The Trash Collector
Better Living Through Bad Taste
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Pub Date Feb 16 2027 | Archive Date Jan 31 2027
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Description
A philosophy professor explains why our “guilty pleasures” aren’t mere indulgences, but a secret path to a good life.
Trash: You know it when you see it—the cheesy reality show, the made-for-TV movie, the garbage disdained by people of good taste. But philosopher Matthew Strohl argues that “good taste” might be a trap that narrows our horizons and mutes the expressive power of our own unique preferences. Instead, Strohl encourages us to nurture our weirdest curiosities and explore the liberating potential of the most unlikely aesthetic realms. An alluring connoisseur of cultural refuse, Strohl examines the bargain-bin cinema of Eric Roberts (the most prolific American film actor), spa music, spicy werewolf novels, Minnesota hot dish, and Lifetime movies. Deftly gesturing to thinkers like Pierre Bourdieu, Nick Riggle, and Alexander Nehamas, Strohl celebrates the “cardinal virtues of trash”—including curiosity, openness, humility and authenticity—and suggests that by journeying into the uncharted wasteland of bad taste, we might just find a path to self-actualization.
About the Author:
Matthew Strohl is a professor of philosophy at the University of Montana and the author of Why It’s OK to Love Bad Movies and Hard to Watch: How to Fall in Love with Difficult Movies. He lives in Missoula, Montana.
Advance Praise
"In The Trash Collector, Matthew Strohl gives us a constant gush of laugh-insights, those moments when you read something so clear, so true, so perfect, and so mind-meltingly weird, that you collapse into heaps of helpless laughter while you galaxy-brain yourself. As he embarks on increasingly unhinged voyages, through everything from Lifetime stalker movies to chill-out spa-music, Strohl shows us that real path to beauty isn’t through elitism, or mindless consumption, but rather through absolutely committing yourself to the weirdest possible thing, and loving the world through intense devotion to its trashiest corners." -C. Thi Nguyen, author of The Score
"An engaging love letter to cultural omnivorism that reminds us we can't properly value artistic masterpieces until we better understand the nuances of the shoddiest kitsch." -W. David Marx, author of Blank Space: A Cultural History of the 21st Century
"[Matthew Strohl] makes a radical case for curiosity, humility, and joy as an alternative to smugness and conformity. Reading The Trash Collector feels like having a deep conversation with a new friend at a party—after you finish, the world feels bigger, richer, and full of unexpected beauty." -Heather Radke, author of Butts: A Backstory
"Matthew Strohl makes a persuasive case for embracing ‘bad’ art, for loving, fearlessly and ferociously, all that speaks to us without worrying about judgement. This book enables you to lean into your taste — it gave me more confidence to like what I like!" -Anupama Chopra, Editor of The Hollywood Reporter India
"A delightful deep-dive into the parts of culture people are wrongly ashamed to appreciate, The Trash Collector is a charming defense of the cultural junk we secretly love. Only Matthew Strohl can extract deep philosophical insights from Lifetime stalker movies and macaroni salad topped with hot dogs and meat sauce." -Barry Lam, author of Fewer Rules, Better People and host of Slate's Hi-Phi Nation podcast
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781324089063 |
| PRICE | $29.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 224 |