"Shiny Objects: Why We Spend Money We Don't Have in Search of Happiness We Can't Buy" (HarperOne), by James A. Roberts: The sixth pair of black shoes. The kitchen device that peels a grape. The diet-breaking bag of chips on sale at the grocery store. We're all guilty of making purchases we don't need.
Now along comes James Roberts' "Shiny Objects," which promises to explore and explain Americans' possession obsession. Roberts' book contains hard evidence for some claims you probably already suspected were true. People who are more materialistic are less happy and more stressed. We are more likely to buy something when we make the purchase with a credit card. And lottery winners are no happier than the rest of us.
The book also includes some genuinely sobering statistics. In 2007, the average person saved only 60 cents of every $100 he or she made. Over $1 billion a year is spent on media advertising to children. And seven out of 10 Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
Roberts knows his stuff. He references scholars, researchers and historians on nearly every page. But the problem for the casual reader is that his style is less that of an engaging storyteller and more that of a sonorous college professor. Roberts, a professor at Baylor University in Texas, probably cannot help himself.
But getting through his book is more like repeating a college class than scoring tips and insight from a smart friend. Take, for example, the quizzes that dot the book and promise answers to questions like "How materialistic are you?" "Are you a spendthrift or a tightwad?" and "Are you a compulsive buyer?" At least one quiz requires a calculator and several steps that include multiplying by .47.
Roberts saves the best part of his book for the last chapters where he finally starts to talk about how to combat the daily bombardment of advertising and product placement — 250 products alone in the average episode of the reality weight-loss show "The Biggest Loser." But most of his advice isn't new: cut up credit cards, build a budget and avoid the mall, for example. He might as well just say, "Use common sense."