“The Paradox of Choice” is a book about a topic that worries me big league sometimes which is the gargantuan number of choices available for almost everything in our life and getting your way around them or rather out of them. I should hasten to point out that this is my first read of what comes closest to a self help book. Haha.
Barry Schwartz categorizes people into two types based on the way they choose – one is Maximizer, someone who has the proclivity to hunt down all the stores in the town for buying a little nothing and the other is Satisfier who would buy something that is just good enough. We all are maximizer in some respect and Satisfier in other.
Verdict: This book deserves rapt attention of people who like to be over-exacting even while buying a toothbrush from a grocery. For others, it does not offer a great bang for the buck. (For instance, I got it imported into the country but found most things as motherhood and apple pie stuff). Also, Barry Schwartz has an untiring desire to depict every human behavior with a psyche experiment, which puts you off at times. The TED talk by Barry Schwartz is much utilitarian.
