One of the themes I deal with in Shoptimism is the relationship between “having” (stuff) and “being” (one’s self). Philosophers, notably  Jean-Paul Sarte, have ruminated over the idea that our material possessions may be properly regarded as extensions of who we are. A cool take on this idea is advanced in a new novel by writer and artist Leanne Shapton. The novel is titled Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry. The novel is a story of a failed relationship, told in the form of an auction-house catalog that offers for sale various possessions, gifts, and artifacts acquired by the doomed couple. There’s a piece about the book in today’s New York Times.