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Reading Room:  Better Off  |
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CountryGirl85
True Blue Farmgirl
225 Posts
Laura
Oswego
IL
USA
225 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 17 2006 : 11:01:18 PM
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Hey girls!
I'm reading a really great book called "Better Off." It's about a couple who decide to live in an Amish-like communtiy for 18 months leaving behind all modern technology. The authour, Eric Brende, is a young newlywed fresh out of graduate school and is disheartened with the way machines have taken over our lives. He wonders, "What is the least we need to achieve the most?" It's very thought provoking, a scientific analysis intertwinded with a wonderful human story. So far, a great read!
Much love,
Laura |
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rosebud74a
True Blue Farmgirl
109 Posts
Stacy
Maryland
NY
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2006 : 03:14:24 AM
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I am going to add it to my ever growing list of great things to read!!!Thanks, Peace, Stacy
How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
Henry David Thoreau
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
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RachelLeigh
True Blue Farmgirl
635 Posts
Rachel
Rainier
WA
USA
635 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2006 : 07:15:25 AM
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Oh let us know how the book is! I've been wanting to read that one!
My blog: mycountryhome.blogspot.com |
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Snowden Cottage
True Blue Farmgirl
56 Posts
Mumsie
Valley
WA
USA
56 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2006 : 11:33:30 AM
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Did you get it at your local library? Sounds like one I just gotta read!
Blessings, Mumsie
Live simply... Love deeply...Hope forever! |
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CountryGirl85
True Blue Farmgirl
225 Posts
Laura
Oswego
IL
USA
225 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2006 : 9:22:59 PM
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Yep, I got it from the library. It really makes you think. A lot of people think that lessening our dependence on modern technology is taking a step back, but I really see it as a step forward. A lot of these things that are supposed to make life easier make it a whole heck of a lot more stressful. I may never live a life without electricity and cars and computers, but I will make more of an effort to turn off the tv, go outside, ride my bike, and enjoy a simpler life. I might even start reading by oil lamp! 
Much love,
Laura |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
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KarenP
True Blue Farmgirl
666 Posts
Karen
Chippewa Falls
Wisconsin
USA
666 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2006 : 06:53:52 AM
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Great book my copy arrived Yesterday!
It's hard to put down!
KarenP
"Purest Spring Water in the World" |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2006 : 6:15:27 PM
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| Oh my gosh! I read that book about 6 months ago and I LOVED it! I am always interested in reading about other people's real life experience in living without electricity. I will be moving to our cabin at the end of March and all we have there is a generator that we drag out if we need electricity for power tools. I will have to use it to power my sewing machine when I move! I ordered the book from Acres USA (a great source for homesteading type books) but I have since seen it in paperback in book stores. I would try half.com. |
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KarenP
True Blue Farmgirl
666 Posts
Karen
Chippewa Falls
Wisconsin
USA
666 Posts |
Posted - Mar 05 2006 : 05:14:43 AM
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This was great book!
It makes me want to think of ways I can pare down and live more simply.
We are trying to get our house paid off so my husband can quit and do more things he'd like to.
I'd recommend this book to any farmgirl.
KarenP
"Purest Spring Water in the World" |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Mar 05 2006 : 05:21:38 AM
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Sounds like a great book! Going to look for it on Amazon right now!
"Sell cleverness and buy wonder" |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9092 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9092 Posts |
Posted - Mar 05 2006 : 12:44:20 PM
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JUST ORDERED IT USED 2:98 PLUS SHIPPING FROM AMAZON, LOOK FORWARD TO READING IT.
NANCY JO |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2009 : 9:39:15 PM
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i had to reply to this, even though it's an old post... i just read this book and i recommend it to anyone interested in simple living. it really makes you think... i seriously consider getting rid of internet after reading it (but then i couldn't come to maryjane's chatroom!). lots of great information about the amish, too! i loved it!
"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."
-Guillaume Apollinaire |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2009 : 12:15:37 AM
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I forgot all about this post..and never did read this one...it is going on my list for sure!!
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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1930sgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
233 Posts
Joyce
Alberta
Canada
233 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2009 : 09:09:37 AM
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This sounds like my kind of book!
Dh and I have talked about this sort of lifestyle change for a long time. Maybe not quite as far as having NO modern technology, but at least getting back to how our grandparents would have lived.
Can't wait to read this book! Thank you so much for the review, Laura.
Joyce |
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palmettogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
571 Posts
sue
camden
south carolina
USA
571 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2009 : 4:23:17 PM
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| just went and ordered it this afternoon from our little local camden bookstore! they had to order it, but i said that's okay, i can wait for a few days. i figured that buying local, even a book, would be starting with the right frame of mind! |
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MarleyRunsTheFarm
Farmgirl at Heart
7 Posts
Heather
Knoxville
TN
7 Posts |
Posted - Sep 05 2009 : 11:05:47 PM
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I loved that book! I live around the Amish community (in Lancaster County, PA), so I've personally experienced a lot of what Brende wrote about with the "Minimites".
Another book that is similar is called "See You in a Hundred Years" by Logan Ward. It's about a couple in Virginia that move to a small farm and remove all the electricity and live completely like they did 100 years ago for 1 year. It was really great- I'm reading it again right now actually! |
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Sep 06 2009 : 11:34:40 AM
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Another book I lov is "Plain and Simple" by Sue Bender. It was copright in 1989. It's about an artist with a capital A who is fascinated so much by an Amish quilt that she lives with Amish families twice. As she learns, the Latin word for hearth is focus. She finds what she had been looking for the calm and focus when she was with the Amish doing dishes. It is a state of mind we can all have whether we live with them or not. The book is about her strugles with both worlds.
Bonnie Ellis
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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sewgirlie
True Blue Farmgirl
1894 Posts
Sheryl-lyn
Calverton
NY
USA
1894 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2009 : 6:01:35 PM
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I loved Plain and Simple too! Found it really relaxing and refreshing to read after a hectic day at work. I got a copy of Better Off at my local Borders today and cannot wait to read it. Will read the others you guys just recommended too.
My quilting and life blog!!
http://downtoearthliving.blogspot.com/ |
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Reading Room: Better Off |
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Better Off
