The Minimalists
Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Milburn
Last month, Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus made a stop here at an independent bookstore on their 100-city book tour. These two fellows, who were quite entertaining, write the blog
The Minimalists.
Everything That Remains is Joshua's tale of how he came to realize that his high-powered job, all his high-powered material stuff, and his high-powered life were not how he wanted to be powered.
So he quit his job, moved to a smaller apartment which necessitated his giving away and/or selling the majority of his stuff, worked on getting rid of debt, and started a blog with his best friend, Ryan.
OK. There is a little more to it than that and this book is part memoir, part inspiration, and part laugh-out-loud funny. I have an autographed copy (which strikes me as going against the practice of minimalism as it is yet one more possession, but oh, well).
Anyway, these guys - both are barely 30 years old - seem to be having a ball and, based on the 50 or so people who attended the signing, have inspired others to take a clearer look at their own lives.
I enjoyed meeting these fellows and enjoyed reading the story of their discovery of a life without stuff. Although I am not exactly an extreme minimalist in that I do own more than one coffee cup and one spoon, I do tend toward the uncluttered life (except, apparently, when it comes to books).
Joshua writes that he got rid of 2000 books and kept ten - all books about writing. Although that may be something to think about, I am not ready to go that far...yet.
