Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
How to Do Nothing
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
After the American presidental election of 2016, Jenny Odell felt so overstimunated and disoriented by information, misinformation, and the expressions of others, that reality itself seemed to slip away. How To Do Nothing is her action plan for resistance. Drawing on the ethos of tech culture, a background in the arts, and personal storytelling, Jenny Odell makes a powerful argument for refusal: refusal to believe that our lives are instruments to be optimised. She argues that nothing can be quite so radical as doing... nothing.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
review
Amandakay
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick


In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But in this inspiring field guide to dropping out of the attention economy, artist and critic Jenny Odell shows us how we can still win back our lives.

+ eye opening

review
Erin.Elizabeth10
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

I loved this book! It hit me at just the right time. I have felt very busy and connected recently, and so her musings on disconnecting, engaging with nature, and slowing down were just perfect. Also, I read most of the book on vacation and at some gardens, which just felt ideal. I would say the title is deceptive. It‘s not “how to do nothing” as much as “how to unplug.”

review
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
Pickpick

This was such a good book, starting with how to be quiet, find still space in nature, create relationships with friends, and be intentional. Unlike others, Odell takes those fairly familiar approaches and tools and looks at how to use them to break down “the attention economy” and move towards “manifest dismantling” of oppression and the increasing destruction of our planet. One I want to return to.
#Booked2023 #Balance
#Nonfiction2023 #SoWhat

TheBookHippie Added to my TBR (edited) 12mo
8 likes1 stack add1 comment
quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Manifest Destiny wears a strange expression, aimed at the target of “progress.” What is the opposite of manifest destiny? I think it would be something like the angel of history. It‘s a concept I call “Manifest Dismantling.” I imagine another painting, one where Manifest Destiny is trailed, not by trains and ships, but by Manifest Dismantling, a dark-robed woman who is busy undoing all the damage wrought by Manifest Destiny, cleaning up her mess.

quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell

When I try to imagine a sane social network it is a space of appearance, a hybrid of mediated and in-person encounters, of hours-long walks with a friend, of phone conversations, of closed group chats, of town halls. It would allow true conviviality, the dinners and gatherings and celebrations that give us the sustenance we need and where we show up for each other in person and say, “I am here, fighting for this with you.”

quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell

The attention economy profits from keeping us trapped in a fearful present…I worry about what this means long term for our propensity to seek out context, or our ability to understand context at all. Given that all of these issues facing us demand an understanding of complexity, relationship, and nuance, the ability to seek and understand context is nothing less than a collective survival skill.

quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Similar to many Indigenous cultures‘ relationships to land, bioregionalism is first and foremost based on observation and recognition of what grows where as well as an appreciation for the complex web of relationships among those actors. More than observation, it also suggests a way of identifying with place, weaving oneself into a place through observation of, and responsibility to, an ecosystem.

quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell

While it may seem at first like refusal is a reaction, the decision to actually refuse—not once, not twice, but perpetually until things have changed—means the development of and adherence to individual and collective commitments from which our actions proceed. In the history of activism, even things that seemed like reactions were often planned actions…Rosa Parks was “acting, not reacting” when she refused to get up from her seat.

TheBookHippie Oooo. Now that‘s a word. 12mo
10 likes1 comment
quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell

Curiosity, something we know most of all from childhood, is a forward-driving force that derives from the differential between what is known and what is not known…. Through attention and curiosity we can suspend our tendency toward instrumental understanding, seeing things or people one-dimensionally as the products of their functions, and instead sit with the unfathomable fact of their existence which opens up toward us.

quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Audre Lorde: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

I‘ve always found it funny that it‘s called bird-watching, because half if not more of bird-watching is actually bird-listening. (I personally think they should just rename it “bird-noticing.”)…What amazed and humbled me about bird-watching was the way it changed the granularity of my perception, which had been pretty “low-res.” At first, I just noticed birdsong more-now that I was paying attention to it, I realized that it was almost everywhere.

TheBookHippie ♥️♥️♥️ 12mo
charl08 Great quote- so true! 12mo
16 likes1 stack add2 comments
quote
Singout
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

“Seneca, in ‘On the Shortness of Life‘ [49 CE] described the horror of looking back to see that life has slipped between our fingers. It sounds all too much like someone waking from the stupor of an hour on Facebook.”

blurb
CuriousG
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Taking advantage of the time between arrival and forced bedtime at my sleep study, to come back to this book. I chip away at it a chapter or two at a time, and then set it aside for many months. I do like it, for some reason just can't take it all in at once.

