Jenny Odell is an author and visual artist known for exploring digital culture and attention economy. Her insightful nonfiction work, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, examines thoughtful ways to reclaim our focus and presence in the digital age.
If you enjoy reading books by Jenny Odell then you might also like the following authors:
Rebecca Solnit's writing blends thoughtful reflection, cultural criticism, and personal essay. She's known for her clear insights on topics like activism, feminism, and the nuances of human experience.
In her book, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Solnit explores how wandering, uncertainty, and openness shape identity and personal growth, making it a great choice for readers who enjoyed Jenny Odell's thoughtful exploration on the importance of attention and mindfulness.
Jia Tolentino writes sharply observed cultural criticism, mixing personal narrative with broader analysis of modern life. Her essays focus on internet culture, consumerism, feminism, and the paradoxes faced by Millennials.
Tolentino's book, Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, explores how technology and culture influence our perceptions, similar to Jenny Odell's approach in examining modern attention and identity.
Cal Newport offers clear and practical guidance on regaining control over attention and productivity in a distracted world. His style is analytical and straightforward, focusing on actionable strategies to improve quality of life and meaningful work.
Newport's Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World will resonate strongly with readers who appreciated Jenny Odell's insights on reclaiming attention from digital distractions.
Olivia Laing writes with sensitivity and depth about loneliness, art, and human connection. Her narratives seamlessly combine memoir, art criticism, and cultural analysis, providing meaningful explorations of self and society.
Her book, The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone, examines solitude through art and urban life, offering a perspective complementary to Jenny Odell's meditations on quiet observation in a busy world.
Mark Fisher wrote critically and passionately about modern culture, politics, and mental health. His work is insightful and accessible, offering critiques of contemporary capitalism's effects on identity, happiness, and creativity.
His book, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?, explores how modern society narrows our sense of possibility and affects our everyday lives, resonating well with readers interested in Jenny Odell's analysis of productivity culture and meaningful alternatives.
Naomi Klein addresses social and economic justice with clarity and urgency. She critically examines corporate influence on society and advocates for political activism and environmental responsibility.
In No Logo, she tackles the aggressive branding culture and explores its hidden social impacts, encouraging readers to question consumerism and corporate power.
John Berger had a thoughtful and incisive style. He reflected deeply on the visual world and its relation to politics and culture, asking readers to reconsider how they perceive their surroundings.
In Ways of Seeing, Berger explores how images shape our understanding of art, gender, and society, emphasizing the importance of critical observation.
Byung-Chul Han writes concise essays that analyze modern societal anxieties driven by technology, capitalism, and our cultures of constant positivity and productivity. His style invites readers to slow down and reflect.
In The Burnout Society, Han highlights exhaustion and mental strain within our highly connected and performance-oriented lives, questioning the costs of contemporary values.
Tristan Harris clearly explains how technology influences our daily habits, behaviors, and decisions. Drawing on his insider experience, he critiques persuasive digital designs and social media platforms.
In his influential documentary, The Social Dilemma, Harris reveals how big tech manipulates user attention, calling for ethical responsibility in technology design.
Shoshana Zuboff takes an in-depth look into how digital technology reshapes society and privacy. Her analytical yet accessible style clarifies the hidden dangers of technology in capitalism.
Her notable book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism outlines how businesses use personal data extraction to dominate and predict human behavior, inspiring readers to rethink their relationships with technology.
If you appreciated Jenny Odell's thoughtful examination of our relationship to digital technology and productivity, you'll enjoy Kyle Chayka. He explores similar themes with clarity and an engaging perspective.
In his book The Longing for Less, Chayka critiques modern minimalism by looking beyond its decorative appeal and investigating how it reflects cultural anxieties about consumerism and authenticity.
Leslie Jamison writes with honesty and empathy about human experience and emotion. Like Jenny Odell, she's attentive to the often overlooked details of daily life and explores the dynamics between individuals and society.
In her essay collection The Empathy Exams, Jamison thoughtfully examines how we understand and connect with people around us, revealing the subtle ways relationships and identities shape our lives.
Anand Giridharadas confronts themes similar to Jenny Odell's critiques of contemporary culture, but focuses more directly on social inequality and the effects of wealth and power.
With a sharp eye and clear language, he tackles the complexities of modern-day capitalism and philanthropy.
Check out his book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, where he insightfully challenges the idea that those profiting from inequality can truly fix it.
Douglas Rushkoff examines the intersection of technology, culture, and economics in accessible and engaging ways. Like Jenny Odell, he encourages readers to reconsider their relationship to technology and the corporate forces shaping our lives.
His book Team Human argues for the need to re-center humanity within technology, reminding readers of the importance of genuine human relationships, community, and connection.
James Bridle writes thoughtfully about technology, culture, and their effects on daily life. Readers who value Jenny Odell's reflective insights will appreciate Bridle's ability to connect seemingly disconnected dots and provoke new ways of seeing modern technological society.
In New Dark Age, Bridle challenges the assumption that technology alone holds solutions, observing instead that overreliance on digital systems and complexities often obscure our understanding and leave us feeling lost.