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The Small Stuff
- Author
- Ian Bogost
- Narrator
- Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 7 July 2026
- Run Time
- 5 hours 30 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
In an era dominated by convenience and efficiency, you’d think life would be easier and, most importantly, happier. Shouldn’t all the time saved by technology leave us with more for ourselves? The Atlantic columnist, game-designer and philosopher Ian Bogost thinks not. From digital tickets to automated taps, he argues that the simple, tactile pleasures of daily life have been replaced by sleek but soulless design.
Through engaging anecdotes and sharp analysis of our dematerialised lives, Bogost uncovers how modern conveniences not only fail to deliver on their promises but also rob us of moments that keep us grounded and human. The Small Stuff is not a nostalgic trip through the analogue world of a bygone era but instead reframes our view of the material world, from merely utilitarian into a site of joy and gratification. Finding happiness, Bogost shows us, doesn’t require complete self-transformation, but simply noticing the sensory pleasures all around us.
Humorous, thought-provoking, and practical, The Small Stuff is a manifesto for re-enchanting us with the world, by observing and enjoying the small moments that make up our lives.
© Ian Bogost 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
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A manifesto for tuning into the tiny opportunities for gratification being human offers... from the first few pages I feel instinctively that tapping into these tiny enchantments could be life-enhancing... But it also felt quite profound to recognise my simple bodily existence has so much to offer, if I let it
Guardian
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A delightful paean to the pleasures of small things
Sunday Times
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Very entertaining... immensely cheering, and will have you looking at the moquette patterns on public transport in a new light... Bogost believes that the material world is teeming with unexpected opportunities for sensual pleasure, and all we have to do is allow ourselves to experience them
Mail on Sunday
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A clarion call to rediscover the quiet joys woven into everyday routines. . . . This wonderful book reminds us that happiness isn’t out of reach. Rather, it’s right under our fingertips
Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of Supercommunicators and The Power of Habit
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I loved this profound, witty, and quietly revolutionary book. Ian Bogost makes the liberating case that the material world is teeming with unexpected opportunities for life-enhancing sensory pleasure – and that all we need to do is to allow ourselves to experience them
Oliver Burkeman
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The world tells us that the path to happiness is to go bigger in everything: experiences, success, consumption—all of it. In The Small Stuff, Ian Bogost shows us why this is the wrong approach to the good life—that the true secret lies in discovering life’s little delights
Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard Professor and #1 New York Times bestselling author of From Strength to Strength
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Ian Bogost
- Narrator
- Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Duration
- 5 hours 30 minutes
- Release Date
- 7 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9781837314959
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Popular psychology, Ethical issues: scientific, technological and medical developments, Social theory, Technology: general issues, Coping with / advice about mental health issues or topics
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.In an era dominated by convenience and efficiency, you’d think life would be easier and, most importantly, happier. Shouldn’t all the time saved by technology leave us with more for ourselves? The Atlantic columnist, game-designer and philosopher Ian Bogost thinks not. From digital tickets to automated taps, he argues that the simple, tactile pleasures of daily life have been replaced by sleek but soulless design.Through engaging anecdotes and sharp analysis of our dematerialised lives, Bogost uncovers how modern conveniences not only fail to deliver on their promises but also rob us of moments that keep us grounded and human. The Small Stuff is not a nostalgic trip through the analogue world of a bygone era but instead reframes our view of the material world, from merely utilitarian into a site of joy and gratification. Finding happiness, Bogost shows us, doesn’t require complete self-transformation, but simply noticing the sensory pleasures all around us.Humorous, thought-provoking, and practical, The Small Stuff is a manifesto for re-enchanting us with the world, by observing and enjoying the small moments that make up our lives.© Ian Bogost 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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