christenebs's review against another edition
4.0
Closer to a 4.5. This book made me think about what I own and why I own it.
cher_n_books's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars - It was good.
Was less about minimalism and more about her personal life than I was expecting, but still an interesting and thought provoking read. Those interested in tiny house living will also find this one worthwhile.
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Favorite Quote: Most important, I stumbled into a new sort of “happiness,” one that didn’t hinge on always getting what I want, but rather, on wanting what I have. It’s the kind of happiness that isn’t tied so tightly to being comfortable (or having money and property), but instead is linked to a deeper sense of satisfaction—to a sense of humility and gratitude, and a better understanding of who I am in my heart.
First Sentence: For months now, I’ve been waking up at four in the morning.
Was less about minimalism and more about her personal life than I was expecting, but still an interesting and thought provoking read. Those interested in tiny house living will also find this one worthwhile.
-------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: Most important, I stumbled into a new sort of “happiness,” one that didn’t hinge on always getting what I want, but rather, on wanting what I have. It’s the kind of happiness that isn’t tied so tightly to being comfortable (or having money and property), but instead is linked to a deeper sense of satisfaction—to a sense of humility and gratitude, and a better understanding of who I am in my heart.
First Sentence: For months now, I’ve been waking up at four in the morning.
marblesonglass's review against another edition
4.0
I'm intrigued by the idea of tiny house living. Though I'm not sure I'd be able to do it full-time, the idea of a tiny little getaway just for myself sounds amazing.
caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
A highly readable account of how a forty-something woman changed her life. Diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and beginning to tire of her conventional house, Williams decided to build a tiny house by herself and then live in it. No hot water and only a composting toilet, but she is parked in the yard of friends who give her access to a shower and wifi. I have no interest at all in doing this but loved reading about it.
govmarley's review against another edition
3.0
I love tiny houses. I want to build one and live in it. My husband, who is a giant, does not share my love of small spaces. You see, he's over a foot taller than me, and would not like to live in the small box Dee Williams designed for herself and her dog.
A house on wheels? Yes, please. Then you can hit the road and go where the four winds take you. (Not literally, because I don't think this house would stand up to a tornado, but you take my point.) Sometimes life makes you stop and listen. The author had some health issues that made her take a different path. For some people it's tragedy. For some it's grief. For some it's a close call or a glimpse of someone else's horror. Whatever causes the wake-up call, more people need to hear it. Life is too short. Are you living the life you want?
She is a free-spirit, a vagabond, and thinks differently than most of the world. I like that. Dee, if you are reading this, I want to hang out on your front stoop and chat. I'll bring the coffee.
A house on wheels? Yes, please. Then you can hit the road and go where the four winds take you. (Not literally, because I don't think this house would stand up to a tornado, but you take my point.) Sometimes life makes you stop and listen. The author had some health issues that made her take a different path. For some people it's tragedy. For some it's grief. For some it's a close call or a glimpse of someone else's horror. Whatever causes the wake-up call, more people need to hear it. Life is too short. Are you living the life you want?
She is a free-spirit, a vagabond, and thinks differently than most of the world. I like that. Dee, if you are reading this, I want to hang out on your front stoop and chat. I'll bring the coffee.
kayleigh_reads_romance's review against another edition
Kinda boring. Not really about tiny houses at all.
brewsacks's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting rabbit holes lead to interesting destinations. A while ago – in the midst of some fits of frugality and the desire to move to the Boundary Waters once and for all and live out of a canoe – I decided to read Thoreau’s [b:Walden|16902|Walden|Henry David Thoreau|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388613773s/16902.jpg|2361393]. I didn’t finish it. In fact I barely started it, but I was taken by [a:Bill McKibben|43861|Bill McKibben|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1218247538p2/43861.jpg]’s introduction. Turns out I was more interested in the high points of Thoreau’s riches, rather than reading it all for myself. McKibben mentioned [b:Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence|5634236|Your Money or Your Life 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence|Vicki Robin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390867002s/5634236.jpg|1509321], and I was sent on several thought journeys through material saturation, simplification and reconciling all of one’s disjointed life into a neat holistic package.
All the while I was working through my downsizing thought experiment, my daughter was finding her latest Pinterest passion: cool tiny home ideas. She studied compact staircases, stairs that double as bookcases, under toilet cabinets, cupboards under stairs, secret drawers under lofted bedrooms, stairs that double as dressers, trap-door closets, and every other way to eek more usable space out of a house the size of a shoebox (stairs, it turns out, are shockingly versatile). Her young architectural brain was building her dream home, one pin at a time. I decided to order her a few of the sweet books I’d seen on tiny houses, showcasing the best of the best. I, too, was excited to see how others have unloaded their lives and found solace in hobbit holes, treehouses, and other elvish dwellings. What kind of freedom that must be!
