When a Book Bores You, Pay Attention

[Mark Kohut]

Late capitalism is boredom entertaining itself. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 6, 2014, at 7:04 AM, alice malice <alicewmalice at gmail.com> wrote:

> The past thirty years saw a growing academic interest in the
> phenomenon of boredom. If initially the analyses were mostly
> a-historical, now the historicity of boredom is widely recognised,
> though often it is taken as evidence of its permanence as a constant
> "quality" of the human condition, expression of a metaphysical malady
> inherent to the fact of being human. New trends in the literature
> focus on the peculiar relationship between boredom and modernity and
> attempt to embrace the new social, cultural and political factors
> which provoked the epochal change of modernity and relate them to a
> change in the parameters of human experience and the crisis of
> subjectivity. The very changes that characterise modernity are the
> same that led to the "democratisation" of boredom: modernity and
> boredom are shown to be inextricably connected and inseparable. This
> volume aims at contributing to the growing body of literature on
> boredom with a number of essays which reflect on the connection of
> boredom and modernity and focus on particular texts, authors, or
> aspects of the phenomenon. The approach is multidisciplinary, in
> keeping with the pervasiveness of the phenomenon in our culture and
> societies, with essays reflecting on philosophy, literature, film,
> media and psychology.
> 
> Essays on Boredom and Modernity. (Critical Studies Series)
> 
> Barbara Dalle Pezze (Editor), Carlo Salzani (Editor).
> 
> On Sun, Jul 6, 2014 at 6:29 AM, alice malice <alicewmalice at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I think the scholar has some interesting points but may need to go
>> back and read Jameson because Jameson is not really making the point
>> the scholar has taken from the excerpt provided. In any event, I
>> recall a brief discussion, during BE,  of  Nam June Paik, on important
>> example in Jameson of Boredom and how artists use it conceptually.
>> 
>> http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=undergrad_research
>> 
>> On Fri, Jul 4, 2014 at 7:07 PM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I think the almost-scholar may be right about "classic" novels from the
>>> past---my experience of some--but contemp
>>> Boring novels are often boring because they are boring.
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>> On Jul 4, 2014, at 4:31 PM, Rebecca Lindroos <bekker2 at icloud.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Oh wow, and I was just mentioning to someone how Updike is boring to me.
>>> 
>>> On a more interesting level, has anyone but myself read "The Blazing World"
>>> by Siri Hustvedt? A romp in something artsy - highly intelligent and
>>> entertaining. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it but took it up on
>>> recommendation from a friend. Yikes!
>>> 
>>> Bekah
>>> 
>>> On Jul 4, 2014, at 12:40 PM, Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> http://incompetentwriter.com/2014/07/01/when-a-book-bores-you-pay-attention/
> -
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