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Thread: What books are on your essential voluntary simplicity reading list?

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    What books are on your essential voluntary simplicity reading list?

    I was just looking at a post over at Early Retirement Extreme about finance/lifestyle books and thought it might be interesting to poll folks here about what books they feel had the most impact on them when it comes to living simple.

    This wouldn't be a "top 10" list or anything (though you can post one if you want). Just a few books that really had a impact on you.

    Like a lot of folks here, no doubt, I'd put Your Money or Your Life high on the list. Other titles might include Walden, Duane Elgin's Voluntary Simplicity, Jim Merkel's Radical Simplicity, Small Is Beautiful, Scott and Helen Nearing's The Good Life, and The Value of Voluntary Simplicity, just to name a few off the top of my head.

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    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
    The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    I posted this same list on 9/7/14: oldhat, you and I are on the same page (excuse the pun):

    • Walden
    • Your Money or Your Life Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
    • The Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing
    • The Minimalists by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (This is kind of a minimalism book for millenials)
    • Saved: How I Quit Worrying About Money and Became the Richest Man in the World by Ben Hewitt (Quick easy read, but entertaining and inspiring. I really liked this book)
    • Choosing Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce (Good book, maybe not top on my list both worthwhile)
    • Simple Prosperity by David Wann (same: many simple living themes are repeated in this book, but it's written well)
    • Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin (Another classic)
    • Twelve by Twelve by William Powers (I really enjoyed reading this book about a female doctor who chucked everything and lives in a 12 x 12 house so that she has time and money to pursue causes that are important to her.)
    • Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fiskar (Dense and philosophical. However, it's one of my favorites. He's an engineer so he takes an extremely analytical approach, talking about models and systems, but it's a good read after you've had some caffeine)
    • Radical Simplicity by Jim Merkel (much the same as the previous. Another engineer, and another one who uses a lot of math to break down the carbon footprint of everything we do. But I love this book--it's one of my top 10 simple living books. Merkel chucked his job a government engineer after the Exxon Valdez incident, and he lives (or lived at that time) on $5,000 a year to keep from having to pay taxes
    • Less is More (there are two books with this title. Cecile Andrews is one and other is an edited book of quotes--very inpsiring--by Goldian Vandenbroeck. Both are good, but I prefer the latter book. The subtitle is An Anthology of Ancient & Modern Voices Raised in Praise of Simplicity. Very inspiring to pick up and flip through--however, it is NOT available on Kindle.)
    • Minimalism by Peter Lawrence (I like this book--another very easy read, and inspirational. You can actually find a YouTube by him where he goes through his apartment and explains his rationale for the VERY little he has. And I mean he has VERY little).


    I know there are more I could add, but I'm supposed to be working on a report for work right now.. I would second "Small Is Beautiful"--great book.

    And… I've actually read Richard Gregg's seminal work, also. We really are on the same page!
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Millionaire Next Door -- I love this book!

    Your Money or Your Life -- I've not actually read this in its entirety. The Gold Mine idea of assigning life-energy value to each piece of crap that you buy is key, that and the larger idea of spending your life doing something besides working for The Man. The rest of it--tracking expenses and investing and etc. are just mechanics and are not very interesting to me.

    Otherwise it is forums for me:

    Mr. Money Mustache

    this one

    Get Rich Slowly has some decent blog posts sometimes
    Last edited by iris lilies; 12-3-14 at 4:20pm.

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    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    +1 on Your Money or Your Life
    I also like the folksy tone of books by Ernie Zelinksi (The Joy of Not Working, How to Retire happy wild and free) and a book called Simple Living Investments by Phillips/Campbell)- which really doesn't talk about monetary investments- instead it talks about community, etc as investments that "pay off" during retirement. Also like Janet Luhr's Simple Living Guide and the More With Less cookbooks, which include a lot of anecdotes about people in various simple living conditions (usually missionaries).

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Thought of another one you would like, oldhat--it's A Handmade Life by William Coperthwaite, who was friends with the Nearings. Beautiful book--best in print rather than Kindle.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Yes, I've read A Handmade Life. A very admirable guy.

    I found Twelve by Twelve interesting, although less because of its author than because of the woman whose house he temporarily inhabits. She sounded very interesting--a medical doctor who deliberately takes almost no salary so she doesn't have to pay taxes that fund the war machine, and who lives in a 12x12 house because domiciles that size don't qualify as a house and aren't taxed. The author didn't tell much about her, though. Apparently she insists on her privacy.

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    Senior Member mtnlaurel's Avatar
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    Here are the ones I read in late 90s that got me trying to go down this road:
    - Your Money or Your Life
    - Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs
    - Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui: Free Yourself from Physical,Mental,Emotional, and Spiritual Clutter Forever by Karen Kingston
    - Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
    - Chop Wood Carry Water: A Guide to Finding Spiritual Fullfillment in Everyday Life by Rick Fields
    (when I just looked this book up on Amazon to find the author's name, I came across this funny review "It struck me that it was almost like I was sitting next to a hippie who has deeply studied religions, but thanks to all the pot they've smoked, can't really decipher what the point of the quotes was in the first place, and who lives his life by none of them"... Uh oh, this may have pegged me. I am definitely not a purist by any means.)

    I just remember how obsessed I was reading these. It was a really exciting time for me.
    I found this board by an Internet search of 'Your Money or Your Life"

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    Ernest Callenbach's "Living Cheaply with Style" (original title Living Poor with Style)

    Ralph Warner's "Get a Life - You don't Need a Million to retire well"

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    Senior Member Miss Cellane's Avatar
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    The Little House on the Prairie books. A real life example of how appreciating what you have is better than longing for what you don't.

    Little Women. Sappy and sentimental, but also a lesson that having everything doesn't equal happiness.

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