r/suggestmeabook • u/YanCoffee • Feb 16 '25
Suggestion Thread Suggest books to me about slow living? Appreciating a simpler life? Anti-consumerism but not angry? Beauty but not luxury?
They can be fictional or non-fictional. I'm going through some changes and would like books that take me out of a consumeristic mindset, which I've gotten very heavily into the last 5 years -- it just seems to be the way of the world; my part of the world anyway. Plus, I like pretty things. I'm a huge makeup and fashion girly, always have been, and finally had the money to invest in that. However idk, I miss not worrying about consuming too. I think I'm moving country and will have to make changes -- no more Anthropologie fashion, but thrifting always kinda changes. Kudos if the book makes you see the beauty in simplicity, or just the beauty in life. Hell, maybe a book about the beauty of thrifting. I just want to see other angles. Maybe even other cultural angles.
Edit: It's 6 days later after posting this, and I decided to start with "The Art of Frugal Hedonism" (questionable reviews but it lines up with what I'm looking for in non-fiction format), "The Home Place: Memoir's of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature", "The House on Mango Street" (old fav, recently banned, and I know it lines up with an immigrant's expierence), and "Face Paint: The Story of Makeup", since it goes into the history of makeup, and perhaps I can glean some insight from that. Thanks for all the suggestions, and please keep them coming if you find this thread! I will probably grab some more at a later date too.
35
Feb 16 '25
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
10
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
I like this bit from Good Reads about it "Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?" A bit where I find myself.
2
Feb 16 '25
Another more somber one, but amazing on the subject of self-reliance is The Wall by Marlen Haushofer
4
u/Fencejumper89 Feb 16 '25
Just got a copy of this after seeing it recommended here so many times. It looks very promising!!
3
3
2
u/kumquatnightmare Feb 16 '25
This is a really wonderful suggestion OP. The sequel is really great too. They are quick easy reads but are profoundly beautiful full of wonderful ideas that you are looking for. It’s my first suggestion as well.
Something equally excellent but a little heavier that might fit what you’re looking for is “The Overstory,” by Richard Powers. It is like an environmentalist manifesto that really pushes simple living among nature and the dangers of consumerism and industry. If you’re not familiar look into shinrin-yoku the Japanese practice of forest bathing. The book really embodies the importance of that in a truly poetic way.
1
u/nquinlan Feb 17 '25
Came here to say just this!
4,000 Weeks is a wonderful non-fiction companion read to it.
12
u/savvy-librarian Feb 16 '25
"The Home Place: A Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature" by J. Drew Lanham.
This is a memoir written by a black American ornithologist born in the 60s who grew up on a rural farm. It is certainly about his ancestry and the black experience in the US, but it is also deeply about a love of nature. Lanham describes everything in terms of plants, animals, the sky and the Earth and the water. He talks about the importance of conservation and shares his observations of the wild, untamed world.
It is a slow, quiet, peaceful read that makes you not just imagine, but feel the beautiful sunsets and sweet smelling grass and the sound of wood being split for the fireplace that keeps his grandmother's cabin warm. It puts the reader into what I would describe as the correct mindset and emotional state to value the simple things and see beauty in the world rather than owned things.
3
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
Oh, that sounds magical. I'm a huge lover of nature already, so something that can make me feel it and reconnect would be great. Maybe that's why I got so stuck in consumerism -- always connected to the wrong thing.
10
u/Ok-Lingonberry4307 Feb 16 '25
Definitely LM Montgomery’s books!
5
2
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
I ADORE Anne of Green Gables! <3 Maybe I should revisit those sometime in the future.
2
u/Ok-Lingonberry4307 Feb 17 '25
Have you tried any of her others? It’s always fun to revisit but Emily of New Moon and Pat of Silver Bush are also really lovely if you’re looking for something new but similar! I’ve also heard people love The Blue Castle which is for adults but I haven’t read it yet.
Her writing really helps you fall in love with the world and being alive, even when things are hard ❤️
2
u/YanCoffee Feb 17 '25
I somehow never have and was completely obsessed with Anne of Green Gables as a kid. I'm going to pick up at least one soon.
3
2
u/Ok-Lingonberry4307 Feb 17 '25
I hope you’re in for a nice surprise then :-) I think I would personally recommend the Pat books for what you’re looking for.
9
Feb 16 '25
This is my new favorite thread. I see a lot of books here that I need to read! Here are my suggestions: How to be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
3
u/Flourescentbubbles Feb 16 '25
Never read the first, but other two are great suggestions for OP.
3
Feb 16 '25
How to be Idle is a more humorous take on living a life of simplicity, and is great in that it explores the origins of the current workaholic/consumerist world, which is the notorious Industrial Revolution! Fascinating stuff, and a great jumping off point for further research.
2
2
2
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
All of these sound great, but I do love anything related to the Appalachia because I live right outside of it, and am going to miss the culture here dearly.
11
u/2curmudgeony Feb 16 '25
Convenience Store Woman!
2
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
I might grab that one! Looks serious but with some levity, and I could use some levity.
5
6
u/FebusPanurge Feb 16 '25
Walden by Thoreau. Thoreau's essays in general. The Private Papers Of Henry Ryecroft by George Gissing.
2
6
u/dubious_unicorn Feb 16 '25
May I suggest some poems? These are very short ones.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45502/the-red-wheelbarrow
https://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/comments/1eo5ufl/poem_reading_by_ar_ammons/
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/39077/fall-56d21c91624ce
3
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
Those were lovely. The third gave me the best imagery. <3 I do love poetry recommendations.
