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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
jenny odell does it again :)
I feel completely cracked open by this. Odell explores time not only in its form as we know it [the clock], but in its existence within nature, in carceral spaces, in public spaces, in our minds, in public, in recording, in spoken language, and most especially as it relates to labor. How it seems no matter how much effort we put in to 'beat the clock', the only true form of leisure can be found not in our bodily experience, but in the expansion of our minds. And that's not just it! It's more than that. And I think what I have really taken away is that my anger is justified; I am chronically tired, in pain, upset or disrupted and all of that can be traced back to colonization and capitalism and white supremacy and the fact that we are all "rise and grind" in benefit of people who are not us. Odell hits on identity intersections of race, queerness, disability, and her sharp observance of the world has peeled me wide and ready for my own expansion. Who can reject time? Who can reject the grind? Who gets to survive this wretched mess of a system?
DNF. It was fine while I was reading it but never thought about it when I wasn't and wasn't interested in finishing it.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book isn't bad, but it's not what I wanted. It seems like it can't decide if it's a structured, academic discussion on the history and repercussions of timekeeping, or a navel-gazing reflection on personal temporality interspersed with a nature travel log. I know that's the point of it, of course, but I just didn't enjoy that kind of writing. I guess I'm not enlightened enough.
I really was moved by this book in the last few chapters. Many of the themes resonated with what I'm learning in my meditation/mindfulness practice. I love the way Jenny Odell thinks. Bonus points for being a birder like me.
I am so relieved to finally be done this book! I struggggled through this book. Odell had some interesting ideas and covered such a wide variety of topics that I am interested in, but I found it very disengaging. Even after only just finishing it, I am struggling to remember what it was about: I often had to reread pages or paragraphs a few times to (at least partially) absorb what it was talking about. I would maybe recommend this book to somebody struggling with climate grief or climate anxiety, if they are open to reading an academic, theoretical exploration. I was expecting something a bit more practical and applicable to my life, and it wasn’t that.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was a good audiobook! Parts of it I found super interesting (and parts of it I kind of zoned out during). I liked the premise of questioning the value and morality we place on time and being productive, and thought she made some interesting connections and points.
Parts of it felt like they should be a different book (like she gets into a whole thing about climate change, which was interesting but felt like a different thesis). Overall, enjoyed listening while I worked, and I think a couple things will stick with me from it.
Parts of it felt like they should be a different book (like she gets into a whole thing about climate change, which was interesting but felt like a different thesis). Overall, enjoyed listening while I worked, and I think a couple things will stick with me from it.
I love Jenny Odell’s first book, How to Do Nothing and its way of combining a meditative tone with astute analysis of various interconnected subjects. But this second book feels rushed and cobbled together from many citations without much original thought on Odell’s part. Often throughout the book it felt as though the author was overly reliant on juxtaposed citations and letting those speak for themselves, with just a tiny bit of personal insight tacked on.
This felt a lot like some essays I’ve written for school that suffered from (ironically) an expedited deadline. My impression is that although there’s flashes of Odell’s usual brilliance here, it feels like her publishers were pushing her to complete another surefire bestseller.
This felt a lot like some essays I’ve written for school that suffered from (ironically) an expedited deadline. My impression is that although there’s flashes of Odell’s usual brilliance here, it feels like her publishers were pushing her to complete another surefire bestseller.