Phone Booth

Object Lessons

by Ariana Kelly, Christopher Schaberg (Series Editor), Ian Bogost (Series Editor)

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

The phone booth exists as a fond but distant memory for some people, and as a strange and dysfunctional waste of space for many more. Ariana Kelly approaches the phone booth as an entity that embodies diverse attitudes about privacy, freedom, power, sanctuary, and communication in its various forms all around the world. Through portrayals of phone booths in literature, film, personal narrative, philosophy, and religion, Phone Booth offers a definitive account of an object on the cusp of obsolescence.

Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2015

Reviews

[Brice Fuqua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book points out the many contradictions inherit in the phone booth: a private space in which everyone can see you, a place of isolation which allows you to connect with anyone in the world. The demise of the pay phone has led to a nostalgia for them. One of the most interesting chapters is about a booth in the middle of a desert that became an internet meme. For those who like books about offbeat subjects.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book! Wasn't sure about reading this book but glad that I did! Very informative! And I remember using "pay phones" so that made it even more intriguing~!

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

You might not think much about phone booths, but when looked at more forensically they can prove themselves interesting items (places?). Tiny isolations in a busy world, forever open yet claiming to shut yourself off, so you can hide in plain view, and remain potentially anonymous while contacting the world one at a time. All these contrasts and more are discussed in this essay, which also touches on the psychology of them and their users, their alleged demise, the items in cinema and other imagery, and so on. The book never convinced me particularly that we needed the discussion on these pages, but it was certainly interesting. A greater structure would have helped, particularly in making it less repetitive, but it's generally well-written, in a fairly amenable yet suitably academic manner. It's much better than the unreadably pretentious 'Hotel' book in the same series.

[Gkaur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Copy provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, Thank you!

I will be the first to admit, I don't go out of my way to read books like these, but decided the blurb looked interesting. The story in my opinion was well written but unfortunately did nothing to hold my attention. There a few interesting point made but I just couldn't get behind the author. It took be FOREVER to finish.

Recommendation:
Read the preview before you read/buy. Not everyone's cup of tea.

[Saretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
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