A Plain Life

by Scott Savage

Book Overview

In today's fast-paced, high-tech world, the most radical act of all might be this: to slow down . . . to try, in each moment, to be fully, truly present. Scott Savage, editor of the hand-produced... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345438035
• ISBN13: 9780345438034
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

I really enjoyed this book...the author's heart shines through

I bought Scott Savage's compilation, "The Plain Reader" The Plain Reader and loved it. I loaned it out, didn't get it back, and bought another copy because it's so good. I appreciated the viewpoints of the various authors, but really liked "A Plain Life" because it is Scott Savage's story, and I appreciated the complete set of thoughts from him. The book is easy to read, light but inspiring. The author shares his heart. I appreciated "hearing" his heart on questions I've pondered: What's your impact on the world if you set yourself apart so drastically? How can you maintain free-market, small-town, local commerce? Is it possible to buy local all the time? Why not cars, why...... I'm not buying a buggy or sewing my own clothes anytime soon, but we haven't watched TV in 9 years, and try to cook healthy foods. This book doesn't pressure me into a Plain life, but draws me toward simplicity. If you like it, I think you would LOVE "The Plain Reader". At least check it out from your library!

Wonderful and with brilliant, simple humor.

I love the Amish and Mennonite people, and am inspired to read every book I can find about them. Scott and his wife are focused on joining the Quaker "Friends"....but the idea of plain living and simple pleasures are significantly similar. Yes there are indeed people who desire to - and find much peace and satisfaction living this way...though its not for everyone. The best conversations I ever had in my life were with the Amish and Mennonite people. They are not backward....this is what Scott tries to explain. The stories about his horse are priceless. When I read this I'm taken away from everything and am right there with Scott. If you're a techno-wizard, this book may not be for you......but if you're a spiritual seeker, who wants to live a good and true life.....complete with morals and values that are dwindling in our society today, I recommend a sit down with this lovely book. Perhaps it will cause you to see society in a new light.....or better yet, perhaps it will cause you to think about the life you live. My life is forever improved because of my awareness of this lifestyle. Families are honored....and women are revered, and not owing to a high-powered career.....but for simply being who they are. I highly recommend both the lifestyle .... and this book.

The Simple Life - not that Easy...

Savage offers insight on what a plain life really is. Some of us confuse this with the `simpler life' we hear about, a supposedly easier, leisure-filled life thanks to modern technology. As many have noticed, the technology we use in hopes of giving us more free time actually gives us more time to do more `stuff', often with more stuff. There can be an emptiness that comes along with all of the stuff, extra time some of us seek to fill with more activities and more stuff. What seems to be most lacking is a connection with people, with our community. Giving up a driver's license is no small thing. Being able to drive an automobile in our society means independence - teen-agers and the elderly particularly find getting or maintaining possession of a driver's license paramount to their quality of life. But they aren't alone. If you do not drive, but travel by foot, bicycle or horse and buggy, you realize your world both shrinks and expands. Physically, it consists of places and events that are close enough to get to within a day. It expands because that smaller surrounding must be more filled with community, and the people you are more dependent upon. Although he and his wife became Quakers in the beginning of their journey, most of what he writes about community comes from their experiences with the Amish families they first lived near. This kind of community didn't exist at all if it only existed in one's mind, as for example in a computer-driven `virtual community.'" "Unlike pretend or fantasy communities, the real one we were learning from wasn't filled with folks hand-picked for their similarities. They did not necessarily really, really like one another, nor completely share the same interests." I thought if I read the book, I'd feel compelled to change my life completely, or to feel bad about the life I live. Instead, it gave me the opportunity to do a lot of reflective thinking, and to find ways and reasons to question how I am living my life, and to find small ways of changing it for the better. I found myself wishing I had the riches Scott Savage has, the family, the community, life partner, the strength of character, the determination to do without the things that seem to fill up my life, and that of my youngest son.

Plainly inspiring...

Both "A Plain Life" and "The Plain Reader" are eloquent guides written on the road of simplicity and faith. Wise, soulful and humble in presentation, they will cause you to reflect upon your own life and that which you hold dear. I highly recommend both of these titles with appreciation to Mr. Savage for sharing his reflections in such a meaningful and profound manner...

A Plain Life

I attended an author reading in Portland, and found Scott Savage personally to be engaging, and utterly sincere. Buy, borrow, get ahold of this book and read it. It is inspiring, challenging, bordering on life-changing. It may change the way you view the Plain Folk, or it may lead to to incorporate plain ideals into your own life.