The Sum of Small Things

from jonerthon

A hybrid academic-popular look at consumerism and how it has changed Americans' perception of their status within society. Some of the examples remind me of my undergrad years at an elite private university (guess which one!), where at the start of every new semester many, many classmates showed ...

from HeatherWhitney

If you're interested in the interplay between consumption and status, you'll like (three stars) this book. The problem, though, is that while the author provides some interesting information (and is thus worth picking up for the references alone), I found myself confused about the ultimate normat...

from arethusarose

A book I finished, in 2 days is The Sum of Small Things; a theory of the aspirational class, by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett. She teaches public policy at the University of Southern California. I found this book a little uncertain of just who its audience is, but with a lot of thought and example of ...