What a lovely, uplifting book for these difficult times! I thoroughly enjoyed it and dipped into it every day for a couple of weeks, to savour it. It was a nice little dose of happiness! The author writes beautifully and drew me in with appealing descriptions of a more simple life and the people who had successfully attained this. I found it an inspiring book and it made me think twice - for example, after reading the chapter on repairing items, I mended a favourite pair of jeans instead of throwing them out which I’d been planning to do! This book would make a wonderful present. I’m looking forward to reading more books by Kate Humble. I love her positive and warm writing style. Highly recommended!

For the past few years, I’ve been drawn to both minimalism and sustainable living. I’ve watched a lot of content about it, and follow quite a few people who follow these lifestyles. I’ve decluttered a few times, and I try to choose the most sustainable option that I can when I’m shopping (budget permitting). Reading this book, I realized that what I’m searching for is a simpler life.

I’d heard of Kate Humble, though I don’t think I’ve watched any of her TV shows. So I didn’t know much about her going into A Year of Living Simply. The book centres around her developing her garden. She lives in the Welsh countryside, and is in search of a simpler way of living.

Throughout the book, she meets several different people who are working in the sustainable living space and people who are developing community projects. She ties together the idea of country living and a connection with nature, with having strong community ties. In an implicit way, this is the lifestyle that Humble is promoting here.

The chapter that I enjoyed the most was the one that discussed our throwaway culture. We are encouraged to throw things away when they’re broken, instead of repairing them. Consumer culture is sustained by us going out and replacing the toaster when it’s broken, instead of repairing it. But that’s not particularly good for the environment. Everything we have has taken resources to create, and those resources aren’t endless.

Whilst I appreciate the idea behind the book, and some of the things discussed, I think that this is only one way of living simply. I don’t feel the need to live in the country and have a massive garden to live simply. It’s about the way you live within your circumstances. Doing things such as repairing instead of replacing, shopping locally (and less), and choosing the most sustainable option you can, are all valid options.

The biggest complaint I have about A Year of Living Simply is the way it’s written. Humble tells her story in first person present-tense, which is fine. Except when she deviates from the primary narratives (her garden) and talks about something that happened in the relative past, she stays in the same tense, which, for me, jars. My brain expected her to go back into past tense, then come back into present tense for the main narrative. It’s a small niggle, but it did irritate me a little.

The one phrase that has stuck with me from A Year of Living Simply is: living simply is not convenient.

The need for convenience in our lives is the problem that is destroying our planet. I’m not sure there’s an answer, certainly not an easy one. But if you’re new to the world of sustainability, and simple living, this book is a good introduction.

Ms Humble is a well-known wildlife (Springwatch) and occasionally farming TV presenter (Lambing Live). She's also done her time as president of the RSPB, the UK's equivalent of the Audubon Society.  This means she has gravitas while still being bubbly and enthusiastic, with a delightful girl-next-door aura.  She talks well and she writes well.  She captures the countryside and her subject matter so that you accompany her on her journeying.

In this year of living simply, she does a lot of journeying. I didn't expect that. So for the first two-thirds of the book I was trying to reconcile her trips to see people doing wonderful things that recycle, or reuse on a grand scale, especially housing.

I wondered why she had to fly to the Taos community with their recycled housing (using bottles and other reclaimed materials) in New Mexico. There is plenty of information about it, after all it's been going for over forty years.

The raptures she goes into on the whole 'arrive in Amsterdam, pick up a bike, and cycle to these really innovative housing projects' - one of which slips in 'owned by young professionals who sign up to the ethos' - really irritated me. These projects and this Amsterdam style are at least twenty-five years old; they just keep improving them. Pick up a book on sustainable housing and you'll find them all.

This year, in lockdown, if we are lucky enough to have some open space, we've been vegetable growing. So her efforts in this area have been overtaken by other, better examples. We've been swapping bread-making tips like mad. And decluttering aka having a good turnout... This is a matter of timing, nothing she could do about it.  But I did wonder why everything she did had to involve some mentor or guru coming to her cottage in the wilds of Wales to help her out.  Mending clothes, gardening, repairing things, decluttering for a simpler life...

It was only when she got to Frome, a town in Somerset, that I started to understand her purpose.  It was to show that everyone living simply involves community and helping hands.  People sharing their talents or knowledge for the benefit of others, and receiving help with the skills they don't have in return.  It's just a shame that so many of the people she cited had either had nervous breakdowns in a high-powered job (and loads of money) and gone back to basics, or had been unemployed for ages.  They had found a new life and a new start with the help of communities who understood the value of personal skills.

After that I realised I had mistaken some of Ms Humble's objectives for the book.  She lived simply while doing her normal job - investigative eco-journalism. Hunting out all these examples were her working life, and any of us can add some of the things she did to the 'living simply' aspects of our lives, while continuing our normal jobs. She makes some very good points about why we work at all, which brings us back to the need to change our economic basis if we are to survive on our planet.

