Probably the most useful thing I’ve read this year. If you work in any creative field, this is essential reading.

Don’t let the subtitle fool you. This isn’t an anti-technology book, longing for the good old days of ink and paper. (there’s some of that, but it doesn’t matter). This book exists kind of at the middle of the Venn diagram of Neil Postman, Daniel Kahneman and Cal Newport. Maybe like an updated Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man but actually readable.

Carr provides a deep history of literacy, learning, memory and brain science, up to and including how these are changing in the age of the web. He breaks down how we receive, process and engage with information today, and how that’s changing as technology becomes more pervasive in our lives.

I was shocked that it hit as hard as it does — 11 years since publication is an eternity in internet time, but (with minor exceptions) the book is every bit as relevant as when it was published. I read a lot of books like this, and very few have resonated like this does.

I’m going to recommend this to a whole lot of people.