In the pursuit of simple living, it’s important to remember why exactly you’re attempting to slow down and lead a more deliberate life. Often growing your own vegetables, hanging out your laundry, baking your own bread and other valuable simple pursuits take up a bit of time and it’s easy to find yourself getting too busy being simplified!

Every schedule can use periods of built in, productive down time. I think one of the most rejuvenating forms of rest is reading a good book. If fiction is your preference, good literature abounds and can afford you the opportunity of thinking about different places, times, and sorts of people. Perhaps you always wanted to read the classics and you could give yourself a little bit of time each day to become acquainted with the canon of great literature. Alternatively to fiction, or perhaps interspersed with it, you might take time to research a new skill or a topic of particular interest to you. We hope that some of the book reviews we’ve offered on this site might be a good jumping off point for you to learn more about natural living, and there are other books we have enjoyed linked in our Amazon page.

Whatever you decide to read, we think that taking a little time to renew your mind and pause to sit with a good book is a good investment in simple living. If you run across books on natural living, supporting sustainable farming, organic food or the like, please feel free to leave us a comment – we’re always looking for good book suggestions too!