GET LIT: Win a copy of Joel Waldfogel's Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays

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GET LIT: Win a copy of Joel Waldfogel's Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays

POSTED: Friday, December 4, 2009, 6:00 PM

Filed Under: Arts Books

Princeton Press, 186 pp.,
$9.95, Oct. 25

It's day two of Book Quarterly Giveaway Week, and we're already confusing you. Today's trivia challenge concerns not a book reviewed in our BQ, but an eensy-weensy one I shouted out in this week's Kaleidoscope. Tomato, tomahto.

Joel Waldfogel's Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays packs a hefty punch for such a tiny book. Here's what I had to say about it:

Now that you've absorbed the mission behind our DIY Gift Guide ' that handmade prezzies are more thoughtful/less wallet-assaulting than store-bought ones ' Joel Waldfogel is here to harsh your yuletide buzz: The Wharton prof's Scroogenomics calls gift-giving a "deadweight loss": Presents generate waste and unhappiness and credit card debt, Waldfogel says, and in the end, we all lose. And while this little 4-by-6 party-pooper's perfectly sized as a stocking-stuffer, gifting a $10 book about thriftiness is a conundrum. To buy or not to buy?

To win a copy, thereby following Waldfogel's advice about not spending money, answer me this:

Speaking of cheapskates, Scrooge McDuck supposedly hails from what miserly city?

E-mail carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net for a chance to win. And on Monday, check back with Critical Mass for more trivia. Monday's book of the day: Alice Munro's Too Much Happiness.

Beth Kreber

Posted 2009-12-07 21:12:34

Finally, someone who can give me a quantifiable defense of why I hate giving gifts. I would rather donate the money my family spends on Christmas gifts to a charity or spend it on it ourselves. Bravo!

Posted by Carolyn Huckabay @ 6:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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