Today is like a day off for me, which means a day of books and walks.
Unfortunately, I won’t take you with me for a walk, but I’ll share a list of some books.
Before introducing something new into my life, I usually try to study it from a distance in order to understand if I need it.
How will it affect my life and – important! – the lives of those who are close to me.
So when I came close to the idea of ”throw everything out and rebuild the schedule of the day, too,” I first rustled the Internet and got hold of books that helped me better understand the idea of minimalism.
My first book on the topic was “The Art of Living Simple” by Dominic Loro, which was recommended to me back in the fall by a good man, whose opinion I appreciated.
But this literature was not enough: a strong internal protest in me, as a person familiar with anatomy and physiology, was caused by the second part of the book, which tells about the body and nutrition.
But I liked the ideas that I managed to gather, so I began to dig further.
There are many books and records on the topic of minimalism. Most of them simply repeat each other, summarizing the same thought and the same conclusions in different ways.
Which is logical: minimalism is really a minimal idea, there is nothing superfluous in it that could be absorbed into a hundred dissertations. This is the core of life, on which everyone is already layering something of their own.
However, in each of these books you can find valuable seeds of ideas that you can add to life (thanks to Loro for the weekly bouquet of flowers at the head of my bed, it makes me happier), and they can be used not only as instructions.
It can also be used as inspiration.
In the daily noise of affairs and worries, we often need the thoughts and things that are important to us to be repeated, reminding us of ourselves.
Top 5 books of the future minimalist
“Walden, or Life in the Woods”
Henry David Thoreau
American unhurried classic in its style. This book is more than just a literary autobiographical work, it is a whole philosophy.
If philosophy isn’t quite what you’re looking for, then it’s worth starting with the books below, and then take on Thoreau. First, taste the idea itself, and then polish it to the depth.
In appearance, everything is simple: once upon a time there was a man who decided to prove that he could live alone in the forest. Without people, with a minimum of money. And be happy at the same time.
And he proved, of course, but the book that was born to him (and he lived in the forest for two years and two months) is not a simple description of building a house, but a whole ideology.
As you read, make allowances for when this book was written. In the 21st century, our thinking is already different from the thinking of a person who enjoys silence in the forest and a simple life: we are always rushing somewhere, our thinking is called “clip”, we do not stay long on any one subject.
Perhaps many things will seem alien to you and you will not be able to accept them. But “Walden…” can also be that sip of peace that you can take after a hard day at work.
And they will be a little imbued with the idea that you really can’t buy things that are really important to us. And it is not necessary to sublimate them, filling the house and life with rubbish.
“Happy Minimalist”
Peter Lawrence
Not a bad book to start with: the author, with a calm and even somewhat pragmatic approach, explains why he chose this path, how his choice affected him.
Shows by example charts and logic (which I love terribly) why choosing to be a minimalist can be useful.
Do not forget about inspiration: there is a whole section of quotes on the topic. Adds about ethical standards, subjective experience and much more.
This book can also be useful as a practical guide.
“The art of living simply. How to get rid of excess and enrich your life”
Dominic Loro
Frankly, not the most favorite book of readers who are interested in the subject, and I would also advise limiting ourselves to only the first part.
And introductory words of recommendation do not help either: thanks to them, one expects more from the book than it can give.
When you start reading about “slags and toxins”, the impression of the book quickly deteriorates. It will also deteriorate greatly for those who do not like the philosophy of frenzied fixation on thoughtless happiness. Or repetition of the same ideas and thoughts.
However, the beginning is excellent: Loro writes a little in the tone of a “knowledgeable guru”, but quite correct things. Get rid of the excess, because your life should nourish you.
Pay attention to the living, not the dead: for example, my favorite idea is fresh flowers in a vase.
What a book does well: It can help set the mood. From it you can extract a couple of ideas that are easy to put into practice.
Yes, it needs to be filtered. Yes, there are positions that the author describes without understanding the subject, but in a very smart tone. But the seeker can find something useful here too.
“Easier”
Matt Madeiro
A cheerful blogger who writes in a light language with jokes and who also went through the simplification of life in his own skin.
Not as thoughtful as Thoreau, not as pragmatically systematized as Lauren, not as airy and breathy as Loro, but that’s just fine: a simple guy who likes to bold the main points in the text and seriously believes that minimalism – it’s simple.
What deserves a kiss in karma is because he is, in general, right. He does not call, does not claim that his opinion is the only true one, he offers to try and cites his own – quite a working experience, as an example.
And he writes very simply about simple things.
This mini-book is a little shorter even than Lawrence’s Happy Minimalist, repeats all the same ideas that Thoreau so deeply described and clearly systematized (or beautifully stretched over the whole book) by other authors, but this book is pleasant because it is a good book. fixing material.
With a couple of great ideas about the body or sorting out unnecessary things at home.
Reading it is like chatting with your close friend. Simple and nice. And once again strengthens in the desire to do what was planned.
“Gift of the sea”
Ann Lindberg
You know, this book is over fifty years old, and it’s still good. Of the entire list above, they are closest to “Walden…”. Except that this book is written by a woman, practically for women.
Try it, it calms.
Enjoy reading.
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