Simple Matters: Living with Less and Ending Up with More
Erin Boyle
Very enjoyable encouragement for the minimalists among us. Boyle writes the “Reading My Tea Leaves” blog, which Elise subscribes to, and which I effectively subscribe to because I basically read all of the blog posts with her unless they are about makeup. We were first introduced to her through her series of posts on “growing a minimalist wardrobe,” which is basically equally applicable to both genders I’d say.
The book is a little bit of a hodgepodge, kind of like a greatest hits distillation of the blog (although I think it is all original content, even if it covers many familiar topics). In general, I felt that her writing style translated OK to the book format, but she is really at her best on the blog. Possibly this is in part attributable to my automatic inclination to read a book from cover to cover, where I am more likely to pick and choose when reading (or not) blog posts.
I find Boyle to be a thoughtful writer who, while certainly of the minimalist school, does not write in an “I have all the answers” style like Marie Kondo, but invites the reader to share in her own experience of trying to work out a way to be in the world. It’s a distinctive and appealing style for me, and one that I mostly associate with a few female writers such as Dana Velden, but also a smaller number of male writers such as David Cain.