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More or Less: Essays from a Year of No Buying
The essays in More or Less explore how contemporary Americans have come to be defined by their possessions. Pratt recognizes that the things we own are receptacles of memory and identity in ways we may only partly understand, and that we often cycle through periods of purging and acquiring, and end up competing with our possessions for time, space, and attention.
More or Less offers intertwining scenes of home life with sustained reflection on utility, disposability, and community. In the end, this entertaining and thoughtful book addresses the central question of how to live well in a culture of consumerism from which there is no meaningful exit.
Of the collection, Eula Biss, author of Having and Being Had, said, “In this lively collection of essays, Susannah Q. Pratt observes the culture of middle-class consumption from a pause in her own participation. This pause allows her to consider how our lives are ‘both confined and defined’ by that which we own. The resulting meditation on want, need, excess, and garbage asks profound questions about waste, time, and the lost art of thrift.”
Andrew Root, author of The Grace of Dogs and Churches and the Crisis of Decline, said, “With vivid writing and beautiful imagery, Susannah Pratt has brought the beyond into view, unveiling what was once hidden. The essays in More or Less will open you up and move you, asking you to reach for a promising new way of seeing and therefore being in the world. These essays will give you new ways of thinking and talking about consumerism and late capitalism. Each essay is engaging and beautiful.”
Pratt’s manuscript was selected as a winner of the 2021 EastOver Prize for Nonfiction. Walter M. Robinson, author of What Cannot Be Undone and judge for the prize, said, “It’s not every book that can captivate the imagination with the emotional meaning of a son’s basketball shoes! And who among us does not relate to a couple’s attempt to get a grip on the basement—a tender understanding that the memories held by the objects we own but rarely see may be more powerful than we had thought. I came away from reading this book with a different point of view on the things we fill our lives with.”
More or Less offers intertwining scenes of home life with sustained reflection on utility, disposability, and community. In the end, this entertaining and thoughtful book addresses the central question of how to live well in a culture of consumerism from which there is no meaningful exit.
Of the collection, Eula Biss, author of Having and Being Had, said, “In this lively collection of essays, Susannah Q. Pratt observes the culture of middle-class consumption from a pause in her own participation. This pause allows her to consider how our lives are ‘both confined and defined’ by that which we own. The resulting meditation on want, need, excess, and garbage asks profound questions about waste, time, and the lost art of thrift.”
Andrew Root, author of The Grace of Dogs and Churches and the Crisis of Decline, said, “With vivid writing and beautiful imagery, Susannah Pratt has brought the beyond into view, unveiling what was once hidden. The essays in More or Less will open you up and move you, asking you to reach for a promising new way of seeing and therefore being in the world. These essays will give you new ways of thinking and talking about consumerism and late capitalism. Each essay is engaging and beautiful.”
Pratt’s manuscript was selected as a winner of the 2021 EastOver Prize for Nonfiction. Walter M. Robinson, author of What Cannot Be Undone and judge for the prize, said, “It’s not every book that can captivate the imagination with the emotional meaning of a son’s basketball shoes! And who among us does not relate to a couple’s attempt to get a grip on the basement—a tender understanding that the memories held by the objects we own but rarely see may be more powerful than we had thought. I came away from reading this book with a different point of view on the things we fill our lives with.”
164 pages, Paperback
Published February 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 3, 2023
Engaging, authentic, thought-provoking book!
More or Less offers thoughtful reflections on our relationship with “stuff.” As a mom of a big family who spent my winter break cleaning closets and sorting through piles of clothes and toys, Pratt’s experiment with a year of no buying is appealing. Her observations about the way our possessions limit and define us challenged me to rethink my own relationship with material possessions.
I liked how these essays extended beyond suggestions of practical advice. She left me thinking about my ethical responsibility to the environment and how my possessions reflect my values and can be used to connect or separate me from the lives of others in my community.
The short, accessible chapters were easy to read despite my busy schedule and I found myself thinking about her stories and the questions she raised as I went about my daily tasks. I felt like Pratt was inviting me into a conversation with others, and she was an engaging host!
I also shared a few of Pratt’s essays(”Parsing Desire,” “Mine to Choose,” and “Muddying Walden”) with students in my 11th-grade English classes to add a contemporary perspective to our discussion of Transcendentalism and Krakauer’s Into the Wild. They were intrigued by Pratt’s distinction between want and need and commented on the ways in which excessive choices can be overwhelming. Some of them incorporated ideas from these essays into their research papers. Pratt helped me emphasize that one of the reasons to read(or write) a book is to reflect about how the way we choose to live our lives affects our community.
More or Less offers thoughtful reflections on our relationship with “stuff.” As a mom of a big family who spent my winter break cleaning closets and sorting through piles of clothes and toys, Pratt’s experiment with a year of no buying is appealing. Her observations about the way our possessions limit and define us challenged me to rethink my own relationship with material possessions.
I liked how these essays extended beyond suggestions of practical advice. She left me thinking about my ethical responsibility to the environment and how my possessions reflect my values and can be used to connect or separate me from the lives of others in my community.
The short, accessible chapters were easy to read despite my busy schedule and I found myself thinking about her stories and the questions she raised as I went about my daily tasks. I felt like Pratt was inviting me into a conversation with others, and she was an engaging host!
