Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, Elizabeth Cline

Fantastic non-fiction examining the decline in quality of clothing, and the ethical and environmental damages wrought by disposable fashion. Really incisive, and although she was preaching to the choir here, I am newly resolved to stay away from poorly made garments, and will try even harder to buy American/Canadian/English or vintage clothing.

Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation, James Howard Kunstler

I have been a long term fan and reader of Kunstler, and felt that this was sadly his weakest book yet.
He covers much of the same territory as he covers in The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century, which is a wonderful and eye-opening book, but Too Much Magic is very much a rehash of those same topics.
Kunstler's blog, [...] has long been an interesting read, but I can't help but feel he has lost his way somewhere.

In The Long Emergency, Kunstler neatly and concisely brought together a number of themes- unsupported development, unsustainable lifestyles, crumbling infrastructure, climate change, and so on, and predicted a future that will resort to a kind of agrarian feudalism in many areas. In his novels, World Made By Hand and The Witch of Hebron, he takes those themes and creates a bleak future scenario, with some very dark scenes, and some disturbing twists- in his novels, women are relegated to a status of breeders, and men control the society. In his novels, that is one thing, but in Too Much Magic, he starts to respond to criticism about that issue, and then trails off into ranting, without fully explaining his view of the roles of women in his imagined "long emergency".

He also left this reader worried, when he started talking about how the Moon landing left him terrified and suspicious of technology- it is one thing to be aware of and alarmed by the limitations of technology, and to be worried about energy supply, but it is quite another to come across as a frightened luddite, cringing from images of mankind's achievements.

Another source of MAJOR frustration is that for Kunstler, there is apparently no middle ground- he writes about trying to live with a smaller footprint, but admits that he is (as are most Westerners) responsible for much of the damage and destruction he discusses, but then contrasts that with living with the Kalahari bushmen, as a solar-society transplant, and concludes he would be useless in the Kalahari. I feel like his (understandable) addiction to his own creature comforts is hindering him from seeing a less dichotomous choice- and that by positing the Kalahari bush-men experience as the guilt-free option, he is deliberately being obtuse and ignoring the many more accessable ways we can lessen our own impact on the world.

Truly disappointed in this book, and unfortunately, this bad experience has left me questioning the validity and worth of his previous works.

Shiny Objects : Why We Spend Money We Don't Have in Search of Happiness We Can't Buy, by James Roberts

Excellent book on consumerism, happiness, and how they relate. Full of interesting charts with accessible references to peer reviewed studies, this was a nice new take on a topic I've read a lot on. Would recommend.

Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, by Michael Lewis

Fascinating look at how the global recession has affected places such as Iceland,  Greece, Ireland, Germany and California. Michael Lewis is such an accessable writer, and makes this disaster tourism book as entertaining as it is informative. Great insights into the background of the recession have me reading his The Big Short right now, but he is such a clear writer that I feel much more aware of what the f is going on- a bit more alarmed, too, but much more informed.

In The Basement of the Ivory Tower: Confessions of an Accidental Academic, by Professor X

FANTASTIC nonfiction. Professor X is an adjunct English instructor at a state university and at a community college, and his take on the problems in academia was thoughtful, born of experience, and heart rending.
From students who are inadequately prepared for college level work to students who are forced to earn a 2 year degree to move up in fields that traditionally didn't require an associate's degree, X sees the problems (and opportunities) of the changing face of college students, and clearly outlines the challenges facing students and instructors.
Fascinating and wonderfully written, though provoking, and timely.

The Frugalista Files, by Natalie McNeal

This was a fun look at how Natalie McNeal- an underemployed journalist with $20,000 in debt- took control of every aspect of her life, and turned it around.


While this reminded me very much of Karyn Bosnak's hilarious Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back, Natalie's story is much more recent, and while the events of 9/11 were something of a factor in Bosnak's story, Natalie accrued her debt and career issues in the recent recession.