Now, you should know that the public library in our town is kept alive in great part by the circulation generated from our home. We currently have 234 library books nestled into baskets and stacks around our house. Many are honestly come by, but on any given week, our circulatory spikes might usher 15 intentional books in on the wings of 27 inadvertent orders. You see, I get a little trigger happy. On Amazon I have inhibitions, not the least of which is knowing that I have to confess to my financial software the excesses of my shopping cart. But my library’s virtual basket has no such checks and balances. I have unbridled, guiltless freedom – I load up my cart with everything that is remotely related to my initial search, and place that order with a clear conscience every time. Our wee little library stretches it’s muscles, boasting hefty throughput, and my kids stretch theirs as they carry out the 50# currier totes lent to them because the librarians didn’t want to deplete their bag stash. I sleep well at night.
This community service of mine – currently trained on a tiny house book-ordering frenzy – resulted not only in nice coffee table volumes brimming with beautifully photographed homes the size of my tent, but also a few unintended hitchhikers. The Big Tiny: A Built-It-Myself Memoir was one such serendipitous tagger-along.
[a:Dee Williams|8049132|Dee Williams|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1397138947p2/8049132.jpg] has congestive heart failure, and you would be hard-pressed not to liken her personal adventures to most people’s mid-life crisis. She has gotten it into her tired head that she needs to build herself a tiny home on wheels. Probably something like my library binges gone awry. But she has a questionable life expectancy urging her onward with no regard to the ramifications of her obsession.
The Big Tiny is Dee’s story, and it is awesome. I can honestly tell you that I cried normal, garden variety tears on more than one occasion, and snot-soaked tears of laughter at least once per chapter. No, no, that is conservative… I made a fool of myself regularly in my living room – with my family dutifully listening to my stuttered, screeching attempts at reading passages to them through rivers of tears and snorts. I played the part of the local crazy lady at several parks throughout the Chippewa Valley – wiping my tears away with my sandwich wrapper, belly-laughing and hooting at no one in particular. And I was the intermission entertainment for a lucky few armrest-mates at the prestigious Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts lately – I habitually snagged a few pages during the intermissions of my daughter’s community theater debut, soliciting interest and concern (for their own well-being) from my captive neighbors. I could not pick up this book without cathartic tears of joy.
We’ve established that Dee Williams is hilarious. But how funny is she? I can without reservation set her on par with [a:Michael Perry|2772479|Michael Perry|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1231631186p2/2772479.jpg], one of my favorite authors, master of relaying the quirks and idiosyncrasies of life with more humor than should be allowed on the written page. Mike has written Population: 485, Truck: A Love Story, Coop, and a slew of other amazing books. If you haven’t discovered him yet, consider this your introduction.
Following Dee through her personal vendetta against the failures of her own heart is all-at-once heart-breaking, inspiring and uplifting. The woman portrayed on the pages of The Big Tiny is herself a challenge to all of us, whether or not we aspire to anything so severe as living in an eighty-four-square-foot home. She brings a crisp and fearless attitude to life, spits in the face of convention and propriety, and is truly awake to life – to her own fragile life and to the web of blessings that she finds herself entangled within, embraced within. I thought when I first opened this accidental treasure that it would teach me a thing or two about building a tiny house, but what it really taught me about was building an enormous life. That is something we should all be aspiring to.
And did I mention it’s funny?
All the while I was working through my downsizing thought experiment, my daughter was finding her latest Pinterest passion: cool tiny home ideas. She studied compact staircases, stairs that double as bookcases, under toilet cabinets, cupboards under stairs, secret drawers under lofted bedrooms, stairs that double as dressers, trap-door closets, and every other way to eek more usable space out of a house the size of a shoebox (stairs, it turns out, are shockingly versatile). Her young architectural brain was building her dream home, one pin at a time. I decided to order her a few of the sweet books I’d seen on tiny houses, showcasing the best of the best. I, too, was excited to see how others have unloaded their lives and found solace in hobbit holes, treehouses, and other elvish dwellings. What kind of freedom that must be!
Now, you should know that the public library in our town is kept alive in great part by the circulation generated from our home. We currently have 234 library books nestled into baskets and stacks around our house. Many are honestly come by, but on any given week, our circulatory spikes might usher 15 intentional books in on the wings of 27 inadvertent orders. You see, I get a little trigger happy. On Amazon I have inhibitions, not the least of which is knowing that I have to confess to my financial software the excesses of my shopping cart. But my library’s virtual basket has no such checks and balances. I have unbridled, guiltless freedom – I load up my cart with everything that is remotely related to my initial search, and place that order with a clear conscience every time. Our wee little library stretches it’s muscles, boasting hefty throughput, and my kids stretch theirs as they carry out the 50# currier totes lent to them because the librarians didn’t want to deplete their bag stash. I sleep well at night.
This community service of mine – currently trained on a tiny house book-ordering frenzy – resulted not only in nice coffee table volumes brimming with beautifully photographed homes the size of my tent, but also a few unintended hitchhikers. The Big Tiny: A Built-It-Myself Memoir was one such serendipitous tagger-along.