Singout Exactly! I needed to listen to it in small increments. 12mo
CuriousG @Singout yes - so much to process and digest I can't imagine listening for long. Even reading the physical copy allows you to slow down and ruminate more as you go. Listening would be hard for me with this one. 12mo
30 likes2 comments
review
REPollock
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

Reading this book, I marveled at how the author moves easily between ecology, feminism, technology, birdwatching, social media, and art criticism, and ties them all back to resisting the attention economy. A must read for anyone with a smartphone, and particularly anyone interested in any of the other topics I listed above. Highly recommend.

batsy Such a good read! 14mo
REPollock @batsy it really is just fantastic. 14mo
19 likes3 stack adds2 comments
blurb
mdemanatee
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Working through this one again as the first time I picked it up wasn‘t the right time and I only got through the introduction.

What are the books in your friend group that cause conversation? I saw a friend post about this one this summer and asked her thoughts. When I posted reading this the other day, a couple friends asked what I was thinking. Clearly we have this book on our minds.

blurb
smallthings
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

(This is a cover of polish edition of this book)

#bookspin

It's a reread I've been waiting for :) But I'm trying something different this time. I noticed that I often speed up my reading the closer I am to the end of a book and don't pay enough attention to the last few chapters. So I decided to read this book... backwards. We'll see how it goes :)

jhod Love it! 1y
5 likes1 comment
review
Thndrstd
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

Interesting and thought-provoking, this book is a manifesto of sorts about the importance and value of fighting the constant urge to check and be validated by our phones and social media feeds. The title, even the author notes, is deceptive. It is more about doing what is important or at least not productive from the capitalist, technologist point of view, but rather finding connection with our fellow humans and other inhabitants of the world.

review
NovelNancyM
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Mehso-so

This book meandered a bit too much to hold my attention so I mostly skimmed it. I agree that social media has no context and often feel bombarded by disparate subjects in a feed. Also agree nature is healing and important for us to notice our surroundings. Mostly learned that the person who recommended this to me seems to enjoy such different types of books than me (I have recommended many of my favorites to her that she didn't enjoy too!).

review
Bevita
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Bailedbailed

Timely and important, but I must remember I prefer fiction. Bailed.

blurb
mdemanatee
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

I‘ve been in a bit of a funk lately and my reading has suffered but hoping to come out of it after a very successful Chicago indie bookstore crawl for Independent Bookstore Day. You know, in addition to my library stacks and existing owner TBR.

review
rjsthumbelina
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Mehso-so

I think a lot of her points went over my head a bit, bc I was listening to the audio while driving. (Ironic 🤔) I'd recommend reading this one with your eyes. What I took in made sense, though. #wintergames2021 #teamgamesleighers @staycurious #littenlistenbingo #wrapitupreadathon #averymerryreadathon #merryandbrightreadathon #averymerrybingo #bookspinbingo #wintercosy #festivereadathon
16+480=496 points

30 likes1 stack add
review
SamAnne
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Bailedbailed

This book is pissing me off. I‘d rather read a book entitled Self care So You Can Do Something. I really dislike “self-help” books written from a place of privilege. While she addresses that issue at different points, it is the place Odell is writing from. Too much about rich techies trying to get away from it all. Climate change is hammering us, whether it is the West on fire or poor people being crushed by hurricanes. 👇

SamAnne We are in crisis as a world and I‘d rather focus on how we inspire ourselves to get involved. She has good comments to make about what capitalism is doing to people, monetizing time, etc. But I‘d rather read the authors she quotes like Rebecca Solnit.. As a conservation activist facing the wall of burn out, I agree with the need for self care. But I‘d rather turn to Thomas Merton for inspiration. #unpopularopinion (edited) 3y
TiredLibrarian I bailed on this too. It was nothing like I thought it would be, based on reviews I'd read. 3y
JamieArc I didn‘t like this either. What pissed me off was that for a book about doing nothing, I had to put a heck of a lot of energy into focusing on what she was saying and following as I listened to the audio 😂 3y
See All 7 Comments
SamAnne @JamieArc and the downside to audiobooks is you can‘t hurl them out the car window! 😂😂 3y
SamAnne @TiredLibrarian I should never pick up books like this. Haven‘t been so irritated since Having to read The Happiness Project for book club. Or Sallie Tilsdale‘s Advice for Future Corpses…a book on death and dying focused only on people having peaceful deaths with no conflict. Which wasn‘t the book I needed to read when helping my mom in her final month. No patience for the privileged position of such writers. (edited) 3y
ravenlee I read part of a parenting book like this - realized very early that it had nothing whatsoever to offer me as a middle-class SAHM. The acknowledgements included such close friends of the author as big-name actors and “personalities” and right away it smacked of nannies and housekeepers and gardeners. Sure enough. Ugh. 3y
suvata I try to stay away from “self help“ books altogether. They usually annoy me. 3y
55 likes1 stack add7 comments
blurb
CuriousG
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Reading, watching the tomatoes grow, and contemplating my digital life. Currently ruminating over what exactly does posting on social media do for me? Appreciate any thoughts on how to interact more mindfully with my chosen platforms!

