I just finished reading this novel and while it wasn't inaccurate, it's not that interesting to criticize 2010s Instagram culture on such a broad level. It felt like reading another "phones and social media = bad" piece online.
Derek has become a must-read Stacker for me, and this essay certainly didn't disappoint. Loved this line: "That suffering can be blamed on *the phones* rather than being a timeless human condition that everyone in every place must contend with."
As to the book itself, it sounds like a fun read, even with the off-putting preachiness. That said, great writers have indulged in preachiness for centuries (Dickens, Tolstoy, many others). I'm not in favor of it, but if kept within reasonable limits, it doesn't kill a book.
I’ve been meaning to check this one out what with all the buzz. I read a few pages and wasn’t hooked but plan to try again. It sounds formally interesting for sure, but sounds like the author could have pushed or implicated himself a little further, to go beyond handwringing over how a certain type of person might live (or want to live). I’ll have to find out for myself. Great piece, Derek.
It sounds like the right story told wrong. But I recognize the impulse to build a perfect life. Yesterday, I read a long essay on this book from someone who had chased a perfect digital nomad existence, but after years of an 'enviable' life on the go, came to the conclusion that disturbers of that perfection made life more worth living, in her case I believe, having a baby.
I just finished reading this novel and while it wasn't inaccurate, it's not that interesting to criticize 2010s Instagram culture on such a broad level. It felt like reading another "phones and social media = bad" piece online.
Derek has become a must-read Stacker for me, and this essay certainly didn't disappoint. Loved this line: "That suffering can be blamed on *the phones* rather than being a timeless human condition that everyone in every place must contend with."
As to the book itself, it sounds like a fun read, even with the off-putting preachiness. That said, great writers have indulged in preachiness for centuries (Dickens, Tolstoy, many others). I'm not in favor of it, but if kept within reasonable limits, it doesn't kill a book.
I’ve been meaning to check this one out what with all the buzz. I read a few pages and wasn’t hooked but plan to try again. It sounds formally interesting for sure, but sounds like the author could have pushed or implicated himself a little further, to go beyond handwringing over how a certain type of person might live (or want to live). I’ll have to find out for myself. Great piece, Derek.
It sounds like the right story told wrong. But I recognize the impulse to build a perfect life. Yesterday, I read a long essay on this book from someone who had chased a perfect digital nomad existence, but after years of an 'enviable' life on the go, came to the conclusion that disturbers of that perfection made life more worth living, in her case I believe, having a baby.
Skipped breakfast so I could finish the book before reading this :)