Re: "The Small Stuff" book review

On Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:53:13 -0400, Noah Sombrero <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:12:02 -0000 (UTC), Tara <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>(I haven't read this book yet but I heard the author interviewed on CBC this
>>a.m and liked what he said).  Just another self-help book or one of that ilk?
>> Nah, I don't think so.
>>
>>https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-small-stuff-how-to-lead-a-more-gratifying-life-ian-bogost/bb5309da15426d51?ean=9781668062630&affiliate=12476
>> 
>>
>>And -
>> 
>>The Small Stuff
>>How to lead a more gratifying life
>>-Ian Bogost -  Atlantic Columnist
>>
>> Out summer 2026.
>>
>>
>>    “The world tells us that the path to happiness is to go bigger in
>>everything: experiences, success, consumption—all of it. In The Small Stuff,
>>Ian Bogost shows us why this is the wrong approach to the good life—that the
>>true secret lies in discovering life’s little delights.”
>>    —Arthur C. Brooks, #1 New York Times bestselling author
>>
>>    “Brilliant…I loved this profound, witty, and quietly revolutionary book.
>>Ian Bogost makes the liberating case that the material world is teeming with
>>unexpected opportunities for life-enhancing sensory pleasure—and that all we
>>need to do is to allow ourselves to experience them.”
>>    —Oliver Burkeman, New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks
>>    “The Small Stuff is a clarion call to rediscover the quiet joys woven into
>>everyday routines. Bogost argues that in our rush toward efficiency and
>>digital convenience, we’ve lost touch with the tangible world—and its simple
>>gratifications that bring real contentment. This wonderful book reminds us
>>that happiness isn’t out of reach. Rather, it’s right under our fingertips.”
>>    —Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of Supercommunicators and The Power of
>>Habit
>>
>>About the Book
>>
>>In an era dominated by convenience and efficiency, one would think that life
>>would be simpler, easier, and most importantly, happier. After all, shouldn’t
>>all the time saved with machines and technology leave us with more time for
>>ourselves? The Atlantic columnist Ian Bogost thinks not. From QR code menus
>>and digital tickets to automated self-checkout counters, he argues that the
>>simple pleasures of daily life have been stripped away, replaced by sleek, but
>>soulless, design.
>
>In other words, why well off people are not happy.  So they pine for
>the good old days, forgetting that they were not happy then either.
>
>"sleek, but soulless, design".  Of course that is not satisfying.  On
>the other hand, if a person has a satisfying fulfilled life, it won't
>matter what knickknacks one includes or not.  Who notices such things?
>
>On the other hand, "automated self-checkout counters"?  Who puts up
>with such emptiness?  As if people needed another way to avoid
>interacting with each other.  But if you have plenty of human
>interaction in your life, maybe those counters wouldn't matter so
>much.  There it is, we are so isolated from each other in our cars,
>and lockable houses that we need to interact with clerks in stores.
>
>How do we feel?  Lonely and bored.  Scared of each other, and out of
>patience with ideas we don't want to listen to (from other people).
>Simple, huh?
>
>>Through engaging anecdotes and sharp analysis, Bogost uncovers how modern
>>conveniences not only fail to deliver on their promises but also rob us of
>>small, satisfying tasks and moments that keep us grounded and human. He
>>challenges us to rethink our daily interactions with the material world and
>>illuminates how the loss of these tangible interactions has contributed to
>>widespread feelings of disconnection and dissatisfaction.
>>
>>But all hope is not lost. Bogost guides us to identify and appreciate the
>>overlooked joys hidden in everyday life. By reforming how we approach ordinary
>>tasks, we can rediscover the gratification embedded in the tactile world
>>around us.
>>
>>Humorous, thought-provoking, and practical, The Small Stuff reveals that
>>finding joy isn’t about achieving monumental happiness or prolonged
>>satisfaction. It’s about doing small things, deliberately and with attention,
>>to unlock the basic pleasures that flavor our daily lives.
>>
>>A Note from Ian, before publication
>>
>>I wrote a new book! It will be my first new book in 10 (!) years. I guess I
>>needed that long to figure out what was worth sharing in this many words, in a
>>way that I felt good asking my readers to buy and carry and so forth.
>>
>>It all started when I wrote about the end of the stick-shift transmission for
>>The Atlantic in 2022. Millions of people read that story, which I didn't
>>expect! I wondered What It Meant, what signal that interest meant to send.
>>
>>After thinking about that question for six months or so, I realized that the
>>manual transmission is just one of many more ways people have become
>>disconnected from their own lives. I don't even start my car with a key
>>anymore, I just press a button. Heck, you can't even turn on a restroom faucet
>>or dispense a towel by yourself. The sensory world, the world we share with
>>things of all kinds, living and human-made, has been withdrawing from our
>>contact for years, and for lots of reasons. That loss feels bad—and you
>>probably didn't even notice it happening, because it happened so slowly.
>>
>>This book explains many of those reasons, among them automation, computation,
>>regulatory change, and shifting habits of work and home life. It also offers a
>>way out, and one that you can actually achieve, and one that's easy besides.
>>If you're thinking, wait, Bogost wrote a happiness book?, then, yeah, I did,
>>but I promise it's like no other such book.
>>
>>The key idea in The Small Stuff is gratification, a kind of contentment that
>>is different from happiness and satisfaction. I rescue this concept from the
>>psychologists and economists who have misunderstood or ruined it, and I
>>explain how gratification can help make every day of your life just a little
>>better. All those little-betters will add up.
>>
>>If you've been following my work at all over the years (and decades) I've been
>>writing and making stuff, this book is sort of a summation of everything I've
>>learned from games, computing, philosophy, design, and the built environment.
>>And more. If you've wondered where I took my game-design interests, this is
>>the answer. If you wondered what was next for me as a phenomenologist, this is
>>the answer. (If you don't know what phenomenology is, don't worry, the word
>>does not appear in the book, nor do any other scary words). If you wondered
>>what someone who writes about AI, toasters, and lemon-lime soda thinks all of
>>those things have in common, this is the answer. It's helpful, and hopeful
>>(for real), and useful, and fun and super chill besides. Anybody can read it,
>>and I hope everyone will.
>>
>>The Small Stuff will be published by Simon & Schuster / Atria in the USA and
>>Penguin in the UK in summer 2026

How about this little ditty I came across somewhere:
Frustrated desire causes sighs, and nobody sighs more than contented
people.

-- 
Noah Sombrero mustachioed villain
Don't get political with me young man
or I'll tie you to a railroad track and
<<<talk>>> to <<<YOOooooo>>>
Who dares to talk to El Sombrero?
dares: Ned
does not dare: Julian  shrinks in horror and warns others away