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Not Buying It by Judith Levine documents her year of living in New Hampshire and New York while buying only necessities like food. She and her partner are fairly successful; but more importantly they learn consuming less doesn’t condemn you to a life of making your own soaps. And more importantly, one can have a social life without surrendering your wallet to hang out. Levine finds that most average Janes can and should scale back on their spending.

It’s exciting to be a book’s target audience. I’m generally a thoughtful consumer, and fairly middle class. I read the book around Thanksgiving, deep in the holiday buying season. I was ready to hear the anti-consumer message after being barraged with ads. The book was not as sanctimonious as I expected. It’s mostly musings on the way consumerism affects our lives, told in a journal format. There was a fair amount of criticism for the Bush administration, it being written in 2005, but time has made them less urgent.

By the end of the book I was pretty interested in trying out not buying anything. Whether it’s the food I’m buying or what to spend my money on this weekend, I’m constantly considering consumption choices. To have all those choices removed from me just sounds like a vacation I don’t need to pay for. And I can save money in the process.

I was surprised at how this book is still relevant. Regardless of who you are, considering your consumption habits will probably make you more thoughtful about how you spend your resources. We have managed to continue buying and discarding things at a stunning pace. This book’s examination and consideration for how we got to where we are as a culture and consideration for where we’re going are good lessons for anyone living in the world