A bit uneven, but worth the read
4 stars
Early on, I almost gave up on this book. There's a slightly odd thought experiment of the world actually giving up shopping on one single day, and what the consequences would be, and it didn't really work for me. Once the author leaves that behind, though, the book takes off. I wouldn't say that there's a single consistent narrative through the book -- it almost feels as if each chapter could stand alone -- but that actually adds to the charm as each provides something new to think about, whether it's, say, the relationship between shopping and light pollution or the effects of the demise of Sunday trading laws on social life.
It's certainly given me lots to think about, and I've already reconsidered some of my consumption habits, but, as the quote below suggests, changing individual behaviour makes only the faintest dent in the survival of the planet. Where …
Early on, I almost gave up on this book. There's a slightly odd thought experiment of the world actually giving up shopping on one single day, and what the consequences would be, and it didn't really work for me. Once the author leaves that behind, though, the book takes off. I wouldn't say that there's a single consistent narrative through the book -- it almost feels as if each chapter could stand alone -- but that actually adds to the charm as each provides something new to think about, whether it's, say, the relationship between shopping and light pollution or the effects of the demise of Sunday trading laws on social life.
It's certainly given me lots to think about, and I've already reconsidered some of my consumption habits, but, as the quote below suggests, changing individual behaviour makes only the faintest dent in the survival of the planet. Where the value of the book does lie, I think, is in nudging along the narrative that reducing overall consumption actually makes life better.
If I had one criticism, it's that he barely touches on libraries as a model for reducing consumption. This feels particularly ironic for me as a) I read it as a library ebook and b) when he mentioned the work of Peter Victor I looked him up and found his book is, er, pretty pricey. I then had the flash of inspiration to check the city library catalogue and found they had a copy at my local branch. Really, I have to ask, is there any greater pleasure in life than discovering that the book you want is on the shelves of your local library? :)
