Wow! I just received an email from a reader, congratulating me on my book being named to Amazon’s “Best Books of 2010.” To be honest, I had no idea what she was talking about – but oh my goodness, it’s true!
The Joy of Less has been chosen as one of the “Top 10 Books” of 2010 in the Home & Garden category. If you scroll down, you’ll see it at #6. I never hoped, nor dreamed, of receiving such an honor—not to mention being in the same company as the likes of Bill Bryson. :-)
I’m pretty shy when it comes to self-promotion, so I hope you’ll excuse my little happy dance here. I poured my heart, soul, and countless hours into writing those 286 pages, with the hope that its message—that less stuff can mean more happiness—would resonate with a few readers. I’m grateful, and truly humbled, that it’s been so well-received.
Most of all, though, I’d like to thank you—every one of you who has purchased my book, requested it from your library, reviewed it on your blog, or recommended it to a friend. You are the reason for its success, plain and simple. You inspired me to write it, you kept me motivated to finish it, and you celebrated with me when I published it. I wish I could give each of you a big hug and thank you personally, as these words I’m typing can’t begin to express my love and gratitude.
In writing the book, I wanted to convey that anyone can live a joyful life with less stuff—you don’t have to ditch your house, travel the world, or live out of a backpack. In fact, the benefits of decluttering can be even more powerful when you’re raising kids, making mortgage payments, and doing the 9-to-5. Simply getting rid of some excess stuff can energize you, liberate you, and change your entire perspective on life.
I thought if that message touched just one person, and helped them live a happier life, it’d be worth all the effort. But thanks to you, it’s touched more people than I ever imagined. Thank you so much for spreading the word, and helping The Joy of Less reach so many. I couldn’t have done it without you!
Got my copy last weekend and loving it. Congrats!!
Congratulations! I’m 1/3 of the way through your book and so far it’s amazing. The best part is that you really got into my head in the beginning, which is where decluttering really begins isn’t it? It feels like you got in there with the vacuum and sucked out the cobwebs, ie the faulty thought processes that had been hanging out in the corners and not working for me. I’ve only done one room so far and got the high you talked about. I’m in conversation with my family about how we want to use the rest of our spaces so everyone agrees in advance what spaces are to be used for. I’ve tried other books, but yours is the only one so far that has really “reached” me.
I’d love to give a copy to my hoarding in-laws for Christmas but I’m afraid this would be seen as rude rather than helpful. Anyone else have advice or comments about this? To NOT give it would say that they are unhelpable and I’d like to believe that everyone has the chance to change.
Congratulations!!! Very well deserved.
I enjoyed your book very much, and since I got it on Kindle, I can refer to it when needed.
Thank you, everyone, for all your kind words and congrats! I’m incredibly fortunate to have such an amazing group of readers, and rest assured that I don’t take it for granted. You’re the best, and I thank my lucky stars for you every day!
How inspiring! I don’t just mean in terms of minimalism, but also in terms of creativity, hard work and gutsy perseverance. How satisfying this must be for you. Congrats!
Sara, maybe it would help to include a note describing how it has improved your life and/or pointing out your favorite passages and/or describing how you discovered the book. Then it seems more like a part of you that you wanted to share with them than like something you noticed in a bookstore whose title made you think of them.
Maybe it would help to include your favorite latest find in the fiction category, too, so they get one fiction and one nonfiction.
Or I once heard a ditty about four kinds of gifts people should receive. If you could remember it, you could put that in your card, and I think this book would work for one of the four things. Something like something practical, something educational, something fun, and ??. Or some socks, a book, a toy, and ??
Many, many congratulations! Minimalist though I am already I got so much from reading your book and have re-read it a couple of times since. I always look forward to reading your blog and it’s the only one I regularly go to – my “treat” after dealing with the e-mails! Very best wishes for the future and lots more books I hope!
Wonderful! Hoping the message spreads! I have read your book once (on my kindle) and worked through some tips. I plan to reread it again, and go more in a step by step way. Suprise is my husband loves it! I think he was a closet minimalist! For christmas we got rid of all the garage plastic. We have a small real tree, than cen be planted in our yard after the holidays. I decorated it will pinecones and acorns from the yard, I also put a few cranberries on it. Around the house I placed nuts, candycanes, few pine cones and acorns in glasses we had. Very simple but still festive. I still have a long way to go. Thanks for the inspiration!
Just ordered my copy from Amazon UK. It will be a fantastic Christmas holiday read, a bit of escapism, whilst surrounded by the noise of commercialism. I am so inspired by what I have read so far on this blog. I’m not a minimalist – rather a Mum living life a little simpler than the norm (I think anyway). Really looking forward to it!
Congrats!! I thank you so much for writing this blog! It brought joy and a less cluttered room! :)