Hamlet's BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age Book

Prologue: The Room xi

Introduction 1

Part I What Larks?: The Conundrum of the Connected Life

1 Busy, Very Busy: In a Digital World, Where's the Depth? 9

2 Hello, Mother: The Magic of Screens 21

3 Gone Overboard: Falling Out with the Connected Life 37

4 Solutions That Aren't: The Trouble with Not Really Meaning It 67

Part II Beyond the Crowd: Teachings of the Seven Philosophers of Screens

5 Walking to Heaven: Plato Discovers Distance 83

6 The Spa of the Mind: Seneca on Inner Space 101

7 Little Mirrors: Gutenberg and the Business of Inwardness 121

8 Hamlet's BlackBerry: Shakespeare on the Beauty of Old Tools 137

9 Inventing Your Life: Ben Franklin on Positive Rituals 157

10 The Walden Zone: Thoreau on Making the Home a Refuge 175

11 A Cooler Self: McLuhan and the Thermostat of Happiness 193

Part III In Search of Depth: Ideas in Practice

12 Not So Busy: Practical Philosophies for Every Day 209

13 Disconnectopia: The Internet Sabbath 223

Afterword: Back to the Room 235

Acknowledgments 241

Notes 245

Further Reading 263