Book Review: Shiny Objects by James A. Roberts

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Title: Shiny Objects
Author: James A. Roberts
Genre: Nonfiction
Year: 2011
Rating: 2 of 5 stars

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Review from Goodreads:

In this cross between In Praise of Slowness and The Tipping Point,consumer behavior expert James A. Roberts takes us on a tour of America’s obsession with consumerism—pointing out its symptoms, diagnosing specific problems, and offering a series of groundbreaking solutions. Roberts offers practical, helpful advice for how to correct the materialistic trends in our lives, trends that lock us into a cycle of stress and financial hardship. A new The Paradox of Choice for the modern reader, Roberts’s Shiny Object is far more than a polemic against spending or a critique of capitalism—it’s an exploration of how we can learn to live happier, fuller, more productive lives today.

My review:

I could not get into this book at all. I was really excited about reading it because I loved the concept behind it. I’ve never been a materialistic sort of person. Money was something that was very limited during my childhood and watching my parents struggle with debt and money issues gave me the gumption I needed to make smart money decisions on my own. Materialism is not something that runs in my veins.

The voice of this book was very conversational and easy to understand. The author did a good job of moving the book along with his points and not spending too long on any one subject.

Ultimately, though, I could not connect with the message in this book. It’s one I believe in and hope I am doing my best to cultivate (being less materialistic, that is), but I don’t feel like I learned anything new about what materialism is, what it has done to our country (and around the world), or how to lessen the impact it has. I’m very curious as to who the target audience for this book is, because I felt as if it wasn’t a book targeted for twenty-somethings, though I believe this message is something a lot of twenty-somethings need to hear.

I was expecting a bigger impact from the message in this book, but it fell flat for me.

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions are my own.