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ktymick's reviews
466 reviews
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
A little uneven, and assumes the reader already subscribes completely to the notion that the attention economy is dominating our lives (although, I do definitely agree with this thesis). I also wasn't wholly sold on the repeated discourse on how birding releases one from the vice grip of the attention economy, but that's maybe my problem.
Still, some very insightful, optimistic ruminations on resistance to social media, sensationalist news, and the insidious machinations of contextless political propaganda. Public spaces, community and collective resistance, and critical thinking are ideas all poised in battle against the caustic consequences of private interests, homogeneity, and the proliferation of knee-jerk takes.
"As the attention economy works to keep us trapped in a frightful present, it only becomes more important not just to recognize past versions of our predicament but to retain the capacity for an imagination somehow untainted by disappointment...This kind of resistance still manifests as participating, but participating in the 'wrong way': a way that undermines the authority of the hegemonic game and creates possibilities outside of it."
Still, some very insightful, optimistic ruminations on resistance to social media, sensationalist news, and the insidious machinations of contextless political propaganda. Public spaces, community and collective resistance, and critical thinking are ideas all poised in battle against the caustic consequences of private interests, homogeneity, and the proliferation of knee-jerk takes.
"As the attention economy works to keep us trapped in a frightful present, it only becomes more important not just to recognize past versions of our predicament but to retain the capacity for an imagination somehow untainted by disappointment...This kind of resistance still manifests as participating, but participating in the 'wrong way': a way that undermines the authority of the hegemonic game and creates possibilities outside of it."
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Takes a macro perspective on earth, humanity, and the environment, ever so slightly hopeful of our potential, but understands how vain and desirous we are, and the author writes beautiful passages about the colors and contours of the planet. Good stuff.
"And in time we come to see that not only are we on the sidelines of the universe but that it's a universe of sidelines, that there is no centre, just a giddy mass of waltzing thing, and that perhaps the entirety of our understanding consists of an elaborate and ever-evolving knowledge of our own extraneousness, a bashing away of mankind's ego by the instruments of scientific enquiry until it is, that ego, a shattered edifice that lets light through"
"And in time we come to see that not only are we on the sidelines of the universe but that it's a universe of sidelines, that there is no centre, just a giddy mass of waltzing thing, and that perhaps the entirety of our understanding consists of an elaborate and ever-evolving knowledge of our own extraneousness, a bashing away of mankind's ego by the instruments of scientific enquiry until it is, that ego, a shattered edifice that lets light through"
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
challenging
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Modernist stream of consciousness novel about the ephemerality of life, memories, and the pursuit of purpose. I would've loved poring over this a decade ago, literary masochist that I sometimes am, but man this was a rough read. Still, some interesting ideas here, quality prose, and when Woolf hits she hits.
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Ged, the innately powerful boy wizard releases an unnameable shadow into the world and sails around countless islands wowing the populations with his unearned gifts for 160 pages, each time conducting some new magic feat to keep the reader confused over what the rules are in this magical universe, until he decides he should probably do something about the darkness that keeps showing up and whooping his butt.
A lack of momentum, a contrived plot, and deeply shallow characters. There was plenty to like in the framing of the story, the originality, and the glimpses into the world building we know and love from LeGuin, but nothing felt truly uncovered as Ged adventured the archipelago. So too, there were a few interesting points about the importance of names and an unrealized undergirding of Daoist principles in the briskly constructed magic system, but I ultimately neither could find a reason to really root for this kid nor could I comprehend what the stakes were at any given time.
To be fair it's a kids book so maybe this is all a bit harsh!
A lack of momentum, a contrived plot, and deeply shallow characters. There was plenty to like in the framing of the story, the originality, and the glimpses into the world building we know and love from LeGuin, but nothing felt truly uncovered as Ged adventured the archipelago. So too, there were a few interesting points about the importance of names and an unrealized undergirding of Daoist principles in the briskly constructed magic system, but I ultimately neither could find a reason to really root for this kid nor could I comprehend what the stakes were at any given time.
To be fair it's a kids book so maybe this is all a bit harsh!
You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Funny, infuriating, awesome; Enrigue drafts a winking love letter to the ancient wondrous city and society of Tenochtitlan on the eve of Cortes' genocidal conquest. Quick and breezy read, highly enjoyable.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
reflective
fast-paced
1.75
An author who had a therapist tell them to consider cognitive behavioral therapy, so instead they wrote a whole book about it filled with pseudo-science anecdotes, poorly cited research, and misleading studies to support their pop-psych airport book. But still, he probably means well I guess.