Minimalism and Books: How Much Less isn’t More

I’ve got this idea in my head of possessions, clothes in particular. In my mind I am thinking of them in the future as being singular. If my head gets cold, I put on Hat. If my arms get cold, I put on Shirt. If I am frightening people and the law has been called, I put on Pants.

Of couse, there are some practical situations in which this is not ideal. For instance, this afternoon I have to be somewhere which requires me to wear Suit with Nice Blue Shirt and Tie and also Nice Shoes. I would feel pretty silly without Suit right now. On the other hand, I’m a little guilty of wristwatch nerdism. I own five. I think that might be too many.

So I’m a guy who is interested in owning as few things as possible, and I’m devoting some effort to determining where that line is for me. If you have some ideas along these lines, please leave a comment or email me. Like Johnny 5, I need input.

Books: better than Cheryls

This line must be drawn across all manner of possessions, though, including books. I love to read, but I have quite a few books that I’ve read as many times as I am going to. I don’t scurry back to my bookshelf to refer to some passage inside the text; I have the Internet for that. No, I just read them once or twice and move on.

That is, except the few books that I bought in hardback because I love them so much. I’d even like to own a signed first edition of one or two.

With all this in mind, Chris asked me the other day what I thought about books and e-readers like the Nook and Kindle. I didn’t have a good answer then, but here are my ideas so far.

Great Things about E-Readers

First of all, I think it’s great that its so easy to buy books nowadays. I think that can only help promote reading, and that’s one place where e-readers are really helping things. Being able to download a new title wirelessly is incredible, especially since your entire library takes up only the space of your device. So, that’s two points in favor of the e-readers: instant gratification and portability.

That said, I have tried the Nook and read a few things on my iPhone, and it’s just not the same for me.

Great things about Books

I have to say, I still like regular old books. I like the type, I like the smell, and I like dog-earing pages. Especially with hardbound books, I feel that owning them is kind of like a little shrine to whatever life change or new mode of thought that book evoked for me.

Above and beyond that, though, I like the ritual of books. Reading and then turning out the light and going to sleep is nice. Taking a book to a coffee shop is nice. I’m not sure these little rituals would be the same with a glowing screen. After all, if you are as self absorbed as I am and you think people care what you are reading in public, you’ll know there’s no way they can tell from looking at your e-reader.

I have a distinct memory of being a child and throwing a copy of The Giving Tree. My mom scolded me.

“Books are our friends,” she said, and I still feel that she was right.