role in social media and how difficult it is for there to be balanced, nuanced conversations and people on social media. But there wasn't nearly enough of that stuff as I wanted.

To end on a more positive note, I did like how the author incorporated instances and examples from her own life and experiences, that did also make the read more interesting in the midst of all that dense art and philosophy.
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