Magic and Loss

Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art by Virginia HeffernanMy rating: 3 of 5 starsI decided to read this after hearing the author on the Recode Media podcast and reading some of her shorter pieces in the Times over the years. There's a lot to think about in Magic & Loss - I enjoyed the lucid language and often insightful commentary. The homage to the death of the telephone was wonderful, and the quick take on 'science' writing in the mainstream media was funny - but there were also a share of flimsy moments (did she really just try to summarize a billion photographs on Flickr by talking about the style of two users?) I found myself occasionally waiting for more substantive technical discussion (maybe I'm conditioned to expect it in any writing about the internet) but I guess the 'internet as art' premise doesn't leave room for grubby engineering stuff. Unfortunately, the end of the book veered into esoteric academia. It's impressive to see someone versed as equally in obscure Youtube clips as they are in Wittgenstein, but wrapping the book's closing chapters in personal academic history (something about Tweeting to a physics professor?) left me feeling disconnected. I may eventually give this book another try, but next time I'll go for the text (instead of the audiobook) so I can pause and follow up on the many arcane references.