Funny and Enjoyable
Pardon me for disagreeing, but I don’t think the book’s description here does it justice. “Graceful and inspiring” doesn’t sound much like the book I listened to. Instead, I’d say it’s very funny in its hilarious descriptions of an average thirty-year-old, single woman’s life, in the foibles and victories of her home project, and in the fun-loving way the author has of looking at life. Also, it’s not at all a “how to” book. Never once does the author say to do this or not do that, be sure to check this or avoid that. It’s a straight memoir that describes her own life experience from when she decides to become a homeowner with all its challenges, headaches, and joys to when she gets the idea of downsizing to a mini-house and all she goes through to make that a reality. The “why to” is included here but comes through not in a dictatorial manner but instead in short descriptions of her new way of looking at life, such as her enjoyment of nature, what she does with her free time, how little she spends for electricity. Her health problem is part of this whole story but it doesn’t overwhelm the listener. I liked narrator Heather Henderson’s delivery for this book. She made the story sound believable and added to its humor in the funny comments as well as in the Russian accent she uses when the author meets a Russian clerk in a trailer-manufacturing shop: “How vee can be hulping you, g-little g-lady?” The west-coast setting of this memoir comes through, even if she hadn’t mentioned Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, because of mention of stands of old-growth forest, the casual dress one wears to work or parties, and the widespread acceptance of people seeking an alternative life, which may seem hard to believe to people in other parts of the country. Even though I have no intention of building or living in a tiny house, I found this book quite entertaining.