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How to Do Nothing

Resisting the Attention Economy

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How to Do Nothing

Written by: Jenny Odell
Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
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A galvanizing critique of the forces vying for our attention - and our personal information - that redefines what we think of as productivity, reconnects us with the environment, and reveals all that we've been too distracted to see about ourselves and our world

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 hear 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.

©2019 Jenny Odell (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books History & Culture Philosophy Social Sciences Technology Capitalism Inspiring Thought-Provoking Computer Science Attention Management

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That's all I wanted to say - the ideas are great, the narration sounds like a Hallmark movie..... ruined it.

narrator ruins it for me

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what a fascinating listen. I loved all the themes Odell threaded through the narrative: bioregionalism, public space, activism and community engagement. this will merit several more listens, as it's packed with ideas.

I'm very pleased I didn't let the negative reviews on the narrator keep me from buying this. I found her to be just fine - she has a "radio" style rather than that of a fiction narrator, but it is very much in keeping with the tone of the book. absolutely worth listening to!

amazing!

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Despite the overly formal and AI-like voice, I loved everything the author wrote. Smart, creative, funny, and not preachy or self-helpy.

Great book

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Couldn't listen to that reading voice any more. So I just read it without. Love the book and all it has to say.

The book is fine. The reading? I dunno...

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A book I listen to on repeat. Prescient into its insight of the coming years and humanity's increasing use of tech as an intermediary with the others and the natural world.

Brilliant and mindblowing

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