Unseen Places

Rediscovering the Art of Observation
For readers of Jenny Odell and Olivia Laing comes a beautiful exploration of the significance of observation, how our ability to observe has changed over time, and the power of reclaiming this simple act in a world that commodifies attention.

How much of what's happening around us do we really see? How often do we take off our headphones, or stand at the margin of things, and look? UNSEEN PLACES is a book about observing life in real time, stemming from a short viral essay Kodé wrote for The New York Times Magazine.

One December afternoon, Kodé stood in her grandmother's kitchen in Hyderabad, waiting for a panful of water to boil. She'd spent many summers and winters in that tiny, two-bedroom flat, and was familiar with all of its corners and quirks. As she waited for bubbles to appear in the water, feeling restless, she grabbed her pen and notebook sitting on the dining table, and started to jot down everything she could notice around her. At the time, it didn't feel that revolutionary - it was just something to do that wasn't checking her email or scrolling online photo dumps. But she continued with this practice even after returning to New York, which she began referring to as "observation journaling." She quickly filled a 100-page journal with these mundane notes, and soon found that observation journaling had a profound impact on her life.

How do we break through the algorithms we use to navigate every day life, and actually pay attention to the things around us, in all their strangeness, specificity and beauty? With a confident and engaging narrative voice, Kodé uses a combination of practical, scientific, and philosophical approaches to think about what it means to observe, how our ability to observe has changed over time, and why we should re-examine and reclaim our observational habits. Starting with the personal and building out into our world and a portrait of human awareness, UNSEEN PLACES explores how we could potentially move through the world with more intention.

For readers of Olivia Laing's The Lonely City and Jenny Odell's How to Do Nothing, UNSEEN PLACES is part prescriptive nonfiction, part memoir, and part manifesto; a book that promises to challenge and empower readers to slow down and examine their own modes of perception, and to see the world with fresh eyes.

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