The Small Stuff

A Note from Ian, before publication

I wrote a new book! It will be my first new book in 10 (!) years. I guess I needed that long to figure out what was worth sharing in this many words, in a way that I felt good asking my readers to buy and carry and so forth.

It all started when I wrote about the end of the stick-shift transmission for The Atlantic in 2022. Millions of people read that story, which I didn't expect! I wondered What It Meant, what signal that interest meant to send.

After thinking about that question for six months or so, I realized that the manual transmission is just one of many more ways people have become disconnected from their own lives. I don't even start my car with a key anymore, I just press a button. Heck, you can't even turn on a restroom faucet or dispense a towel by yourself. The sensory world, the world we share with things of all kinds, living and human-made, has been withdrawing from our contact for years, and for lots of reasons. That loss feels bad—and you probably didn't even notice it happening, because it happened so slowly.

This book explains many of those reasons, among them automation, computation, regulatory change, and shifting habits of work and home life. It also offers a way out, and one that you can actually achieve, and one that's easy besides. If you're thinking, wait, Bogost wrote a happiness book?, then, yeah, I did, but I promise it's like no other such book.

The key idea in The Small Stuff is gratification, a kind of contentment that is different from happiness and satisfaction. I rescue this concept from the psychologists and economists who have misunderstood or ruined it, and I explain how gratification can help make every day of your life just a little better. All those little-betters will add up.

If you've been following my work at all over the years (and decades) I've been writing and making stuff, this book is sort of a summation of everything I've learned from games, computing, philosophy, design, and the built environment. And more. If you've wondered where I took my game-design interests, this is the answer. If you wondered what was next for me as a phenomenologist, this is the answer. (If you don't know what phenomenology is, don't worry, the word does not appear in the book, nor do any other scary words). If you wondered what someone who writes about AI, toasters, and lemon-lime soda thinks all of those things have in common, this is the answer. It's helpful, and hopeful (for real), and useful, and fun and super chill besides. Anybody can read it, and I hope everyone will.

The Small Stuff will be published by Simon & Schuster / Atria in the USA and Penguin in the UK in summer 2026 (and then a bit later in internationaal editions). Please preorder your copy now! Presales makes a huge, huge difference for book authors.

About the Book

In an era dominated by convenience and efficiency, one would think that life would be simpler, easier, and most importantly, happier. After all, shouldn’t all the time saved with machines and technology leave us with more time for ourselves? The Atlantic columnist Ian Bogost thinks not. From QR code menus and digital tickets to automated self-checkout counters, he argues that the simple pleasures of daily life have been stripped away, replaced by sleek, but soulless, design.

Through engaging anecdotes and sharp analysis, Bogost uncovers how modern conveniences not only fail to deliver on their promises but also rob us of small, satisfying tasks and moments that keep us grounded and human. He challenges us to rethink our daily interactions with the material world and illuminates how the loss of these tangible interactions has contributed to widespread feelings of disconnection and dissatisfaction.

But all hope is not lost. Bogost guides us to identify and appreciate the overlooked joys hidden in everyday life. By reforming how we approach ordinary tasks, we can rediscover the gratification embedded in the tactile world around us.

Humorous, thought-provoking, and practical, The Small Stuff reveals that finding joy isn’t about achieving monumental happiness or prolonged satisfaction. It’s about doing small things, deliberately and with attention, to unlock the basic pleasures that flavor our daily lives.