Books

Brief Summary Renowned media scholar Sherry Turkle investigates how a flight from conversation undermines our relationships, creativity, and productivity—and why reclaiming face-to-face conversation can help us regain lost ground. We live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection. Preeminent author and researcher Sherry Turkle has been studying digital culture for over thirty years. Long an enthusiast for its possibilities, here she investigates a troubling consequence: at work, at home, in politics, and in love, we find ways around conversation, tempted by the possibilities of a text or an email in which we don’t have to look, listen, or reveal ourselves. We develop a taste for what mere connection offers. The dinner table falls silent as children compete with phones for their parents’ attention. Friends learn strategies to keep conversations going when only a few people are looking up from their phones. At work, we retreat to our screens although it is conversation at the water cooler that increases not only productivity but commitment to work. Online, we only want to share opinions that our followers will agree with – a politics that shies away from the real conflicts and solutions of the public square. The case for conversation begins with the necessary conversations of solitude and self-reflection. They are endangered: these days, always connected, we see loneliness as a problem that technology should solve. Afraid of being alone, we rely on other people to give us a sense of ourselves, and our capacity for empathy and relationship suffers. We see the costs of the flight from conversation everywhere: conversation is the cornerstone for democracy and in business it is good for the bottom line. In the private sphere, it builds empathy, friendship, love, learning, and productivity. But there is good news: we are resilient. Conversation cures. Based on five years of research and interviews in homes, schools, and the workplace, Turkle argues that we have come to a better understanding of where our technology can and cannot take us and that the time is right to reclaim conversation. The most human—and humanizing—thing that we do. The virtues of person-to-person conversation are timeless, and our most basic technology, talk, responds to our modern challenges. We have everything we need to start, we have each other. ISBN:9781594205552 Author:Sherry Turkle

Brief Summary Top psychologist and leading self-help author Robert Holden shows us how to stop living faster, learn to live better, and enjoy real success. What is success We're so busy chasing it that we've lost sight of what it actually means to us. With today's ever-accelerating pace, the expectation of delivering more, faster, has become the norm and we've begun to equate success with busyness. But does busyness really make us successful More importantly, does it make us happy Top corporate speaker and founder of the Happiness Project, Robert Holden, explains that while our permanent busyness may look like success, it doesn't deliver results. It blocks our vision and we lose sight of what is important in work, relationships and life. Robert shows us how to side-step the fast lane and take a broader perspective. By giving ourselves space to find out the reasons for our busyness, we can stop and consider what it is we really want in life - and make it happen. Written in thematic chapters that move us effectively towards our new life direction, this highly motivational book is full of entertaining stories, wise principles, practical exercises and winning formulas to get us the success and happiness we want, without the struggle and stress that holds us back. ISBN:9780340830185 Author:Robert Holden