As we come towards the end of January, it seems only fitting to reflect on some of the books I intentionally read as a ‘reset’ heading into 2024. In my life, I want to move towards letting go of some of the excess – both in physical form [clothes and books being key areas for me], and in mental form [being hard on myself, not making time for things I love]. To help get me into the right mindset to focus on some intentions for the year, I focused on books that look at different facets of what enough might look like for different people. Each approach the subject in a different way, and were thoroughly enjoyable – I hope you’ll enjoy my brief review of them below.
Simple Matters – Erin Boyle
Simple Matters was a Christmas gift and it seemed only fitting to read it as the first book of 2024. I’ve read a lot around the subject of simplifying, and minimalism and this is first book that I’ve come across that is written from the viewpoint of someone who has generally always lived with less. Often books on simplifying or minimalism start with a lengthy introduction as to how the author had everything they thought they wanted, before having a realisation that maybe less is more. Erin, in writing about her own experience, bypasses this and gets straight into the methods and tools that her and her family use to keep life simple. This isn’t a new book, first published in 2016, it was written in a pre-pandemic time but it still feels very relevant to 2024 – if not more so.
Focusing on living with what you love, spending time on things you love [in lieu of buying things], as well as simple ways that you can bring a bit of breathing space into your week – this book is a gentle and beautiful addition to any reading list. Not only is the imagery within beautiful, but Erin come across as genuinely warm and likeable, with none of the overzealousness that often comes with those promoting minimalism.
There is a clear link in this book between living more simply and sustainability, again – not a link that is always made although they should go hand in hand. Erin’s written style reminds me a lot of a girl I have come across on tiktok – @ReLauren, in the sense that there is an understanding that living more simply, and therefore more sustainably is of course important, but it is important to recognise that what our governments and corporations do have a much larger impact – so it’s okay not to be perfect.
I would encourage you to give this book a read if you’re interested in a simpler life, perhaps check it out from your local library. Erin has a new book coming out this year – Making Things: Finding Use, Meaning, and Satisfaction in Crafting Everyday Objects, but if you fancy checking out her writing in the meantime, you can find her blog here, or on Substack.
Enough – Jessica Rose Williams
Sticking with the theme of simplifying, it seemed fitting to add this book to the list. Full disclosure, this book has been on my shelf for a while, but I’ve never actually read it cover to cover – to be fair though, it is literally written within that it’s one that can be picked up and read in any order so I don’t feel too bad.
I’ve followed Jessica for a while, coming across her writing when I was trying to simplify my wardrobe [the first of many times] a long time ago. Since then, her writing has expanded out to cover a much wider range of topics, and a number of E-Books.
Focusing on Enough – this book collates a lot of advice on how to simplify, encouraging you to reflect and journal throughout the process, as well as delving into Jessica’s own story of what led to this point. I’m not one for journaling, but I found the prompts useful none-the-less as they are spread throughout the chapters and provide a good break in between topics. It was interesting to read about the internal struggles that can happen whilst simplifying – that idea that you’re marking yourself out as different, and the difficulties that can come with that. It’s definitely an approach that provides an insight where books purely focused on the process typically wouldn’t. I’m not sure I would feel the need to revisit this book, although I enjoyed it – I feel like I get a lot of value from Jessica’s videos and social media, I do however have a friend that would love this, so I will be passing it on to her.
If you want to check out more of Jessica’s work, you can find her blog here, or on her YouTube.
Stuff – Randy O. Frost + Gail Steketee
This book…..wow….all I can say, is if you have ever had the concern that you might be holding onto a little too much ‘stuff’ in your life, this will likely make you think twice. Written by Randy O. Frost + Gail Steketee, this is about some of the initial scientific research they undertook into exploring and understand hoarding as it’s own mental health concern. It is written incredibly compassionately, you can feel that real time has been taken in getting to know the people they were speaking with, and that there is no intention to shame anyone for finding themselves in this situation.
Focusing on a select number of people that were approached regarding hoarding, each chapter takes the time to explore their backgrounds, their lives – how they found themselves hoarding as well as efforts taken to help them find a way out of hoarding. Sometime successful, sometimes less so – it is incredibly interesting to understand the different routes that are explored when hoarding is identified in a community.
I think we all sometimes try to hold onto things that should we should maybe let go of, looking at you overloaded bookcase, however reading this book has given me a new appreciation for what it really means to be a hoarder, and how difficult that is for people in that situation. It is an incredible read, and I would recommend it to anyone to help get some perspective on your own life [good or bad]. I would note – this was first published in 2010 and times have moved on a lot since then, I would be interested to read some more recent publications around this topic, so if you have any recommendations – let me know!
The Crossroads of Should and Must – Elle Luna
Read. This. Immediately. I promise you it’s worth it, you can read it in a couple of hours, tops – read it, sit with it, think about what you really want from your life and figure out a way to incorporate even the tiniest steps towards achieving it. I love this book, it’s been on my bookshelf for a number of years and I re-read it at least once annually – not only is it beautiful inside, but the writing just speaks my language. The crossroads are not an easy place to be, and Elle is not patronising in her approach, but she does make it seem like anyone can follow their ‘must’ – and in fact, that it is imperative to do so. I highly recommend giving this one a read, not just in January – at any time of year!
If you’re interested in learning more about Elle, check out her website here, where you can also subscribe to her newsletter.
So, the aim of the reading challenge this year is to streamline my book collection, however – I think most of these will stay. I’m intending to gift Enough to a friend, and Stuff – well I’m undecided on that one, if it was available on Kindle I would probably pass forward my copy, I think I’ll review when I do a monthly round up next at the end of the month.
I really enjoyed theming my first books of the year in this manner, it has helped me to bring together the drifting thoughts I’ve been having on simplifying my own life, living with a little less, and focusing more on things that bring me joy – like this blog! Does anyone else theme their reading lists in this way? What have your first few books of the year been like?
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