Resisting the Attention Economy
“A complex, smart and ambitious book that at first reads like a self-help manual, then blossoms into a wide-ranging political manifesto.” says Jonah Engel Bromwich, The New York Times Book Review
One of President Barack Obama’s “Favorite Books of 2019”
And absolutely one of my favourite books, note my u!
“Nothing is harder to do these days than nothing.” Reading this sentence on the front flap today is ironic as I write about this book during the COVID-19 Pandemic!
What is “time well spent”? What am I “doing” while I am “social distancing” in isolation from the city?
Jenny writes: “Seen from the point of view of forward-pressing, productive time, this behavior would appear delinquent. I’d look like a drop-out. But from the point of view of the place, I’d look like someone who was finally paying it attention. And from the point of view of myself, the person actually experiencing my life, and to whom I will ultimately answer when I die - I would know that I spent that day on Earth. In moments like this, even the question itself of the attention economy fades away. If you asked me to answer it, I might say - without lifting my eyes from the things growing and creeping along the ground - “I would prefer not to.”
I purchased my copy at Banyen Books & Sound in Vancouver, BC.
At the counter, they provide lovely free bookmarks.
I chose this one because Jenny loves birds!
Remember, little feather, patience is an egg that hatches great birds. Even the sun is such an egg. Hamba Gashle! Go slowly, because if you go slowly, Good things will come to you and you will Walk to the end of the road In peace and happiness.