Shopaholics advised to read ACAP Cape Breton’s Fall Book Club pick

Is your life getting weighed down by all of your stuff? If you’re looking for something other than retail therapy to rescue you from the mounting clutter, you might be inspired by ACAP Cape Breton’s new Pages for the Planet book club pick, Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. Levine shares her first-hand experience of not shopping for anything but the necessities for one year as well as her research on why we love to buy.

Entertainment Weekly says: “Levine joins the ranks of authors who do crazy stuff (like reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica) and then write books about it-in her case, giving up buying anything but ‘necessities’ for a year. But Levine lends her project global implications with thorough reporting about everything from consumer psychology to the decline of public libraries. She sells the heavy stuff by interweaving it with her lighter personal quandaries: Can she live without her beloved SmartWool socks? Are Q-tips a necessity? And, best of all, while she makes you want to repent for your greed more than a few times, she also points out the absurdities of ‘voluntary simplicity’ and recognizes the soul-stirring happiness implicit in finding a perfect new pair of heels, making her own book well worth its price.”

The title was picked for the third installment of ACAP Cape Breton’s Pages for the Planet book club series.

“We have been very pleased with the success of the first two discussions,” says Susan King, Executive Director at ACAP Cape Breton. “Our book club provides a unique opportunity to get people talking about important environmental issues and is part of our 20th anniversary celebrations.”

Readers interested in making a light, but thought-provoking, addition to their summer reading list can drop into ACAP Cape Breton to borrow a copy for a $5 deposit. The book club discussion will be held on Wednesday, September 19th at 7pm at the Centre for Sustainable Communities on the corner of George and Townsend Streets in Sydney. Everyone is welcome to participate and light refreshments will be provided.

ACAP Cape Breton is a non-profit, charitable community organization that integrates environmental, social and economic factors into projects focusing on action, education and ecosystem planning. The Pages for the Planet book club series is part of ACAP Cape Breton’s 20th Anniversary celebrations, which run all year.