TheLudicReader That‘s the question, isn‘t it? What are the benefits of posting/reading/interacting on social media? I have a love/hate relationship with it, for sure. 3y
CuriousG @TheLudicReader Love/hate relationship is definitely how I would define it. Trying to really nail down the key purpose and then be more intentional with how I use social media. 3y
24 likes2 comments
blurb
CuriousG
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Perfect location to sit and dig into this book last night.

CaitZ Beautiful 3y
23 likes2 comments
review
slategreyskies
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Bailedbailed

This book was not for me. I just kept thinking, “this is sooo bad. Oh god, she‘s going off on another tangent!” And I didn‘t get the point of the book or how the various stories related to the chapters they were inserted in. I wanted to throw the book against the wall! I finally decided it would be best to bail on it and read something I actually enjoyed.

#DNF #UnpopularOpinion

JamieArc I didn‘t like this one either. For a book about doing nothing/not having to be productive, it took way too much work to focus and figure out where she was going. That really annoyed me. 3y
BookishMarginalia Life‘s too short 3y
janeycanuck The title is so misleading. It‘s not a how-to at all but more of a why-to. I listened to the audio and found it confusing, thought maybe it was because it was audio, good to know it‘s similar in print. 3y
carolpharmd Totally agree ~ seemed to ramble. It is very rare for me not to complete a book, & this was a “bail” for me…. 13mo
41 likes4 comments
review
StaceGhost
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

Clearly not doing well keeping off screens but working on doing nothing as often as possible. I never knew how involved concussion recovery was but I‘m finding the aluminum lining 📸by my lovely artist friend, Kat Corvidae

DivineDiana Take care of yourself. ❤️ 3y
SamAnne Wishing you a strong recovery. 3y
Nute Praying for a quick and complete recovery for you! Take Care!💕 3y
29 likes3 comments
blurb
SkeletonKey
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Current audiobook and it definitely resonates.

wanderinglynn I love doing nothing. I‘m quite good at it! 😉 3y
SkeletonKey @wanderinglynn - It‘s a valuable skill!! 3y
33 likes4 stack adds2 comments
blurb
youneverarrived
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Last day on holiday, getting a bit of reading in before heading to the beach. Just hope the weather cheers up soon ☀️

Cathythoughts I hope the weather gets better 🤞🏻☀️ 3y
youneverarrived @Cathythoughts thanks Cathy it did get a bit warmer 😁 3y
DivineDiana Beautiful cover! 3y
57 likes3 comments
blurb
youneverarrived
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

The other half is looking after Alfie this morning so I can read in bed 🥰 and he made me a coffee.. the cup though 😂 (I‘m so sentimental I kept this cup from years ago)

JennyM Enjoy the time with your book and coffee 😘 3y
LeahBergen Happy Birthday! ❤️📚❤️📚 3y
rockpools How lovely! Happy Birthday Katie - have a wonderful day 😘 3y
See All 17 Comments
youneverarrived @JennyM thanks Jenny 🤗 3y
youneverarrived @LeahBergen thank you ❤️❤️❤️ 3y
youneverarrived @rockpools thanks Rachel 😘 3y
squirrelbrain Aw how lovely! 3y
batsy How lovely! Perfect book to read in bed & I love everything about this pic 😍 3y
Liz_M Happy Birthday! 🎂 📚 🌷 3y
DaveGreen7777 Happy Birthday! 🥳🎂🎁🎉🎈 3y
erzascarletbookgasm Happy birthday! Hope you‘re having a lovely day 🥳📚 3y
youneverarrived @squirrelbrain it was 💕 he bought me a McDonald‘s brekkie after too so even better 😀 3y
youneverarrived @batsy 🤍🤍🤍 3y
squirrelbrain Even better! 🤣 3y
JennyM And it‘s your birthday! Happiest of birthday, Katie. Hope you‘ve had a great day 😘🎉😘 3y
youneverarrived @JennyM thank you 🥰🥰 3y
52 likes17 comments
blurb
monalyisha
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Just a general update after coming out the other side of Screen-Free Week: there are certain apps I missed & those I didn‘t. Now I know which is which & feel like, after a week of going cold-turkey, I‘ll be able to resist the pull of social media *way* better.

