Book Review: Simplify Your Life

Posted by Laura

May 22, 2007

Book Information

Title: Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter (aff)
Author: Elaine St. James
Rating (of 10): 6
ISBN: 0786880007

Book Summary

This book is a quick introduction to simplifying your life. Based on the author’s actual experience, it provides concrete steps on simplification

Review

This was the first book I ever read on simplification. The edition I have is a gift-book sized one, and was enticingly placed next to the checkout. Elaine St. James takes you through where she was, what spurred the decision to simplify, and 100 ways she applied simplification to her life. Each of the chapters is titled with a hint, followed by further clarification, and personal examples.

What I found about this book is that it is geared toward working people with extra money, a large choice of working locations and no young family. Ms. St. James seems to expect that all these tips should be applicable out-of-the-box to everyone, as indicated in her introduction:

“It’s possible your life is complicated enough … to warrant implementing may or all of these suggestions. Or it might be that taking just one or two of these steps…will provide the level of simplicity you need…”

I don’t agree that all the book’s suggestions are such as will simplify everyone’s life. For example, “Stop Sending Christmas Cards” would actually make my life more complicated, due to the amount of phone calls I would receive from elderly relatives. However, changing the way I send the cards was definitely a simplification.

I think this book is a good read, and well worth the couple of hours you will invest to read it.

Related Products (aff)

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