Consumption as (small-scale) spectacle

Online bookseller, The Book Depository, have introduced a voyeuristic new page which plots who’s buying what onto a map of the world in real time. It’s not the World Cup, by any means, but it’s weirdly mesmerizing to watch a window pop up and tell you someone in Ireland has bought The Road, and someone in Norway has bought Experiencing Father’s Embrace, and someone in Portugal has bought Quilting in No Time. Oh, and someone in South Korea has bought a self-help book called Happiness . . .

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