I moved both FB & Instagram into folders so they‘re not as readily accessible. But I DID miss Litsy & Goodreads! I *need* them to keep track of my reading! Such a valuable service.

Graywacke I moved my fb app too, haven‘t been on since. 3y
monalyisha @Graywacke Excellent! 🙌🏻 (I do still use their Messenger app, though. That‘s the other one I missed. It‘s where my book club/college friends chat throughout the day, & a couple of mutual friends of my husband & I actually use it as their primary method of communication — rather than texting or phone calls.) 3y
Lindy Welcome back. 😊 3y
See All 6 Comments
Graywacke @monalyisha i didn‘t move messenger but I‘m not as nearly active there as you are. It‘s different though. Not conducive to mind numbing, insecurity generating, deep time-loss dives ☺️ 3y
KatieDid927 I take periodic Instagram breaks, and it‘s so great. You notice how easily you get sucked in or mindlessly scroll. But I couldn‘t live without Litsy! Haha (edited) 3y
Clare-Dragonfly Of course you missed Litsy! It‘s the best there is. 🤗 3y
87 likes1 stack add6 comments
blurb
CuriousG
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

I'm posting one book per day from the ever growing unread stacks in my personal library. No description or explanation, just books I own and plan to read. #tbr

Day 70.1 (Kindle edition)

blurb
monalyisha
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Screen-Free Week is coming up (May 3rd - May 9th) & I‘m planning to avoid social media for the week (Litsy included).🤞🏻

I wrote a little blog post about it for work, complete with book recommendations. Check it out & help me look popular (social media‘s a problem for a reason, right? I crave that validation! 😜).

https://tinyurl.com/2mcn95d4

Suet624 I had no idea there was such a thing as screen free week. Gulp. Good luck and bless you!!! 3y
Libby1 An excellent article! 3y
Bookwormjillk Great list! 3y
monalyisha Thanks for reading @Libby1 & @Bookwormjillk! 3y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Good luck! I held onto my flip phone cour that exact same reason. I find turning off notifications for the time-suckage apps helps a bit. 3y
58 likes5 comments
review
janeycanuck
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

More of a WHY to do nothing vs how to do nothing - Odell explores how our attention has become a commodity and the value in taking your attention back, creating awareness for yourself in how you are using your attention and being deliberate in your choices. It was somewhat hard to follow on audio - the narrator would be better suited to fiction.

24 likes2 stack adds
review
kbuggle
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Mehso-so

I think I was looking for more- or expected something else. I‘m not sure. It was fine, and maybe I just didn‘t read this at the right time for me to love it.

review
broughtyoubooks
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

This was a book I really needed right now, looking at the 'attention economy' and the enforced nature of productivity across job and - what should be - 'not job' time. It makes parallels to environmental issues and activism, and presents itself in a way that is readable to people who don't usually pick up non fiction stuff (ie me).

63 likes1 stack add
review
BekaReid
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

This book isn't about doinging nothing, and it isn't a social media detox. Rather Jenny Odell writes of her own observations and experiences in these essays as she examines what it means to be productive and our perception of time, place, self, and community. She presents her findings on awareness (biological, ecological, social, etc.) and argues for the need to gain control of our attention and where we place it.

13 likes1 stack add
blurb
BekaReid
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Starting this one today, and I must say I like the term "fresh horrors device" ?

review
Kaarin
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Mehso-so

I struggled with this one. Odell makes some powerful arguments that are absolutely worth consideration & application. But some points have blinders on, which makes certain sections frustrating.

review
Angitron
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

I really loved this small but powerful book. It‘s not a true “How to...” book, but instead pulls from various sources to discuss how social media has stolen our attention away, and how to reclaim it. I borrowed the ebook from my local library, but I‘m considering buying a hard copy that I can reach for time and time again.

quietlycuriouskate I've been considering this as a Christmas gift for my husband. You might have just persuaded me. 😊 3y
23 likes1 comment
quote
nofutureparttwo
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell

“One might say the parks and libraries of the self are always about to be turned into condos.”

