Inconspicuous Consumption: An Obsessive Look at the Stuff We Take for Granted, from the Everyday to the Obscure

by Paul Lukas, Steve Albini (Foreword by)

A whimsical look at modern consumer culture examines one hundred obscure products and services, from kitsch novelties to offbeat food products to unusual functional items, including toothpick dispensers, dental floss, and blue M&Ms. Original.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 1997

Reviews

[Nefariousbig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Lukas began writing a fantastic homemade 'zine called Beer Frame in 1993. Paul Lukas is my hero. Why?

1. He is a hit at parties! (I always credit I Consumption/Beer Frame for my knowledge of all things obscure and AWESOME!)

2. He loves to lick the Twinkie scum off the Twinkie cardboard thingy. (This was even BEFORE the Twinkie Debacle of 2012.)

3. I think he inconspicuously wears a cape and Superman underpants. (The original ones produced at a factory in Michigan, not that other crappy place that starts with an "M" and rhymes with "dysplasia".)

4. He knows stuff about crazy stuff that I care about deeply. ("Crazy" in the relative sense, of course.)

He is the reason I know many vital life altering facts like, why Diamond Crystal® single serve salt and pepper come in weird little wavey fluted packets. It has nothing to do with serving size.

I am a collector of old, odd, useful and useless artifacts. How could Paul NOT be my hero! Beer Frame no longer exists, so I have to get my Paul fix from various sources. Slate carried a series of fantastic articles: "Permanent Record: A trove of 1920s report cards and the stories they tell". And, Paul currently writes for ESPN Playbook Fandom blog.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the zine Beer Frame comes a book of the "everyday stuff we take for granted." I love this book. Compilations of all sorts of gadgets, logos, products, etc. You know that thing that measures your foot at the shoe store. It's called a Brannock Device, invented in 1926 by Charles Brannock. If you find that as fascinating as I do this book is rare find.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lukas brings more deliberation and insight to his essays about Pringles and tampon packaging than most critics do when they're talking about high art. You'll never look at a can of cat food the same way again.

[Smiley III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody should read this book. Your sense of the '90s, as lived, is incomplete without it. 'Nuff said!

[Muzzlehatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Lukas for many years edited and mostly wrote a small 'zine called "Beer Frame" dedicated to the most obvious and yet rarely missed of pursuits: the reviewing of everyday, household items. We have reviews of movies, beer, wine, albums...here I am writing a review of this book...but it took a man of Lukas' genius to compare and contrast different brand of pork rinds; OTC cold medicines; tape; weird canned meat that most of us would never touch; Japanese sodas; etc. He also occasionally reviewed CDS and books -- for their physical construction, not for their content, typically. The reviews are sometimes quite straightlaced, sometimes deliberately over-the-top and funny, though the more "serious" reviews often seem to end up being the most laugh-inducing. I don't know if he's still publishing (I sure hope so) but this wonderful small collection of the best of the magazine, published in 1997, will do the trick for pop-culture devotees interested in something beyond Flintstones lunchboxes.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Among the items covered in this compilation of articles from the zine Beer Frame, are the Dial-A-Pick toothpick dispenser, the classic mousetrap, the Brannock device (for measuring your shoe size), body glue, fake mistletoe, and other odd items. For each he tries to get a sample of his own (sometimes with no luck), and correspond with the manufacturer about the item's origin & popularity.
Many reviews are humorous, some are straight-forward and fairly serious. Even though it's a 1997 publication, it's still fairly current, covering Pringles, Hostess Twinkies & cupcakes, and animal crackers. He doesn't cover just the U.S., though. He finds obscure flavors of LifeSavers: apparently Australia has (or had) flavors called Musk, and Thirst, which one Aussie called "an acquired taste."
Recommended for trivia buffs and lovers of the obscure.

[Simone Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series of essays struck me more as love stories than object lessons- I feel as though one could replace the subject's names with women's names and this book would seem like an account of the author's past girlfriends.
Inconspicuous Consumption is a quick read, and has many amusing accounts of products, services, and other random things that are extremely amusing, but usually overlooked. If you're looking to read something light and entertaining, this is perfect!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun look at our consumer culture and the goods all consume.

[Tori]

2008- A odd little book that celebrates consumption of both odd products and ""everyday"" things.

[Kek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got around to reading this, written by my friend Paul Lukas of Uni Watch fame! Very neat look back at some strange and unique products.

[Cynthia Leto · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I was born into a generation of ninnies. It has made me tired."

Any book that starts with these two sentences is bound to make for a good story.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun yet informative easy read.

[Leon Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun read. Must have been on my bookshelf for a couple decades. I actually bought an item on ebay after reading about it in this book. Would have given it four-stars, but I feel it didn't end nearly as strongly as it began. Instead of items and products, it ended with paperwork and manuals, which quelled my excitement for the book.

[Robert Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book by the author of the entertaining zine "Beer Frame". Wonderful stuff. The hunt for my personal Brannock Device continues!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the author’s writing style, but was frustrated that every chapter seemed to end with “it’s complicated” rather than answers or solutions.

[Rob Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esoteric, opinionated, and hilarious.