TAKEAWAY: William Powers’ new book, Hamlet’s Blackberry, has arrived, and so have the reviews and his appearance in Good Morning America to promote it. The book, which emphasizes our need to “disconnect”, arrives at the right time for me as I plan a beach disconnect starting tomorrow!
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William Powers appeared in Good Morning America this week
William Powers’ Hamlet’s Blackberry is out and the media have taken notice. The first major review of the book has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, and William made an appearance in Good Morning America Wednesday to promote the book and the magic of disconnectedness.
The WSJ review, aptly headlined “To Tweet, or not to Tweet” , apparently liked what he saw in Powers’ book and he even expresses a parenthetical desire for print to be eternal. However, where Powers’ book obviously did its job was in reassuring the reviewer—-and perhaps the rest of us—-to try a little disconnect in our lives.
An excerpt from the WSJ review:
“…. even a jaded reader is likely to be won over by “Hamlet’s BlackBerry.” It convincingly argues that we’ve ceded too much of our existence to what he calls Digital Maximalism. Less scold and more philosopher, Mr. Powers certainly bemoans the spread of technology in our lives, but he also offers a compelling discussion of our dependence on contraptions and of the ways in which we might free ourselves from them. I buy it. I need quiet time.”
As a reader of Hamlet’s BlackBerry (almost half way through) I, too, feel that I must try my hand at disconnect, but I have not been able to do it with the zest that author Powers has in his private life——taking “sabbaticals” from the digital world starting Friday afternoon and resuming such activities Monday morning. In my case, I am doing a little bit of disconnect rehab at a time, as in putting my iPhone on Airport mode during my runs, which allows the music to entertain me without the email beeps or phone calls interrupting that one special time of the day. Who knows? Maybe there will be weekend disconnects for me, but not yet.
For our interview with William Powers (May 3, 2010), go here:
https://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/william_powers_disconnect_is_emerging_as_the_ultimate_luxury_destination
…and speaking of disconnects!
Tomorrow Friday I start a beach vacation with my entire family in that most gorgeous of spots, Longboat Key, Florida, a place my family and I have returned to religiously for many years. Situated right on the Gulf of Mexico, on the west coast of Florida, Longboat affords that dose of laziness, sunchine and the whitest sandy beach that doctors everywhere prescribe.
My only question about this disconnect——and I must ask William—-is if reading a book on the iPad constitutes “disconnect”. I am beginning to find out that, indeed, the tablet is the closest thing one can have to disconnectness while actually holding a digital platform in your hands.
How well will the iPad relate to sand, sun and occasional splashes of sea water from the kids? Well, stay tuned, but I don’t promise daily postings of TheMarioBlog in the next 10 days. If nothing else, I don’t think that William Powers would like to hear that someone who has finished reading Hamlet’s Blackberry was not totally converted to that favorite destination DCT.
Today I am hanging out my “off to the beach” sign and, if all goes well, will return to this spot July 13. But, check in, as I may post short items of interest or photos along the way.