Against Convenience

A provocative exploration of modern “convenience culture”—and how we can resist and reclaim our time, resilience, and happiness, for fans of How to Do Nothing and The Courage to Be Disliked.

We live in a world addicted to convenience. Countless tools and innovations fill our daily lives, allowing us to swipe, tap, click, and subscribe without a second thought. We order food to our front door, call an Uber for a ride down the street, and scroll through the endless songs and TV shows at our fingertips. In theory, convenience should give us more energy and time to do things we want to do, and make unpleasant jobs faster and simpler. But is it working?

In this book, journalist Gabe Bullard reveals the hidden architecture behind the ubiquitous modern-day services and technologies that allegedly make our lives easier. You'll learn:

• How the "false conveniences" we choose every day don't actually eliminate work, effort, or money

• Why convenience culture fuels burnout and shallow living

• How pop culture is being shaped by "second screen" and "lean back" content

• The ways that friction-maxxing — from talking to your cashier, cooking from scratch, and hand writing letters — can enrich our lives with meaning and rewards

At best, many of these conveniences aren’t any more convenient than what they replaced. At worst, they leave us isolated—home alone with soggy french fries, forgettable streaming shows, a degraded planet, and a smaller bank account. But we don’t have to settle. In Against Convenience, Bullard draws a road map for how we can fight back against the juggernaut of empty ease to live a more meaningful, deeper, and gratifying life.