Recommended Readings on Voluntary Simplicity
Following is a list of books that in our view represent some of the best of the literature on simple living. A few of them are challenging to read, but worth the effort. Readers who are interested in more popular sources on simple living or personal stories about individual journeys toward simplicity should inquire at their local bookstore.
Books by Canadian authors:
Boisvert, Dominique (2005). L’ABC de la simplicite volontaire. Montreal, PQ: Ecosociete. ISBN 2-923165-11-X Available only in French, this is an introduction to the philosophy and practice of simple living from one of the founding Directors of the Quebec Voluntary Simplicity Network—Reseau Quebecois pour la Simplicite Volontaire (RQSV).
Burch, Mark A. (2000). Stepping Lightly: Simplicity for People and the Planet. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-423-1 This book explores key values and practices that constitute voluntary simplicity, its relevance to environment, community, use of time and money, spirituality, and explores new areas of discussion including personal identity, economics, social justice and environmental issues. This book is available from SPARC, CDN$32.00 plus S&H.
Burch, Mark A. (1995). Simplicity: Notes Stories and Exercises for Developing Unimaginable Wealth. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers. ISBN –0-86571-323-5 A short essay on the various meanings of simplicity and the different reasons why people might wish to live more simply. The second half offers exercises designed to help readers make the psychological and emotional transition from consumptive to simpler lifestyles. This book is available from SPARC, CDN$20.00 plus S&H.
Elkin, Bruce (2003). Simplicity and Success: Creating the Life You Long For. Victoria, BC: Bruce Elkin. ISBN 141200296-6. A self-published book which fuses Elkin’s lengthy experience as a corporate trainer and personal life-coach with a voluntary simplicity perspective. The book illustrates how simple living can be engaged to achieve personal goals in life, and how living simply can contribute to success in fashioning a life of meaning and purpose.
Merkel, Jim (2003). Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-473-8 For those interested in applying voluntary simplicity to environmental stewardship, this is a well-researched, although quite demanding book, that uses ecological footprinting as a way of measuring one’s individual progress toward living more lightly on the earth. While a bit technical in places, it is also witty and down-to-earth.
Mongeau, Serge (1998). La simplicite volontaire, plus que jamais… Montreal, PQ: Ecosociete. ISBN 2-921561-39-5. Available only in French, this book arguably launched the voluntary simplicity movement in Quebec and was the seed for the formation of the Reseau Quebecois pour la Simplicite Voluntaire (The Quebec Voluntary Simplicity Network).
Books by American authors:
Elgin, Duane (1993). Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich. (revised edition)New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc. ISBN 0-688-12119-5 Elgin’s book was one of the first to appear on voluntary simplicity at least a decade before the most recent spate of popular interest in the subject.The first edition was analytical and had a tone similar to Future Shock or Megatrends.The new revised edition is much shorter and more focused on voluntary simplicity per se, but still an excellent introduction to the subject.
Segal, Jerome, (2000). Graceful Simplicity:Toward a Philosophy and Politics of Simple Living. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-5679-3 A ground-breaking entre to a politics of simple living, i.e., how to create social and economic policies that are “simplicity friendly”. It is flawed by its narrow focus on issues of concern to Americans and claims, wrongly, that simplicity is an American cultural development. On the other hand, it succeeds in taking discussion of simple living beyond individual choice and action into the domain of collective institutions and politics.
Shi, David E. (1996). The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504013-9 A scholarly but readable exploration of the role played by simple living in American culture from colonial times to the 1960s. Extremely valuable for historical background though limited to the practice of simple living in an American cultural context.
Thoreau, Henry David (1989). Walden and Other Writings. New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-21246-X This is a classic account of Thoreau’s two years living by the banks of Walden Pond in 19th Century New England. It is loaded with insightful critique of the vain strivings of ordinary mortals after peace through possessions and an unparalleled anthem to simple, self-reliant living. For modern readers, Thoreau’s long sentences and complex syntax can present challenges, but every paragraph is richly loaded with meaning and literary reference—a gourmet meal to slowly savoured.
VandenBroeck, Goldian (1996). Less Is More: The Art of Voluntary Poverty. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions. ISBN 0-89281-554-X A wonderful anthology of quotations spanning three millennia of mostly Western philosophy and spirituality addressing the delights of simple living, as well as a spirited and often amusing critique of the “ways of the world.”