Stuffocation

by James Wallman

Stuffocation: Why We've Had Enough of Stuff and Need Experience More than Ever.

Hardcover

Published March 1, 2015

About the author

James Wallman is a journalist and trend forecaster. He has forecast the future and written for clients and publications such as Absolut, BMW, Nike, the Guardian, The New York Times, Esquire and GQ. In the line of duty, he has interviewed terrorists, the victims of serious crime, Noam Chomsky, and a woman who wanted to marry her alarm clock.

Reviews

[Michael Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. Gave me a new perspective on how to live a simpler life. Very interesting!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be an experientialist, whatever your level of income, all you need to do is choose experiences over stuff whenever there is a choice. But as this story about the Howells shows, that doesn't mean you have to cut stuff out of your life completely.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed the history of how we got to this place of stuff being everywhere and I appreciated the looks at minimalism, the simple life, and the medium chill, but I feel like we jumped too quickly to "Experientialism is the way to go." I don't disagree, but it felt like a rushed conclusion. I've been trying to rid myself of my obsession of things, so this was a helpful book in how to choose differently.

[Isabelle]

Enjoyable read. The concepts of minimalism and experientialism are not new for me personally, but appreciated the author’s style of writing pulling in history and data for comparisons of cultural shifts.