I'd still like to see any city/suburban working mums with kids under ten who can't disappear off to the country and home-school them take up any of these ideas (other than an allotment). Now that would be a book worth reading.

Bottom line - an enjoyable read if you know very little about alternative lifestyles/technologies and don't mind the pipedream that it might all come true for you, too.

PS Some of the recipes sound good.

I'm someone that very much lives a complicated life. I don't really go outside that much (unless I'm on a train, or in a restaurant). I don't cook my own food. Reading this book has really changed how I felt about my lifestyle. The way Humble has written about the different ways in which she has made her life simpler was so interesting. I really felt as though I wanted to experience these things too! I've never had the desire to bake bread, but reading about it in this book really had me googling the best bread recipes. In an age where people are constantly busy, constantly doing 'other' things.... I think this book is well welcomed.

However, the writing did fall short at times. Towards the end, I found myself skipping lines because there was just a little bit too much of a ramble going on, and I wanted to just find the relevant points. But that doesn't take away from the book too much itself, since this was mostly towards the end.

Kate Humble writes as she speaks and her book is a gentle and enjoyable read that feels more like a conversation with her. I love books that lead you off at tangents and introduce you to new topics and authors. This is definitely one of those books and I found myself happily diverting to explore interesting new threads.

Many of the people and groups she shares made me think about how life was when I was growing up, having to make do and mend and what seemed to be a far less wasteful society. Her words gave me cause to pause and think about how we live and how we can walk more gently upon the earth. I finished the book feeling hopeful that we may be living in an age when community once again becomes a wider reality and we can reconnect with all life and the earth herself to our mutual benefit and future wellbeing.

I really enjoy Kate’s style of writing and it was like reading a series of letters from a treasured friend. I chuckled at the description of her breadmaking attempts. Did I *learn* any new skills from the book? No. But I don’t think that was the point of the book. Certainly an inspirational read, and I plan to give several copies as gifts this Christmas.
Many thanks to NetGalley and of course the very lovely Kate Humble.

I like the way that this book was written, it was so positive and uplifting. Kate Humble has definitely given me food for thought after reading this.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I liked this book but it wasn't what I was expecting. I was hoping for some 'tips' on how to live a simpler life without throwing all my stuff out and living in the woods.

Although the book didn't offer that, it follows the author on her research into ways that people live a simple life - including the people who build Earthships, and an eco-village in Europe as well as the rising trend in repair cafes and the Shed movement - the WI for men really.

I found this fascinating, as well as Kate's foray into growing her own vegetables it was just interesting to see what people do to get out of the rat race but also the growing awareness that the planet can't sustain the lifestyles of waste we are all living.

I found some of the anecdotes and 'case studies' a little off-topic at times, meaning for me the book didn't flow as well as it could have done but it was an interesting read nonetheless.

I didn't really warm to Kate Humble until I watched a programme where she helped city folk who wanted to move to the country and try smallholding or veg growing or whatever and she came across as very genuine and seemed to want to help the people really settle into a completely different life. This book is a sort of extension of that with Ms Humble taking us through her attempts to cut back on unnecessary things and make more of the simple things. It isn’t necessarily about saving money (she buys her boots from a local merchant rather than cheaper from the internet) but about quality of life and improving your own environment and mindset. It is easier for people who have money to live like this but this book does have a nice glow about it and isn’t condescending or patronising. Ms Humble is self deprecating - her efforts at bread making are amusing - and honest and I enjoyed reading the book.

The timing of this means you could put your feet up with a cuppa in a cosy sweater and read about the tribulations of life beyond your door. It is an easy read and full of simple ideas and warmth.

I was given a copy of the book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This book is written in a lovely, warm, easy, conversational style. I was draw in by the idea of living a life which is contended, simpler and full of what really matters.

However, overall it left me dissatisfied and feeling like you can't live simply unless you have already enough money to not to worry!

A year of Living Simply was a pleasure to read and has left me with that warm homely feeling. I really enjoyed Kate's other book 'Thinking on My Feet' so I was so pleased to see this one. I loved reading about all the other projects looking to create a more sustainable life and I love her get up and go style to investigate them. It was a feel good book especially in these times and will definitely have lots of people wanting to get back into nature. Beautifully written in that easy read style, and definitely one I would recommend. Thank You

I persevered to read this book, particularly enjoyed the recipes, and have tried the chilli jam. However, there was nothing new in this book; even the recipes can be found online. I rather think that Kate has somewhat used her privilege of being a TV ‘personality’ to convey this often-simplified return to nature approach. I agree with another reviewer that farmers are struggling to make ends meet in many instances. Kate has the means to dib in and out of her idyllic farming lifestyle as a ‘hobby’ farmer.
I wonder if the timing of this book, throughout lockdown is a marketing ploy. Disappointing as I do think that Kate writes eloquently, and research is her forte. Hopefully, the case studies that she described in the book will benefit from her using their expertise and life experiences.
With grateful thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review.

