Amazon.com...
"The author of The Battle for Human Nature explains why too much choice has led to the ever increasing complexity of everyday decisions, why too much of a good thing has become detrimental to human psychological and emotional well-being, and how to focus our lives on making the right choices."
This book started out as a fantastic read — not only could I not put it down but I couldn't shut up about it! I even started highlighting and writing on sticky notes my thoughts so that I could mail this particular book to other people and discuss it!
One particular moment I remember was right after I had started the book after the first segment: I went to a coffee shop with my friend to be nerdy and relax while reading. I went to the counter and asked for tea. The employee asked me if I wanted hot or cold. I took a moment and decided on hot. Then she asked me if I'd like green, black, herbal, (and a couple other choices I don't remember). At this point, I was fairly overwhelmed. I said herbal (thinking that was the most simplistic choice) and she replied with a list of over ten different types of herbal teas. Finally, completely exhausted, I asked her to make whatever she recommended.
I grabbed my mystery cup of herbal tea and returned to my booth with this book and realized that Schwartz has a point! Choices are exhausting but everyone wants them! Few coffee shops could stay open if they only offered black or decaf coffee anymore. This short epiphany continued to fester in the back of my mind for most of the night; I had never realized how choices could stress me out.
Another example: I was at a restaurant with my family this past weekend and ordered breakfast. 2 eggs, toast, and meat. This decision forced other decisions:
"How would you like your eggs cooked?"
"Whole Wheat, White, Rye, or Sour Dough?"
"Bacon or Sausage?"
"Links or Patties?"
Now, even after this book has been shut on my night stand for over a week, I still think about the choices I make everyday and how it gets to a point that it does stress me out. After reading this, I also realized how society forces companies and other industries to have a wide variety of choices and how this has affected my life as a consumer!
Overall — a fantastic, thought provoking read. But about half way through I became exhausted. I'm not sure if the language or content changed, but after a while I was no longer able to relate to what Schwartz was saying. I'm not sure if this is because the information became slightly redundant or if it became more business oriented (an area I know nothing about).
Either way, I do recommend this book simply because I think it's great to evaluate the choices you make everyday. This book was extremely enlightening and thought provoking. I'm extremely interested to hear what others thought of this book.
Originality: 10/10
Ending: 7/10
Characters: NA
Plot: NA
My reaction/enjoyment: 5/10
Theme: 10/10
Imagery: 9/10
Setting: NA
Voice: 5/5
Style: 3/5
Tone: 5/5
Cover: 10/10
Overall: 64/75 B
To the FTC, with love: Bought