I have four books on my desk. I am not a big reader. I read seven books in 2005 and just four so far this year. I won’t/can't read all these. But I’m always thinking about more ways to simplify and recently I’m linking that to comsumerism.
AF said it here – "in an age of massive consumerism, bigger is better, the person with the most toys wins mentality, some folks are starting to see that the Emperor is not wearing any clothes."
LW said it here - "she has thrown me much further out of the box to think about so many other things we can “minus”. Certainly possessions (her minus jewelry concept) can be rethought (i.e. want vs. need)..."
KG alluded to it throughout here.
FH said it here – "I've learned that the bicycle is the natural enemy of impulse buying."
JM said it here - "this may be the moment that started my decline into the world of consumerism for the next 15 years."
So is the bigger issue consumerism?
Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth by Jim Merkel (2003) – Interlibrary loan says this goes back Tuesday. I got through the first four chapters. It’s relatively technical and offers many ways to empirically measure your own footprint.
Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine (2006) – the story of a couple going a year without purchasing anything but necessities. Of course defining necessities is part of the fun. This is a narrative book and I’m highly likely to finish it. I’m already to April.
Living With Less: The Upside of Downsizing Your Life by Mark Tabb (2006) – as of yet unopened.
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) – as of yet unopened.
Sermon on the Mount by Clarence Jordan (1952) - the shortest of them all. 95 pages. This book has been on my shelf for 20 years. This is the year it gets read.
There are indications from The Wife that taking action on some of this could be possible. Wouldn’t that be interesting?
6 comments:
I am currently rereading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." I would like to borrow your copy of "Living with Less" - if you don't mind.
I find it much harder to read in the summer versus the winter. There's too much going on outside during the summer for me. I did manage to read "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" by Aaron Ralston. It's a non-fiction work on the dude who had his arm caught while hiking alone in Utah and had to cut it off to survive.
Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
Make sure to get it at the library, as buying it wouldn't be in the spirit of tightwaddery. But if you do buy it (as I did, after getting it at the library), you won't be sorry.
I've been thinking about reading a book about html.
But it's just a thought for now.
To many things going on in life to sit still at the moment.
Keen: To Love and Be Loved
I picked this one up and began to read it because I'm near 50 years old and I don't think I've ever had one relationship go well.
Maybe it's time I figure it out.
Snakebite:
Zen and the Art...I remember reading that. Too long ago to remember much about it.
Living with Less...library book. You're close now borrow it from them. :)
Between a Rock...amazing story. Reading that sent me on an adventure story binge - Into Thin Air (Krakauer) and The Climb (Boukreev) for your inner mountaineer.
Definitely, you will enjoy Jordan and find Ehrenbach enlightening and enraging.
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