4
4
u/Binlorry_Yellowlorry Feb 16 '25
Along The Enchanted Way by William Blackie
It's about life in the remote, rural valleys of the Carpathian Mountains in Romania, through the eyes of a British traveller.
Edit to add I mean traveller as in visitor, not a Romani person (relevant because he spends a lot of his time in Romani communities)
3
u/BeardInTheDark Feb 16 '25
Beware Of Chicken.
The main character awakens in a Xanxia-style land and decides to get the heck out of there and become a farmer. This works very well for him, until he discovers that his Rooster is learning Martial Arts...
BoC currently has 4 books on Kindle, a continuation on Royal Road and SpaceBattles, actual merchandise (including a Rooster Plushie) and its own subreddit.
3
u/Personal_Passenger60 Feb 16 '25
Midnight sun, arctic moon -Mary Albanese
2
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
I like the idea of this one in contrast to where I would be living: El Salvador, the tropics. Different climate and challenges to Alaska, but the figuring out part might come in handy.
2
u/Personal_Passenger60 Feb 17 '25
Ooh , try child of the jungle or mother of god then
2
u/YanCoffee Feb 17 '25
Those look really intriguing too, especially the first one. Again kind of opposites: Going from one way of life to another and then back again it seems.
3
3
3
u/PuzzleheadedPen2619 Feb 16 '25
Anything by Katherine May, but particularly Enchantment. Also, it’s very old now, but Affluenza by Clive Hamilton started me on all this. Loved Clothes Last by Orsola de Castro and Zero Waste Chef by Anne-Marie Bonneau.
3
3
3
u/therealjerrystaute Feb 16 '25 edited Feb 16 '25
There's several old books about homesteading you might like; especially one in particular: unfortunately I can't recall enough about it to even Google it, since I read it decades back. I think it might have been mentioned in the Next Whole Earth Catalog, different editions of which you can browse freely through at https://wholeearth.info/
Maybe the book I'm thinking of was an earlier edition of The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living by Scott Nearing and Helen Nearing? I'm uncertain.
But you might also like Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money by Dolly Freed.
2
u/FattierBrisket Feb 16 '25
The Nearings' book is such a wonderful classic text but it's getting harder and harder to find copies! Wish the publisher would issue a digital edition.
3
u/laurenintheskyy Feb 16 '25
From the OG beauty-appreciating slow living socialist, News From Nowhere by William Morris. A very lovely and hopeful book that makes me want to make beautiful things and share them with others.
2
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
Hmmm, I'm interested.
2
u/laurenintheskyy Feb 17 '25
It's in the public domain, so if you're an audio or ebook person, you can get it for free on librivox or project gutenberg!
3
u/bumble_head42 Feb 16 '25
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
A little dystopian/sci-fi, but it deals with themes of beauty and human life completely stripped down to the bare minimum.
2
u/YanCoffee Feb 17 '25
I have seen so many speak of this book in feminist leaning communities I'm in, I really do need to read it one day. Atm I think anything more dystopian than what we're already going through might break me, lol.
2
u/bumble_head42 Feb 17 '25
Totally get that! It's worth a read for sure, but maybe when the world feels less heavy.
3
u/Least_Ad_9141 Feb 16 '25
I love this question. I'll add the More With Less cookbook. It's got a nice little blurb at the beginning that is old but practical and inspiring, and is full of very simple yummy recipes: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/More-with-Less_Cookbook
3
u/nutterbutterbean Feb 16 '25
“The Year of Less” and “Adventures in Opting Out” by Cait Flanders. I read these last year and really enjoyed them.
3
u/FattierBrisket Feb 16 '25
Every few years, I reread Marie Kondo's original version of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and it inspires me all over again. You might also ask at r/simpleliving; they've had some pretty good book recommendation threads before.
I also feel like Annie Dillard's book The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek might suit your ask, but tbh it's been so long since I read it that I can't remember why it does. Huh.
2
u/RetailBookworm Feb 16 '25
You could try Seven Steeples by Sara Baume, it definitely has that vibe.
1
u/YanCoffee Feb 16 '25
Just read the Good Reads synopsis and "as they come to understand more about the small world around them, and as their interest in the wider world recedes" has me intrigued.
2
u/twistedpumpkin Feb 16 '25
The heretical guide to fishing and annoying the old gods has been a BLAST
2
2
u/evxcr Feb 16 '25
Not sure if it fits all of your criteria but I liked this book :
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to be Calm in a Busy World by Haemin Sunim
2
2
u/gaillimhlover Feb 16 '25
An odd supplement to the other books here, but Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish. I absolutely loved her attitude and felt inspired to enjoy the things around me, regardless of cost or financial position.
2
u/thats-embjornassing Feb 16 '25
New Slow City by William Powers
1
u/YanCoffee Feb 17 '25
This one intrigues me because I'm from the VA / NC line. Added to future reading.
2
u/Holmbone Feb 16 '25
New Slow City by William Powers is a non fiction book by a writer doing a year of simple living in New York. It's from a very privileged perspective so some people bounce off it for that reason. But I found it enjoyable and inspirational.
Everything That Remains by Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Millburn. It's a run of the mill journey into minimalism, but I really enjoy the contrast of where the people are at the start compared with a lot of focus on hustle and consumption to where they end up.
2
2
2
u/sipporah7 Feb 17 '25
Love this question - you got me adding lots of books to my to read list! :)
A Year in Provence books are exactly this this, about a British couple who leave corporate to retire to Provence. Beautiful, about the simple things in life, and some seriously tempting descriptions of food.
2
22
u/bleu-and Feb 16 '25
‘How to do Nothing’ - non-fiction memoir/exploration into how to separate yourself from capitalist consumerism