The Library

Digital Minimalism : Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
Drawing on a diverse array of real-life examples, from Amish farmers to harried parents to Silicon Valley programmers, Newport identifies the common practices of digital minimalists and the ideas that underpin them. He shows how digital minimalists are rethinking their relationship to social media, rediscovering the pleasures of the offline world, and reconnecting with their inner selves through regular periods of solitude. He then shares strategies for integrating these practices into your life, starting with a thirty-day "digital declutter" process that has already helped thousands feel less overwhelmed and more in control.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Discusses a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so you can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter.

Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki
Fumio Sasaki is not an enlightened minimalism expert or organizing guru like Marie Kondo -- he's just a regular guy who was stressed out and constantly comparing himself to others, until one day he decided to change his life by saying goodbye to everything he didn't absolutely need. The effects were remarkable: Sasaki gained true freedom, new focus, and a real sense of gratitude for everything around him. In "Goodbye, Things" Sasaki modestly shares his personal minimalist experience, offering specific tips on the minimizing process and revealing how the new minimalist movement can not only transform your space but truly enrich your life. The benefits of a minimalist life can be realized by anyone, and Sasaki's humble vision of true happiness will open your eyes to minimalism's potential.

Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life by Joshua Fields Millburn
At age 30, best friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus walked away from their six-figure corporate careers, jettisoned most of their material possessions, and started focusing on what's truly important. In their debut book, Joshua and Ryan, authors of the popular website THE MINIMALISTS, explore their troubled pasts and descent into depression. Though they had achieved the American Dream, they worked ridiculous hours, wastefully spent money, and lived paycheck to paycheck. Instead of discovering their passions, they pacified themselves with ephemeral indulgences -- which only led to more debt, depression, and discontent. After a pair of life-changing events, Joshua & Ryan discovered minimalism, allowing them to eliminate their excess material things so they could focus on life's most important "things": health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.

Soulful Simplicity: How Living With Less Can Lead to So Much More by Courtney Carver
Carver's constant striving for more was forced to a halt when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. By pursuing practical minimalism, she was able to create more space, more time, less stress-- and even more love in her life. Now she shows readers how to reclaim lightness and ease by getting rid of excess things.

The Abundance of Less: Lessons in Simple Living From Rural Japan by Andy Couturier
Andy Couturier captures the texture of sustainable lives well lived in these ten profiles of ordinary -- yet exceptiona l--men and women who left behind mainstream existences in urban Japan to live surrounded by the luxuries of nature, art, friends, delicious food and an abundance of time. Drawing on traditional Eastern spiritual wisdom and culture, these pioneers describe the profound personal transformations they underwent as they escaped the stress, consumerism, busyness, and dependence on technology of modern life. This intimate and evocative book tells of their fulfilling lives as artists, philosophers, and farmers who rely on themselves for happiness and sustenance. By inviting readers to enter into the essence of these individuals' days, Couturier shows us how we too can bring more meaning and richness to our own lives.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson
In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning death and städning meaning cleaning. Margareta instructs readers to embrace minimalism, and suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you'd ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children's art projects). Digging into her late husband's tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
The best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing.

The Longing for Less : Living With Minimalism by Kyle Chayka
Kyle Chayka is one of our sharpest cultural observers. After spending years covering minimalist trends for leading publications, he now delves beneath this lifestyle's glossy surface, seeking better ways to claim the time and space we crave. He shows that our longing for less goes back further than we realize. His search leads him to the philosophical and spiritual origins of minimalism, and to the stories of artists such as Agnes Martin and Donald Judd; composers such as John Cage and Julius Eastman; architects and designers; visionaries and misfits. As Chayka looks anew at their extraordinary lives and explores the places where they worked -- from Manhattan lofts to the Texas high desert and the back alleys of Kyoto -- he reminds us that what we most require is presence, not absence.

The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders
"The Year of Less" documents Cait's life from July 2014 to June 2015, during which time she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car.