A relaxed, conversational tone kept the slim book feeling very friendly and informative, and even bits of rather obvious advice, such as changing to credit cards with lower interest rates seemed much more do-able with Natalie's chatty urgings.

While the book starts with a bang, and Natalie's first February of spending only on bills and food was a great beginning, the book lacked the drama of yet another shopping-withdrawal memoir, Judith Levine's Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping, which took on that challenge for a year. However, that made Natalie's stuggles and achievements seem that much more relatable, and she never annoyed me as a reader, unlike Levine.

A sassy city girl's story of getting herself out of a rut and into the life she wants, this was a quick (one sitting!) and enjoyable if not life-changing read.

Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood, by Susan Linn

Interesting, if older (2005) book about aggressive marketing directed toward children, and the damage it can do.

The Not So Great Depression, by Amy Goldman Koss

Cute and somewhat sociologically interesting childrens'/YA book. Jacki and her family have always been lucky, but after her mother is laid off, and their savings are depleted by risky investments, everything changes. Her older sister Brooke can no longer count on being able to afford the universities of her choice, despite having aced her SATS and spending years building up application material, Jacki suddenly finds that piano lessons aren't just a hassle, and much more. Well done, but not a great read.

Made in Detroit, by Paul Clemens

Interesting memoir, but not as good as I hoped it would be.

Starstuck: The Business of Celebrity, by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

Interesting quick read about modern celebrity and its impact on the economy, as well as the meaning and definitions of 'celebrity' as opposed to fame or talent.
This was a fun, sort of popcorn read, I am surprised by the amount of serious attention the book got, but I enjoyed it enough that I was only slightly enraged to see that the author thanked the ubiquitous and to me, intensely irritating, Sloane Crosley in the acknowledgements.

Capitalism: A Love Story

Flat documentary from Michael Moore. Some great interviews and interesting topics, but all so heavy handed, one sided, and polemical.

Broke, USA: From Pawnshopts toPoverty, Inc.- How the Working Poor Have Become Big Business, by Gary Rivlin

Excellent, if depressing look at how abusive lending practices have created billions of dollars in wealth for those willing to ignore the consequences of charging interest rates up to 390%.

This is Where We Live, by Janelle Brown

Fantastic book. Starting with an earthquake in their $600,000 'starter home' in LA, this story of Claudia and Jeremy just got tighter and rockier. Aspiring filmmaker Claudia is on the rise- her first movie is about to be released, and Jeremy's band is doing well, recording, his 'job' at a friend's hipster t-shirt company pays well enough, and things are looking rosy. Even the news that his ex-girlfriend, genius/artist Aoki is coming to town for a gallery show can't rock their world- but then, the recession does. As surely and even more damaging than the earthquake, their gradual compromises and concessions shake apart everything that they assumed was solid, in what really was a wonderfully written post-real-estate collapse fiction.

Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil, by Peter Maass

Well, what with the oil spill devastating the Gulf, this felt like a timely an horribly appropriate book to be reading. All the usual warnings about diminished supply, overstated reserves, political tensions, peak oil predictions, the requisite cheery end chapter talking hopefully about alternative energy, and some horrible, ominous quotes that I feel compelled to share.

"In 2005, a BP refinery in Texas suffered a massive explosion that killed fifteen workers and injured hundreds. Investigations revealed that BP had cut the refinery's capital budget by 25 percent. Broken or outdated equipemnt had not been replaced, while worker training and safety had been ignored. Months before the explosion, the refinery had commissioned an indepentent report that had warned, prophetically, of "a series of catastrophic events."...A BP official admitted that the disaster had been caused by "incompetence, high tolerance of non-compliance, inadequate maintenance and investments...
This was not the end. A year later, a BP pipeline dumped more than 200,000 gallons onto the North Slope region of Alaska's coast- the largest spill ever on that slope...As one newspaper wryly noted, "For a company that claims to have moved 'beyond petroleum', BP has managed to spill an awful lot of it onto the tundra in Alaska."


They had no idea.

