The Habits of Distraction Author:Michael Wood Starting with Walter Benjamin's idea of 'reception in a state of distraction' and looking briefly at some antecedents for Benjamin's thinking, this book develops a working model of distraction in interpretation. Examples are taken from film (Benjamin's test case), literature, music, painting and photography; the book closes with a 'distracted' r... more »eading of a classic work of concentration: Milton's "Paradise Lost".« less