We are trying again! At the next FLIP meeting, we will discuss the book “Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder” by David Weinberger (2007). We actually tried this early in the year but the discussion meeting never came to fruition (note: don’t plan this type of thing in the weeks approaching the AkLA Conference). But we are determined to follow through because 1) it really is an interesting and relevant read and 2) the author himself actually commented on the post where our discussion of his book was first announced (you can find that here, second comment below the post).
Anyway, our new approach is to break the discussion into smaller and (hopefully easier to keep up with) portions of the book. So when we meet again (on Friday, Dec. 17), we’ll talk about the first three chapters of the book which amount to just over 60 pages.
In case you’re wondering what “Everything is Miscellaneous” is all about, here is a blurb from the Amazon.com Review: “Human beings are information omnivores: we are constantly collecting, labeling, and organizing data. But today, the shift from the physical to the digital is mixing, burning, and ripping our lives apart. In the past, everything had its one place–the physical world demanded it–but now everything has its places: multiple categories, multiple shelves. Simply put, everything is suddenly miscellaneous.”
Want even more information? Weinberger also maintains a blog (of the same title) that discusses the topics covered in the book. The author also has his own website, Evident, which includes his full biography.
So back to the discussion of the next FLIP meeting: the first three chapter titles are listed below to pique your interest and/or get you motivated to start reading. You have 30 days to read about 60 pages, that’s not impossible, is it??
Chapter 1: The New Order of Order
Chapter 2: Alphabetization and Its Discontents
Chapter 3: The Geography of Knowledge