This is Probably a Good Book, But The Guy Recommending It Is a Bit of a Fraud

I guess my headlines this morning are somewhat revealing of the glib sort of mood I seem to be in...

Reading the back story in The Real Deal last week, I happened upon a reference from the doyenne of residential real estate marketing herself,Louise Sunshine. Asked what book she was currently reading, she responded with Anna Klingmann's recently released book, "Brandscapes: Architecture in the Experience Economy."

The book is about, well, what this blog is supposed to be concerned with. Namely, buildings and brands. Quoting the inside front cover,

"In the twenty-first century, we must learn to look at cities not as skylines but as brandscapes and at buildings not as objects but as advertisements and destinations. In the experience economy, experience itself has become the product; we're no longer consuming objects but sensations, even lifestyles. In the new environment of brandscapes, buildings are not about where we work and live but who we imagine ourselves to be. In "Brandscapes," Anna Klingmann looks critically at the controversial practice of branding by examining its benefits and considering the damage it may do..."

You can order a copy of "Brandscapes" from Amazon here...

And, by the way, if you're wondering who the "Fraud" referred to above is: "c'est moi..." Why am I a fraud? Well, truth be told, I haven't actually read "Brandscapes" yet.

But, in all fairness, I just got my copy yesterday...