Ways of Hearing -- Damon Krukowski

Turn off what you're listening to (whether it's an audiobook, the author's music with Galaxie 500 or Damon and Naomi, or even the podcast this book began as), take out your headphones, look around you for a second to really see wherever you are, and read this now. It's a beautifully designed reproduction on the page of what feels like the best conversation you've ever had about sound, mostly musical and environmental, in the age of the smart phone. Krukowski's voice on the page is, dare I say, a very centering voice to read: he understands why we shut out the noise of the world around us, why we like having seemingly all music at our fingertips, and also why we need a second just to breathe and reflect on what we really find valuable.