A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy
Author:
Genres: Business & Money, Reference, Nonfiction
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Business & Money, Reference, Nonfiction
Book Type: Hardcover
Kayote B. (kayote) reviewed on + 254 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Having enjoyed another similar book (that one on not buying anything for a year), I looked forward to this one. In some ways a harder challenge, since there are a lot more gray areas. I was hoping for an entertaining book with some solid information and causes for thought.
Unfortunately, the author dived into the challenge "just because" and didn't really get any farther. She didn't examine her lifestyle, the bigger picture, or do much research other than calling a few companies and catalogs to ask about where things were made.
This was shown most explicitly in explaining to her son why they were doing this. He grew more frustrated as the year went on, and if I'd received the explanations he did "so other countries can sell stuff also" I would have gotten frustrated as well. She needed to think about it herself before imposing it on her son--and she needed to look for ways to make it less frustrating for him.
Which brings me to another thing that drove me nuts about the author--she complained about everything she couldn't find, but she never tried another method. Re-use and gifts were allowed. She connived for gifts. She never set foot in a thift, resale, or consignment shop, let alone a rummage or garage sale. A lot of the toys she was so stressed out about could have been found (or equivalents) second hand. She missed a hugely obvious way to adjust lifestyle, buy nothing that came directly from China, and not cause her children stress.
She also missed a large teaching moment when she let her son buy a cheap plastic pumpkin that he was bored with a couple weeks later She started to ruminate on cheapness and how their life was better with less impulsive clutter--but she never actually delved into what would be a really interesting commentary on commercial culture illustrated by the amount of cheap made in china--nor did she take the chance to educate her son on deciding what is a worthwhile way to spend money--balancing cost and pleasure.
Was the book entertaining? Yes. Did it give any real cause to think, offer any larger picture items, give any indication the author learned anything or will make (or did make) any lifestyle changes because of her experiment? No--which is too bad. The book could have been so much more than fluff.
It fortunately is a quick read, because the entertainment was fading as it went on.
Unfortunately, the author dived into the challenge "just because" and didn't really get any farther. She didn't examine her lifestyle, the bigger picture, or do much research other than calling a few companies and catalogs to ask about where things were made.
This was shown most explicitly in explaining to her son why they were doing this. He grew more frustrated as the year went on, and if I'd received the explanations he did "so other countries can sell stuff also" I would have gotten frustrated as well. She needed to think about it herself before imposing it on her son--and she needed to look for ways to make it less frustrating for him.
Which brings me to another thing that drove me nuts about the author--she complained about everything she couldn't find, but she never tried another method. Re-use and gifts were allowed. She connived for gifts. She never set foot in a thift, resale, or consignment shop, let alone a rummage or garage sale. A lot of the toys she was so stressed out about could have been found (or equivalents) second hand. She missed a hugely obvious way to adjust lifestyle, buy nothing that came directly from China, and not cause her children stress.
She also missed a large teaching moment when she let her son buy a cheap plastic pumpkin that he was bored with a couple weeks later She started to ruminate on cheapness and how their life was better with less impulsive clutter--but she never actually delved into what would be a really interesting commentary on commercial culture illustrated by the amount of cheap made in china--nor did she take the chance to educate her son on deciding what is a worthwhile way to spend money--balancing cost and pleasure.
Was the book entertaining? Yes. Did it give any real cause to think, offer any larger picture items, give any indication the author learned anything or will make (or did make) any lifestyle changes because of her experiment? No--which is too bad. The book could have been so much more than fluff.
It fortunately is a quick read, because the entertainment was fading as it went on.
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