Best Books About Simple Living
There's something deeply appealing about the idea of less. Less noise, less rush, less clutter — both around the house and in the head. Very often, I feel out of kilter with this world. Some days it's hard to find moments of silence, and our public spaces — physical and online — seem to have become places where we descend into shouting matches.
In this list, I've gathered some of the best books on simple living and minimalism, from quiet Scandinavian philosophies to practical guides on slowing down and living with more intention. Whether you're clearing out a drawer or rethinking your entire life, I hope you find something here that helps you breathe a little easier.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Considering the reasons for the life we lead is important. Frankl's book is one of my favourites on looking at the meaning behind our actions.
Frankl survived four concentration camps but lost his wife, parents and brother — his theories tested in the most extreme of circumstances. He found three sources of meaning: purposeful work, love, and courage in the face of suffering.
This is a book that will encourage you to think about the motivations for simplifying your life. What do you need, and what can you do without?
"Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant."
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The Way Home by Mark Boyle
If you were planning a simple existence, where would you live? Mark Boyle gives up electricity and the trappings of modern life to live in a small cabin in the west of Ireland, living off the land without any modern equipment — essentially a life without technology.
"It was 11:00 pm when I checked my email for the last time and turned off my phone for what I hoped would be forever. No running water, no car, no electricity or things like the internet, phone, washing machine, radio, or light bulb. Just a wooden cabin, on a smallholding, by the edge of a stand of spruce."
Although this may be a simple and sustainable life, there are times when it's also a struggle for Mark. He doesn't romanticise it, and it forces you to think about whether you could do without your apps and gadgets — we're so attached to our modern ways of living, and it would take serious adjustment for many of us. How far are you prepared to go?
What appeals to me most is how Mark reconnects to nature. Many of us have lost touch with using our hands or working the land. To rediscover that would be, for me, one of the greatest joys of a simple life — to be independent, growing your own food, living life on your own terms.
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The Practice of Not Thinking by Ryunosuke Koike
Simplifying your life by going into an attic and filling boxes with objects no longer wanted sounds easy enough. But what about the roof space in your head — how would you go about decluttering your mind?
Former monk Ryunosuke Koike invites us to do just that. He looks at how we perceive and engage with our thoughts, helping us reduce the noise and find a little more clarity.
He has an engaging writing style and explains various Buddhist concepts in an accessible way. Mindfulness will probably already be familiar to you, but Koike outlines how to bring it into everyday life — especially in our interactions with others. Simplifying our relationships is certainly important in reducing friction.
There's also a useful section on minimalism and getting rid of what you no longer need. We all have emotional attachments to things, but there's something genuinely liberating about a good cull. Keep your books on simple living, naturally — you can never have enough of those. Until they too fall by the wayside.
One of the essential books on simple living and decluttering. I’ve also got a list of books on mindfulness.
Stolen Focus - Johann Hari
If you're giving up your devices in order to lead a simpler life, this book will give you the motivation to do so. Modern living has destroyed our concentration — most of us have the attention span of a small bee. Putting down your phone to read this book might mean you don't pick it up again quite so often.
Reading it, you'll discover that your attention has become a commodity for Silicon Valley. It shocked me how much time I was handing over to these companies, and after I got over the anger, I began to examine my own habits — did I need to check into the constant bad news cycle, to receive the endless pings from a WhatsApp group I couldn't escape?
This is a call to put down the gadgets and embrace a simpler life. We survived without them before. Doing so again is an opportunity to reclaim your focus, find out what actually matters, and be present in your own life.
I’ve compiled a list of the best books to help with focus.
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Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Siddhartha is about a man who gives up everything — family, possessions, home — to devote his life to spiritual seeking. As far as simple living goes, you can't get much more extreme than that.