Small Change, by Sheila Roberts

Ah, more recession chick-lit. There is something amazing, epic, haunting, and large-scale going on in following fiction trends, it's like seeing the delayed ghost of our national psyche dancing around in dreams or something. You have to take the time it took to write it, get it sold, get it published, cover art, reviews, then you have it in your hand, and it's what was in someone's head (probably many people's heads) 2 years ago or so. I can only imagine there's a lot more where this came from.
Much like The Penny Pinchers' Club, this novel follows a group of suburban housewife friends trying to wean themselves off retail therapy. Much like The Penny Pinchers' Club, there is a lot of rue over waste and excess. Unlike Penny Pinchers', this one had more than a sprinkle of God, etc, like so much nutra-sweet, but for the sociological impact of its very existance, this kind of mid-list, Christian-lite, "recessionista", finding-the-good-in-the-free-things book is worth its weight in gold.
Forswear Starbucks, and you too will find harmony! Avoid the Pottery Barn to find true freedom! Grow rhubarb and know thyself!
And so on.
Man, we are DOOMED.

Animal Vegetable Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver

I can't believe I almost forgot to add this to the list.
This is a tricky one for me. It was, I thought, beautifully written, but it reeked terribly of smug to me, which is my least favorite reek.
Books about radical lifestyle change for a reason (to build and live in a green home ( Almost Green: How I Saved 1/6th of a Billionth of the Planet, by Tim Glave), to not shop for a year (Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine), or even not to buy items made in China for a year (A Year Without Made In China by Sara Bongiorni), seem like they can be a tricky thing to pull off. Without a great sense of humor (which Glave and Bongiorni have and share), the final product can read very preachy and reek of smuggery, which, sad to say, this one did for me.

The Hole We're In, by Gabrielle Zevin

Impossible to put down. Fantastically well-done look at the varied holes we climb in, climb out of, dig for ourselves, and find ourselves in. This searing family-dysfunction/credit-based-society-critique/study of religious fundamentalism left the earth pretty scorched, but breathing, bleeding believable characters kept me turning pages as fast as I could read.
Roger, trying to finish his PhD, leaves his wife Georgia to take care of family finances while he focuses on his dissertation- which he hopes will become a book that will save their family. Georgia, however, is struggling with his drop in income since he returned to school, and with the pressure to stage an elaborate back-yard wedding for oldest daughter Helen, who unthinkingly keeps increasing her wish-list (repaint the house, add a pond? professionally printed invitations, at the very least). Son Vinnie has already left Texas for New York, where his film school ambitions prove more costly than he could have known, and youngest daughter Patsy is left, in the cruelest twist, to bear the brunt of Roger and Georgia's failings, and she is essentially cast out of the family to serve as a sacrificial lamb. Patsy, however, is a powerful and strong character, and one of the best characters I've read all year.
This was really seriously good fiction. So impressed.

The Penny Pinchers Club, by Sarah Strohmeyer

This was surprisingly fun, despite the terrible cover! Total recessionista chick-lit, this book finds Jersey girl compulsive-shopper Kat suddenly realizing that her husband Griff has become distant and seems to be keeping a lot of secrets, that her daughter is almost ready for college and they've saved nothing for it, and that she spends $240 a month at Starbucks. By joining a radical group of freecyclers and coupon fanatics, she finds a new circle of friends and a new way of looking at life. Breezy, non-preachy fun.

Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present, by Hank Steuver

Fantastic adult non-fiction. A look at Christmas, as it is celebrated in Frisco, Texas, over the course of what were probably the most interesting 3 years Steuver could have chosen, starting in 2006, before the bubbles burst, and ending in 2009, when the foreclosures are emptying the McMansions that rang with such expensive bells and glowed with such pricey and complicated lights. Steuver profiled several families, who he followed through the years, and while it read as smooth as fine fiction, the fact that these people are real made it haunting. Wonderful.

Dream House, by Valerie Laken

Re-read, and even better on the second reading. Really, one hell of a good book.