When I confess that this is the first self-help book I’ve read, I’m also confessing to a minor but pointed snobbism. Sadly, I’m self-satisfied (as many snobs are), which perhaps explains my conviction that self-help books don’t help. Worse, I believe Ian Bogost’s The Small Stuff is well-meaning, reasonable and fundamentally right about how to live one’s life. The author is laudably passionate about gratification – or ‘itty-bitty fulfilment’, to borrow his phrase. Unknowingly, I was already following his self-help prescriptions – so to me they’re of no use.
Still, he’s a fine writer and an organised thinker; and if you happen to be looking for permission to allow yourself more gratification, which Bogost defines as ‘the sensory enchantment of everyday life’ and ‘a smaller and less visible flavour of contentment’, his bookis just the ticket. He distinguishes between big-picture happiness and satisfaction (‘pride in accomplishment’) and the more immediate, slighter pleasure of gratification. Too often, he argues, this is under-appreciated, scorned by those who reckon that it detracts from ‘the tough work of pursuing “real” happiness’. He also believes that our bureaucratic modern world, in thrall to progress, makes it hard for us to engage with our surroundings in a pleasurable, sensory way. Automation, efficiency and of course digital technology have ‘dematerialised’ our lives. Too much today is touch-free – just ask Alexa.