This is a book that pushed me towards the big questions. How much money do you actually need? When you order things from the big A, how many of them do you genuinely use? Everything, including ourselves, is perishable. Nothing lasts forever. We are on a small blue ball spinning into infinity, here for an incredibly short period. Go for a walk around your nearest graveyard — who mourns these people? Everyone we know will die and be forgotten soon enough, as will we.
Whether you're religious or secular, this book will help you examine what's truly important. Siddhartha gave up his worldly possessions to investigate the nature of suffering and overcome it. Your ambitions may not be quite as lofty — but with time and space, you might find your own priorities quietly shifting.
I’ve compiled a list of my favourite books about spiritual awakening.
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Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
We have an average of four thousand weeks on this small blue ball. What are we doing with them? It's possible to feel despair as the clock ticks down — but what about simplifying our lives and making the best of the time we do have?
This is a practical book offering ideas for making the most of your time, but it's also deeply philosophical. You're not going to get everything done, so why not simplify your focus and work on what's actually achievable? What's of value in your one single, finite life?
"Convenience culture seduces us into imagining that we might find room for everything important by eliminating only life's tedious tasks. But it's a lie. You have to choose a few things, sacrifice everything else, and deal with the inevitable sense of loss that results."
Get busy living, or get busy dying.
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Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh
I've mentioned mindfulness a couple of times in this list and make no apologies for it — no topic has contributed more to my understanding of simple living. And Thich Nhat Hanh is perhaps the teacher who has meant the most to me.
We can read all the books, listen to all the podcasts, watch all the YouTube videos — but one thing, emphasised throughout this book, matters more than any of it: presence is available to us in every moment. The past and the future exist only in our thoughts — ephemeral and fleeting. There is only ever the now.
Written in Thay's gentle and compassionate style, with short chapters on bringing mindfulness into daily life, dealing with difficult emotions, and finding peace through meditation. I couldn't compile a list on simple living without including him. A simple book for a simple life.
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The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
What is hygge — and why does everyone keep trying to pronounce it? Hygge (pronounced "hoo-gah" — yes, really) is a Danish word that doesn't quite translate, but roughly means a feeling of cosy contentment, convivial simplicity, and being gently present. Think warm socks, flickering candles, big mugs of tea, meaningful chats, and absolutely zero guilt about not being productive.
It reminds me of a line from Chuang Tzu: no one seems to know how useful it is to be useless.
It's about small joys, soft lights, slow meals, and taking pleasure in the ordinary. The spiritual opposite of hustle culture — and I'm here for it.
The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking — head of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, a job title I wouldn't mind myself — is part manifesto, part lifestyle guide. It's filled with charming illustrations, soothing stats, and gently persuasive encouragement to slow down and enjoy the people and places around you. It won't revolutionise your life, but it might just help you notice it more. And in a world full of noise, that's worth having.
Ikagi: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life - Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that roughly translates as "reason for being" — the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning. It sits at the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. Simple in concept, but surprisingly profound when you sit with it.
This book draws on the wisdom of the residents of Okinawa, one of the world's Blue Zones where people regularly live past one hundred. Their secret, it turns out, has less to do with diet or exercise than with purpose, community, and the quiet satisfaction of doing small things well. Less striving, more being.
If you're drawn to Japanese philosophy and the idea of a life stripped back to what genuinely matters, this is an excellent place to start.
What could be simpler than living according to the seasons? In Wintering, Katherine May shows us how to use the quieter, darker months not as something to endure, but as an opportunity to heal. By adapting to the natural rhythms of life — slowing down, paring back, resting — we give ourselves the space to restore.
There will always be periods when life demands less of us. This book makes the case for honouring that, rather than pushing through. Strip back to the essentials, and let the healing begin.
But here it is: my winter. It’s an open invitation to transition into a more sustainable life and to wrest back control over the chaos I’ve created. It’s a moment when I have to step into solitude and contemplation. It’s also a moment when I have to walk away from old alliances, let the strings of some friendships fall loose, if only for awhile. It’s a path I’ve walked over and over again in my life. I have learned the skill set of wintering the hard way.”