[a:Dee Williams|8049132|Dee Williams|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1397138947p2/8049132.jpg] has congestive heart failure, and you would be hard-pressed not to liken her personal adventures to most people’s mid-life crisis. She has gotten it into her tired head that she needs to build herself a tiny home on wheels. Probably something like my library binges gone awry. But she has a questionable life expectancy urging her onward with no regard to the ramifications of her obsession.
The Big Tiny is Dee’s story, and it is awesome. I can honestly tell you that I cried normal, garden variety tears on more than one occasion, and snot-soaked tears of laughter at least once per chapter. No, no, that is conservative… I made a fool of myself regularly in my living room – with my family dutifully listening to my stuttered, screeching attempts at reading passages to them through rivers of tears and snorts. I played the part of the local crazy lady at several parks throughout the Chippewa Valley – wiping my tears away with my sandwich wrapper, belly-laughing and hooting at no one in particular. And I was the intermission entertainment for a lucky few armrest-mates at the prestigious Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts lately – I habitually snagged a few pages during the intermissions of my daughter’s community theater debut, soliciting interest and concern (for their own well-being) from my captive neighbors. I could not pick up this book without cathartic tears of joy.
We’ve established that Dee Williams is hilarious. But how funny is she? I can without reservation set her on par with [a:Michael Perry|2772479|Michael Perry|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1231631186p2/2772479.jpg], one of my favorite authors, master of relaying the quirks and idiosyncrasies of life with more humor than should be allowed on the written page. Mike has written Population: 485, Truck: A Love Story, Coop, and a slew of other amazing books. If you haven’t discovered him yet, consider this your introduction.
Following Dee through her personal vendetta against the failures of her own heart is all-at-once heart-breaking, inspiring and uplifting. The woman portrayed on the pages of The Big Tiny is herself a challenge to all of us, whether or not we aspire to anything so severe as living in an eighty-four-square-foot home. She brings a crisp and fearless attitude to life, spits in the face of convention and propriety, and is truly awake to life – to her own fragile life and to the web of blessings that she finds herself entangled within, embraced within. I thought when I first opened this accidental treasure that it would teach me a thing or two about building a tiny house, but what it really taught me about was building an enormous life. That is something we should all be aspiring to.
And did I mention it’s funny?
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
Williams does a count, at one point, and determines that she owns (at that point in time) 305 things -- which is impressive in any (Western) context, but when you pitch it against the half-assed claims of [b:The 100 Thing Challenge|9303182|The 100 Thing Challenge How I Got Rid of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, and Regained My Soul|Dave Bruno|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348732768s/9303182.jpg|14185997]...well, it makes a point. Williams sought to trim out the excesses of her life to make room for the things that would really make her happy -- more time, more intentional community -- but she doesn't get wrapped up in the details, in whether she's 'doing it wrong' by showering at a neighbour's house or keeping a pair of big clown shoes.
Instead, she keeps it light. Yes, the impetus for building her tiny house was the diagnosis of a frightening heart condition, but she doesn't linger on that. Yes, her new way of life opens her up to a lot more Big Questions, but she doesn't really linger on those either. I get the sense that she's not terribly comfortable talking that much about herself on a deeply personal level; she's rather let you figure her out through snarky anecdotes and, well, her own attempts to figure herself out.
My one basic wish for the book: More about the house! Oh, it's in there, all right; she writes about what led to the choice to downsize; about the process of winnowing her possessions and figuring out her priorities for the space; about, as part of settling into her new home, neighbours becoming a tight-knit community akin to family. (And yes, she manages to convey snark and appreciation with respect to the latter. But I would have loved more of the day-to-day realities of living in such a small space -- having people over for dinner, learning to adjust to the house's quirks, etc.
Still. Fun read. I don't have a particular interest in living in a tiny house (I place too much value on being able to go into another room and close the door), but I'd love to read more in this vein.
Instead, she keeps it light. Yes, the impetus for building her tiny house was the diagnosis of a frightening heart condition, but she doesn't linger on that. Yes, her new way of life opens her up to a lot more Big Questions, but she doesn't really linger on those either. I get the sense that she's not terribly comfortable talking that much about herself on a deeply personal level; she's rather let you figure her out through snarky anecdotes and, well, her own attempts to figure herself out.
My one basic wish for the book: More about the house! Oh, it's in there, all right; she writes about what led to the choice to downsize; about the process of winnowing her possessions and figuring out her priorities for the space; about, as part of settling into her new home, neighbours becoming a tight-knit community akin to family. (And yes, she manages to convey snark and appreciation with respect to the latter. But I would have loved more of the day-to-day realities of living in such a small space -- having people over for dinner, learning to adjust to the house's quirks, etc.
Still. Fun read. I don't have a particular interest in living in a tiny house (I place too much value on being able to go into another room and close the door), but I'd love to read more in this vein.