Books About Simple Living
What is Simple living? Perhaps it’s a life reduced to the basics, taking care of the essentials and having no interest in accumulating more objects. Maybe it’s a shedding, a stripping down, a reduction in unnecessary life responsibilities.
Compiling this list of books about simple living made me examine my own ideas of what this meant. I hope there’s something here that you find useful or interesting.
Vikor E. Frankl - Man’s Search for Meaning
Considering the reasons for the life we lead is important. Frankl’s book is one of my favourite books on looking at the meaning behind our actions.
Frankl survives four concentration camps but loses his wife, parents and brother - his theories are tested in the most extreme of circumstances. He finds three sources - Purposeful work, love, and courage in the face of suffering.
This is a book that will encourage you to think about the motivations for simplifying your life. What do you need and what can you do without?
“Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.”
Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon AUS
Mark Boyle - The Way Home
If you were planning a simple existence, where would you live? Mark Boyle gives up electricity and the trappings of modern life to live in a small cabin in the west of Ireland, living off the land without any modern equipment - essentially living a life without technology.
It was 11:00 pm when I checked my email for the last time and turned off my phone for what I hoped would be forever. No running water, no car, no electricity or things like the internet, phone, washing machine, radio, or light bulb. Just a wooden cabin, on a smallholding, by the edge of a stand of spruce.
Although this may be a simple and sustainable life, there are times when it’s also a struggle for Mark. He doesn’t romanticise it, and it forces you to think if you could do without your apps and gadgets -we’re so attached to our modern ways of living, and it would take serious adjustment for many of us. How far are you prepared to go to achieve a life of minimalism and simple living?
But what does appeal to me is how Mark reconnects to nature. Many of us have lost touch with using our hands or working the land. To rediscover that would be, for me, one of the greatest joys of a simple life - to be independent, growing our own food, living life on our terms.
Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon AUS
Ryunosuke Koike - The Practice of Not Thinking
Simplifying your life by going into an attic and filling boxes with objects no longer wanted sounds easy. But what about the roof space in your body - how would you go about decluttering your mind?
Former monk Ryonosuke Koike invites us to do just that in ‘The practice of not thinking.’ He invites us to look at how we perceive and engage with our thoughts, to help us clear our mind or at least reduce the noise.
He has an engaging writing style and is able to explain more various buddhist concepts in an easy to understand manner. Mindfulness is probably already familiar to you, and in this book Koike outlines how we can bring into our everyday lives, especially in our interactions with others. Simplifying our relationships is certainly something important in reducing friction in our lives.
There is also a useful section on minimalism, about getting rid of what you don’t need. Looking around our homes, we can all find objects that are no longer needed, but we often have emotional attachments to things. But I have to say personally that there’s something liberating about throwing out items - having a good cull. Keep your minimalist books, naturally.
This is a subject I’ve written about in this list on meditation books. It’s difficult to be clear in our reasons for a simple life if our mind is going at a million miles per hour. Reducing the noise is essential, allowing us to rest in our true nature and make decisions accordingly.
Stolen Focus - Johann Hari
If you are giving up your devices in order to lead a simple life, this book will give you the motivation to do so. Modern living has destroyed our concentration; most of us have the attention span of a small bee. Putting down your phone to read this book might mean that you don’t lift it up again as often.
Reading this, you’ll see that your attention span has become a commodity for Silicon Valley. It shocked me how much time I was giving to these companies, and after I got over the anger, I began to examine my own usage; did I need to check into the constant bad news cycle, to receive the constant pings from a pointless WhatsApp group I couldn’t get out of?
This is a call to lay down your gadgets, and embrace the simple life; Hey, we survived without them before. To do so again is an opportunity to reclaim your focus and find out what’s important; to be present in your life.
Time away from these distractions is becoming more and more valuable and precious in the age of information overload - your mind and body will thank you for it. Removing unnecessary gadgets from your life will give you more time to live it.
Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon AUS
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
‘Siddhartha’ by Herman Hesse is about a man who gives up everything, including family, possessions and home to devote his life to spiritual seeking. I think as far as simple living goes, you can’t get more extreme than that.
This is a book that encouraged me the big questions. How much money do you need? When you order lots of shiny new things from the big A, how many of them do you have a use for (apart from simple living books, of course)?
Everything, including ourselves, is perishable. Nothing lasts forever. We are on a small blue ball spinning into infinity and are here for an incredible short period. Go for a walk around your nearest graveyard - who mourns these people? Everyone we know will die and be forgotten soon - as will we.
Whether you’re religious or secular minded, this book will help you look and examine what’s important in your life. Siddhartha gave up his duties and worldly possessions because he wanted to investigate the nature of suffering, and overcome it. Your ambitions may not be as lofty but with time and space, you might find your own priorities changing. Just being present and aware allows our natural self to blossom.
Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon AUS
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
We have an average of four thousand weeks to spend on this small blue ball. What are we doing with our time? It’s possible to feel despair as the clock inevitably ticks down, but what about simplifying our lives and making the best of the time that we do have?
This is very much a practical book, offering tips for maximising your sweet, precious time. You’re not going to get doing everything in life you want to, so why not simplify your focus and work on what’s achievable? What’s of value to you in your one single, finite life?
This is short, practical but also philosophical book that will force you to think about focusing on what matters. It’s not as simple as having good ‘time management skills’ - it’s what you do with it that counts. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
Convenience culture seduces us into imagining that we might find room for everything important by eliminating only life’s tedious tasks. But it’s a lie. You have to choose a few things, sacrifice everything else, and deal with the inevitable sense of loss that results.
Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon AUS
Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh
I’ve mentioned mindfulness a couple of times in this list of books on simple living and I make no apologies for that; no topic has contributed more to my appreciation and understanding of simple living. And Thich Nhat Hanh is perhaps one of the teachers that has been as important as anyone.
We can read all the books, listen to all the podcasts, watch all the YouTube but one thing, emphasised in this book, is more important than any other; Presence is available to us in every moment. The past and the future only exist in our thoughts - ephemeral and fleeting. There is only ever the now.
This book is divided into short chapters, written in Thay’s gentle and compassionate style. There are sections on bringing mindfulness into your daily life, dealing with difficult emotions, and how meditation can bring peace into our lives.
I couldn't compile a list on books about simple living without including Thich Nhat Hanh. Slowing down is something we all need to do, and this book can show you how. A simple book for a simple life.