How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy - Jenny Odell

Come join Triangle Common Good for a discussion on How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell.

"This is not a book about putting your phone down. There are enough of those. This is more about questioning our current notions of productivity altogether. And...how to feel okay enough, for long enough, to figure out what it is that needs to be done". - Odell on the book in her Talks at Google presentation

Jenny Odell is an artist and collector whose work focuses on the relationship of observation and attention to our understanding of reality. She found herself questioning the value though of making art after the 2016 election and the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland (the latter of which claimed the lives of several of her friends). In an attempt to work through these questions, she began a habit of contemplation at at nearby rose garden. That experience, and working through what it ultimately meant to her, formed the catalyst for this book.

This book will be a chance to explore the values of contemplation and disconnecting our identities from our day jobs - a topic that we will return to more in upcoming readings.

Original Talk that Inspired Book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNRqswoCVcM

Jenny Odell's Background
https://www.prhspeakers.com/speaker/jenny-odell