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Stuffocation : why we've had enough of stuff and need experience more than ever / James Wallman.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Spiegel & Grau, [2013]Edition: First editionDescription: xxxiii, 281 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780812997590 (hardback)
  • 081299759X (hardback)
Subject(s):
Contents:
We've had enough of stuff -- The problem : stuffocation. The anthropologist and the clutter crisis ; The dark side of materialism -- How we got here : the origins of throwaway culture. The original Mad Men and the job of creating desire ; Barbra Streisand and the law of unintended consequences -- The crossroads : signposts to a better future. I love to count : the 33, 47, 69, and 100 things of minimalism ; The simple life and the cage-free family ; The medium chill -- The road ahead : the rise of the experientialists. To do or to have? That is no longer a question ; The experientialists ; Facebook changed how we keep up with the Joneses ; We love to count too : the new way to measure progress ; What about the Chinese? ; The gypsy, the wasp, and the experience economy ; Can you be an experientialist and still love stuff? -- Why you need experience more than ever.
Summary: "For many of us, our possessions and the lifestyle that goes along with them are causing more stress than happiness--otherwise known as "keeping up with the Joneses" or what Alain de Botton calls "status anxiety." But James Wallman argues that we are approaching a tipping point with regard to materialism. People are turning away from the endless drive to consume in favor of a simpler, more streamlined way of living. The shift is already underway: influential millennials favor Zipcars over owning cars, share music on Spotify, and read e-books rather than accumulating a bulky physical library. Wallman blames our obsession with "stuff" on the original Mad Men who first "created desire" through advertising, with unintended consequences that ripple through our lives today. He interviews anthropologists studying the 21st century clutter crisis, consults with scientists who have linked "stuffocation" to rising cortisol levels and declining psychological wellbeing, and introduces us to the innovators who are already choosing "experience" over "stuff." A paradigm-shifting look at how and why we consume, and an inspiring manifesto for living more with less"-- Provided by publisher.
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Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 306.3 W214 Available 33111008088862
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Stuffocation is a movement manifesto for "experiential" living, a call to arms to stop accumulating stuff and start accumulating experiences, and a road map for a new way forward with the potential to transform our lives.

Reject materialism. Embrace experientialism. Live more with less.

Stuffocation is one of the most pressing problems of the twenty-first century. We have more stuff than we could ever need, and it isn't making us happier. It's bad for the planet. It's cluttering up our homes. It's making us stressed--and it might even be killing us.

A rising number of us are already turning our backs on all-you-can-get consumption. We are choosing access over ownership, and taking our business to companies like Zipcar, Spotify, and Netflix. Fed up with materialism, we are ready for a new way forward.

Trend forecaster James Wallman traces our obsession with stuff back to the original Mad Men, who first created desire through advertising. He interviews anthropologists studying the clutter crisis, economists searching for new ways of measuring progress, and psychologists who link stuffocation to declining well-being. And he introduces us to the innovators who are already living more consciously and with more meaning by choosing experience over stuff.

Experientialism does not mean giving up all of our possessions. It is a solution that is less extreme but equally fundamental. It's about transforming what we value. Stuffocation is a paradigm-shifting look at our habits and an inspiring call for living more with less. It's the one important book you won't be able to live without.

Praise for Stuffocation

"The revelations come fast and furious as he asserts that acquiring 'stuff' is often just an easy way to ignore the tougher questions of life, dodging 'why am I here?' and 'how should I live?' for 'will that go with the top I bought last week?' Tart and often funny . . . [ Stuffocation ] will be an eye-opener for those long ago persuaded that more is better. A scintillating read that will provoke conversation (or at least closet cleaning)." -- Booklist

"James Wallman deftly hits upon a major insight for our times: that acquiring 'stuff' and 'things' is not nearly as meaningful as collecting experiences. Some of the happiest days of my life were when I had nothing and lived on a houseboat. Without stuff to tie me down, I felt completely free." --Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS and author of the New York Times bestseller Start Something That Matters

"A must-read . . . We think that more stuff will make us happier, but as the book nicely shows, we're just plain wrong. A great mix of stories and science, Stuffocation reveals the downside of more, and what we can do about it." --Jonah Berger, author of the New York Times bestseller Contagious

"Wallman offers a deeply important message by weaving contemporary social science into very engaging stories. Reading the book is such a pleasure that you hardly recognize you're being told that you should change how you live your life." --Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice

"With a sociologist's eye and a storyteller's ear, Wallman takes us on a tour of today's experience economy from the perspective not of businesses, nor even of consumers per se, but of everyday people." --B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, authors of The Experience Economy

Includes bibliographical references (pages 228-264) and index.

"For many of us, our possessions and the lifestyle that goes along with them are causing more stress than happiness--otherwise known as "keeping up with the Joneses" or what Alain de Botton calls "status anxiety." But James Wallman argues that we are approaching a tipping point with regard to materialism. People are turning away from the endless drive to consume in favor of a simpler, more streamlined way of living. The shift is already underway: influential millennials favor Zipcars over owning cars, share music on Spotify, and read e-books rather than accumulating a bulky physical library. Wallman blames our obsession with "stuff" on the original Mad Men who first "created desire" through advertising, with unintended consequences that ripple through our lives today. He interviews anthropologists studying the 21st century clutter crisis, consults with scientists who have linked "stuffocation" to rising cortisol levels and declining psychological wellbeing, and introduces us to the innovators who are already choosing "experience" over "stuff." A paradigm-shifting look at how and why we consume, and an inspiring manifesto for living more with less"-- Provided by publisher.

We've had enough of stuff -- The problem : stuffocation. The anthropologist and the clutter crisis ; The dark side of materialism -- How we got here : the origins of throwaway culture. The original Mad Men and the job of creating desire ; Barbra Streisand and the law of unintended consequences -- The crossroads : signposts to a better future. I love to count : the 33, 47, 69, and 100 things of minimalism ; The simple life and the cage-free family ; The medium chill -- The road ahead : the rise of the experientialists. To do or to have? That is no longer a question ; The experientialists ; Facebook changed how we keep up with the Joneses ; We love to count too : the new way to measure progress ; What about the Chinese? ; The gypsy, the wasp, and the experience economy ; Can you be an experientialist and still love stuff? -- Why you need experience more than ever.

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