Stuffocation: Living More with Less (Penguin) by James Wallman

“Why do we keep buying more and more, even though we already have more than we need and can cope with?”

In search of a solution to his own problem, the author, who describes himself as a trend forecaster, takes to the halls of the Elysée Palace with Nicolas Sarkozy, goes up in a helicopter above Barbra Streisand’s house on the Californian coast, and into the world of the original Mad Men.

Wallman’s central theme is to find a way of living beyond materialistic consumerism. “It’s gone from a point of giving us abundance to over abundance,” he says. “We’ve got too much and it’s not making us happy.” He theorises that stuffocation is one of the defining problems of the 21st century.

And Experientialism is Wellman’s answer to it. Finding happiness, identity, status and meaning through buying experiences – rather than another suit, Louis Vuitton bag or even perhaps a 20th T-shirt: the one you may have just bought but might not ever wear.

Wallman introduces the innovators whose lifestyles may provide clues to how many of us will be living tomorrow. At times his ideas can feel inspiring and, whether you agree with him or not, at least possible.