review
underground_bks
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

This book is not a social media detox—it‘s way weirder than that! How to Do Nothing is about resisting the attention economy—directing our attention with intention, valuing activities that cannot be commodified and are thus defined as “nothing.” Through examples of cool ass performance art, bioregionalism, radical history, and more, artist Jenny Odell blazes a way back toward repossessing one of our most endangered, vital resources—our attention.

candority Such a pretty kitty! 😻 3y
underground_bks My bookstore is spotlighting cats up for adoption in our local shelter through #petsandpagesmonday. This is Mrs. Ellie and she got adopted last week! 🥳 3y
Leftcoastzen Yay!😹😻 3y
readordierachel Great review! And this picture is amazing. 3y
26 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
brandierickson
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

Not really about how to do nothing, more about disengaging with social media and re-engaging with nature and the community around you. I really, really enjoyed this.

llcoolnate 🙌 🙌 4y
16 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
MaleficentBookDragon
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

#Insomnia has me starting a new audiobook from the library.

TheBookStacker Insomnia and anxiety combined has me binge watching Love Island embarrassing but my anxiety won‘t allow me to read a book 4y
Avanders Hope you got a little sleep! Also... how‘s the book so far? Curious about that one... 4y
59 likes2 comments
blurb
valeriegeary
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

It's a zucchini bread and philosophy kind of morning. #audiobaking

LeahBergen Nice! 👏🏻 4y
36 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
Chelsea.Poole
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image
Pickpick

I connected deeply with this thought-provoking, eye-opening title. Odell touches on many points including reducing time spent on social media, connecting with nature, and even the bigger picture of the need for humans to learn more about natural surroundings in order to appreciate and create a mutually-beneficial relationship with our planet. Loved it. And she definitely does not want us to do nothing. 🌏 🌸

Booksnchill Oh agreed- almost done with the audio and she is challenging my time allocation- in a positive way- not the book I expected but it is better! 4y
Freespirit Sounds great! 4y
batsy Great review. I found this a deeply rewarding read. 4y
89 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
tenar
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

My first week on Litsy & first #monthlywrapup. I completed 12 books in July, one of my best reading months! Amazingly, I liked every book.

Above are the 6 I think will stick with me the longest. Gathering Moss, Wild Snail, & Rough Magic are nature memoirs, the first more nature and the last more memoir. My Cousin Rachel is the only fiction! Disability Visibility & How to Do Nothing (poorly titled) are essay collections and top picks. #julywrapup

SW-T Liked the tagged book. Lots of food for thought. 4y
14 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
nikkchan
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
Mehso-so

Interesting thesis that feels timely especially in light of current events, but a very challenging read.

blurb
Booksnchill
How to Do Nothing | Jenny Odell
post image

So during this pandemic I have been trying to jump start my creativity. I had trouble concentrating with all the “noise” in the silence- the pull and tug of isolation vs news and fear and confusion. This book (tagged) encourages us to find our silence and take control-not dropping out so much as being deliberate in our connectedness. I recommend it to help with the background noise of constant accessibility to others and their expectations.😷🤛

kspenmoll Beautiful illustrations. 4y
britt_brooke I love these so much! You taking commissions? My sweet Vaughn would love a flamingo. 🦩😉 For real though, I would buy one of these. You‘re amazing, my friend. 4y
Booksnchill @kspenmoll thanks- those are 4 of my new mixed media works 4y
See All 14 Comments
Booksnchill @britt_brooke you are so sweet- If I can figure out how to do a flamingo I‘ll let you know- they are kind of cool! Can‘t wait to see everyone tomorrow! 4y
erzascarletbookgasm These are gorgeous! 4y
AnneCecilie Love the pictures 4y
Booksnchill @AnneCecilie thanks- those are my pieces that I made during lockdown😷 4y
Booksnchill @erzascarletbookgasm thanks- i was trying mixed media with my watercolors and did the visitors to my yard during lockdown 4y
Kaylamburson Wow, these paintings are incredible! 4y
Booksnchill @Kaylamburson thanks- I am normally a watercolorist but did these mixed media so I would just play and have fun (edited) 4y
kspenmoll @Booksnchill you are so talented! I ❤️them! 4y
Booksnchill @kspenmoll how lovely to say, thank you🥰 4y
turtleliving These are beautiful! Do you sell your art somewhere? 4y
Booksnchill @turtleliving how nice of you to say- not online just locally as I am not productive enough to quit my day job!😁 4y
63 likes3 stack adds14 comments