Amusing Ourselves to Death
by Neil Postman, with an introduction by Andrew Postman (2005, Penguin Books)
In the fast-paced breaking news internet world of information where we live, every book I read reminds me of the vanishing art of listening. When I read a book, I hear a single voice that slows things down and brings things together in ways that go beyond the daily blur, build perspective, and deliver meaning
And if you read enough, you overhear conversations between books. One book reference’s another, picks up a thread and weaves it into a tapestry....
Digital Renaissance: What Data and Economics Tell Us about the Future of Popular Culture
by Joel Waldfogel (2018, Princeton University Press)
Sometimes it is easier to grasp the pervasiveness of a development, even something as complex and elusive as an economic change, if we look at it through a different lens. “Digital Renaissance” does just that. It illustrates to what extent things around us have changed (and continue to change every day) by taking the analysis to a place where we let down our guard as willing participants — the world of entertainment...