I defy anyone to read this book and not run for the hills, determined to leave the rat race and a balance with nature. That this was published during lockdown just makes me all the more determined to live by its simple, honest and truthful dictats.

I don't think there could be a better timing for this book, throughout lockdown so many people seem to have discovered the joys of the 'simple life' that Kate proposes, and as we head towards a winter that looks ever more likely to be lockdown again it's a brilliant reminder to take joy in the small things rather than hankering after the holidays and experiences we might usually be able to have. I enjoyed Kate's realistic outlook on living simply, as she points out simplicity isn't the same as ease, despite what many companies hungry for our money may try to convince us. She's also refreshingly honest about the frustrations she feels along the way!

My one slight issue as I read was that there's a level of privilege allowing most of the people Kate meets and interviews to live the unconventional lives they do. She does address this to some extent in the final section, where she meets a couple who decided to live entirely debt free, sans mortgage - but they did manage to acquire/inherit £20k each by the time they had left uni which is still out of reach for many people! It's a pointed end to the book, which I would have loved to see taken even further - what could something like UBI do to further peoples' ability to live a meaningful and community-minded life, for example? Again this is something we have seen a bit through lockdown, as the UK furlough scheme gave people the time to consider volunteering or otherwise helping others, without the pressing need to earn money to live.

Overall though a lovely read that made me want to check out the Welsh mountains again soon!

I was very much looking forward to reading some factual work and it is a very much revisited idea that holds so much promise in these strange times. I have enjoyed Kate’s appearances on television and hoped to find out much from reading this. However, although holding out a lot of promise I found personally that all it underlined for me was that a lifestyle like this is only possible for people with an independent income. I have friends and acquaintances who are currently farmers and find it a very difficult lifestyle to maintain, most of them have had to diversify into bed and breakfast and a range of other jobs to be able to merely make ends meet. That being said it is well written and readable even if it did make me argue with Kate (in my dreams) on many occasions.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Octopus Publishing and Kate Humble for my copy. I have always liked and respected Kate, and adored her last book Thinking on my feet so I was delighted to be approved for this one. It is such a very lovely read. Kate writes in a very honest, heartfelt and delightfully chatty way, and I found this book an absolute inspiration. Highly recommended.

This book is a brilliantly simple, warm stress reducer in it's considered, uncomplicated delivery. Only pages in and I was keen to commit to a Kate's views on a simpler life. With A Year of Living Simply I created more bookmarks in this one book than all the other books I have read combined. So many great ideas!

Like Kate, I enjoy a dog walk around the British countryside regardless of the weather as a great balm to many ills. I found her different chapters - everything from bread making to earthships - all fascinating and worth investigating whether or not I felt they would enhance my life, personally. I loved her gardening experiences so much, this is exactly how I feel about it, too.

This book reads like a cozy chat with a good friend encouraging all of us to simplify our lives and make decisions based less on throw-away consumerism than on what we truly need. We all have so much stuff but does it really help us live or feel like a weight? I intend to take these notions to heart and try to make the most of what I have and indulge in things that bring simple joy. It's bread making for me, Kate. Thank you!

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review.
I enjoyed reading this book , which was easy reading ,however, what struck me was how middle class and privileged Kate’s life and attitude is. It wasn’t really a year of living simply as the title leads the reader to believe. Most people who aspire to simple living do not have a second home in France, nor can jet off to New Mexico to research Earthships. It was informative and I agree with the philosophy of consumerism etc but the whole book left me with an uncomfortable feel for it. Maybe another title would be better.

This is a lovely, heartwarming gentle read about Kate Humble's journey to find a better way of life. It's lovely to read about Kate's garden and her life with her dogs and husband in Wales, as well as her journies to find the originators of things like repair cafes and earthships in the Netherlands and New Mexico respectively.
In case you are deterred by the possibility of this being another green-extreme tome, be reassured that Kate comes across as a normal person trying her best to avoid buying too much new stuff, grow her own flowers and veg, and make small changes to a simpler and more sustainable way of life.

This book resonated so much with me and crystalized themes I think a lot of us have been reflecting on over the past year. If nothing else 2020 has made us all rethink our priorities on what is important (health, access to outside space, work life balance) Although a lot of what Kate says has been said before I felt so seen by the gap between her perception of herself as someone who doesn't buy a lot of stuff and yet her cupboards are filled with "things". I also liked that she was willing to reveal what didn't work well (her fear of bread making and sewing after difficult school experiences reflected mine). This book has strengthened my resolve to try things again that scare me and to find things that give me a sense of community and connectedness to others. A book for our times.