I also shared a few of Pratt’s essays(”Parsing Desire,” “Mine to Choose,” and “Muddying Walden”) with students in my 11th-grade English classes to add a contemporary perspective to our discussion of Transcendentalism and Krakauer’s Into the Wild. They were intrigued by Pratt’s distinction between want and need and commented on the ways in which excessive choices can be overwhelming. Some of them incorporated ideas from these essays into their research papers. Pratt helped me emphasize that one of the reasons to read(or write) a book is to reflect about how the way we choose to live our lives affects our community.
February 22, 2022
For an entire year, Susannah Pratt and her family agreed to buy nothing other than essentials such as groceries. One of the results of this experiment is this lovely collection of essays that explores all aspects of modern day consumerism. Pratt touches on the ways we spend our money as well as the reasons, the way we as humans interact with our possessions, how those possessions relate to our memory and our identity, and even the macro economics of buying. And yet, she does all of these things, not as an academic but as a wife and mother looking at consumption through the lens of her family and their needs. This is a fast-paced, thoroughly enjoyable book that never preaches. Instead, Pratt invites readers along on her evolutionary experiment.
July 25, 2022
While I agree with a few things noted in the book, mainly that not buying at all hurts those who sell and that her goals could have better been reached by focusing more on what she wanted most and less on not shopping, the book itself was incredibly boring. It read a lot like a college essay. I bought this book because I currently plan to buy less the next year as a challenge and was looking for encouragement. I didn’t receive that from this book. I was looking for reasons and benefits behind buying less and instead just found a lot of random stories (making a Halloween costume vs buying, gifts that mean something, making a pizza oven, etc) pertaining to her family. If I wasn’t already planning to buy less, nothing in that book would have convinced me to do so.
August 1, 2022
Pg 101" all this makes thrift a much harder sell in an Instagram world" minimalism = great taste frugal + thrifty = depressing.
Chapter Consider the Lobster
References Goodbye to Fourty eighth Street by E.B White <3
Pg 70
" In every place he abandons... he leaves something vital, it seems to me, and starts his new life somewhat less encrusted, like a Lobster that has shed its skin and is, for a time , soft and vulnerable" E.B White
Pg 72 - thoughts about lobsters and how they get a new house once they grow. " I have wondered. More than once if encased in the shells of our things as we age. We lose not only momentum, but the vulnerability that allows us to identify with the pain of others. I worry that our things make us numb."
Chapter Consider the Lobster
References Goodbye to Fourty eighth Street by E.B White <3
Pg 70
" In every place he abandons... he leaves something vital, it seems to me, and starts his new life somewhat less encrusted, like a Lobster that has shed its skin and is, for a time , soft and vulnerable" E.B White
Pg 72 - thoughts about lobsters and how they get a new house once they grow. " I have wondered. More than once if encased in the shells of our things as we age. We lose not only momentum, but the vulnerability that allows us to identify with the pain of others. I worry that our things make us numb."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2022
This is a smart, engaging book about what we buy and what we keep.
Contrary to the (to me) nearly mindless approach of so many books about clutter, More or Less is a book about the nature of having enough, the push-pull between consuming and participating in community, and the meaning that adheres to the things in our closets and attics.
Pratt tells the stories of her family's approach to consuming with wit and grace, and perhaps most importantly, humility.
I can't think of anybody who wouldn't enjoy something in this book, and everyone will come away with a more thoughtful approach to what we buy, keep, and throw away.
Contrary to the (to me) nearly mindless approach of so many books about clutter, More or Less is a book about the nature of having enough, the push-pull between consuming and participating in community, and the meaning that adheres to the things in our closets and attics.
Pratt tells the stories of her family's approach to consuming with wit and grace, and perhaps most importantly, humility.
I can't think of anybody who wouldn't enjoy something in this book, and everyone will come away with a more thoughtful approach to what we buy, keep, and throw away.
June 7, 2022
Thanks to "More or Less," from now on when I'm online or pondering a shopping errand, I'll picture the new item I'm thinking of buying in its place in my house and beyond. Matched and lined up with its mates on the store shelf, it looks so tidy and useful, but do I want it taking up space in my own house and head? Where is "away" when I have to throw it away? This review sounds preachy, but Pratt is not--this book is funny and sober, smart and humble, and I'll read it again and again to remind me that my things don't measure the quality of my life or my humanity.
July 3, 2024
Interesting series of essays about one family’s decision to stop buying non-essentials for a year. While there are lots of reporting about how the family is doing, the author also explores other historical similarities between her journey and others from the past. There was interesting chapter comparing her year to Walden’s time at the pond. Overall an interesting read, particularly if one has thought much about our consumer society and how it is hard to avoid the habits of buying and replacing items on a fairly rapid schedule
February 28, 2022
Very interesting how the author and her family decided to stop all purchasing of new items during the year she wrote of. It makes me want to try doing with what I have and buying less. Very well written.
April 1, 2022
Tremendous read. Highly recommend this book as a careful, well-written meditation on consumption and what it means to live with less. Who are we, if not for our things? Read this, you will no be disappointed.
November 17, 2023
I really appreciated this collection of thoughtful essays inspired by the experiment of the author and her family to go through a year without buying anything except "necessities."
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews