Variations on a Theme: Shop 'til You Drop

I decided to post this selection of Variations on a Theme after watching the coverage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This is the time of year that should be about giving and sharing, but the media always wants to make it about shopping and buying. Hence, I give you books about shopping and shopping culture.


Buy-ology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy
Martin Lindstrom

Have you ever noticed that shopping is an "experience." Most people don't just go in and grab what they need, there is an ambiance about the whole trip. When you enter a store there are fancy displays to see, music to amuse you, and friendly associates to help you. This book looks into how the shopping experience is developed and why it works.




Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping
Paco Underhill

This book was assigned in one of my undergrad social science courses. After reading this book, I look at shopping in a whole new light. When you shop, you are being persuaded to buy certain items because they are placed in a certain position. There is a fine art to arranging a store, and Underhill shows you why we fall for it.




Cheap: The How Cost of Discount Culture
Ellen Ruppel Shell

Who doesn't like a good bargain? I, for one, love to see my bills go down as I use coupons and sales. But cheaper is not always better. In her book, Shell argues our need to get things cheap is reducing product quality and having a deep impact on the low-wage workers in society. Her books traces the wide-ranging impact "cheap" plays in the local and global economy.



Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising
Juliann Sivulka

Advertising is a HUGE part of modern shopping culture. We are bombarded with thousands of ads on a daily basis. Sivulka explores the rise of advertising and how it has developed to parallel popular culture. This book will make you look at advertising in a whole new way.


The Thoughtful Dresser: The Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter
Linda Grant

When you where clothes, you're not just clad in material, you're advertising a brand - the brand of you. Grant explores how clothing is a statement of self, society, and relationships. Why else would we have fairy tales about naked emperor's and movies about hoop skirts?

Confessions of a Shopaholic
Sophie Kinsella

Shopping is so ingrained in our culture that a book (and film) series about a shopaholic can make millions of dollars and spur hundreds of knock offs. While I disdain the term "Chick Lit," it's hard to deny that those pastel covered books laid out on bookstore tables call out to us readers. Kinsella's series is just one of the numerous books out their building on the popularity of Sex & the City and Shopping culture.


Other Shopping Reads
Adland: A Global History of Advertising - Mark Tungate
Call of the Mall - Paco Underhill
Captains of Consciousness: Advertising the Roots of Social Culture - Stuart Ewen
The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger
Inside the Mind of the Shopper: The Science of Retailing - Herb Sorensen
Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science - Charles Wheelan
The Penny Pincher's Club - Sarah Strohmeyer
Shoe Addicts Anonymous - Beth harbison
Twenty Ads That Shook the World: The Century's Most Ground Breaking Advertising and Changed Us All - James B. Twitchell