Trying to ID two books about the mall

March 23, 2023 10:13 AM

I thought I bookmarked two nonfiction books about the mall, but I can't find them in my Goodreads or my browser tabs. Help?

The first one is called Mall'd and is about a writer who starts working at a North Face-type store after getting laid off in 2009. The cover is green and has a photo of the author with her head in her hands in three-quarter profile. (I have tried searching for "Mall'd" on Goodreads and Amazon, but have found every book about malls but this one.)

I have a more general description of the second book. I believe it's called What the Mall Walkers Know--I know it has the phrase "mall walkers" in the title--and it's about what mall walkers and others who hang out at the malls can tell us about consumerism. I believe the cover is purple and it has a drawing of mall walkers in profile.

(Before anyone asks, yes, I have read Meet Me by the Fountain; I checked the bibliography and I didn't see either of these listed.)

posted by pxe2000 to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

The second could be Paco Underhill's The Call of the Mall : A Walking Tour Through the Shopping Mall. The cover of the paperback version is blue and has an image that looks like a UPC code where the lines are people with bags.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:20 AM on March 23, 2023

Best answer: I think the first one is this?
“Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail”
posted by alb at 10:29 AM on March 23, 2023

In Search of Diddly Squat: Or: The Mall Walker's Guide to the Universe?


posted by MonkeyToes at 11:42 AM on March 23, 2023