Chris

Less Books, More Reading

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A few days ago I mentioned I am back in minimalist mode. I want to reduce the amount of possessions, or stuff that I do not need and appreciate what I have. I want to make everything I have useful and appreciate it. I’ve had a lot of success, donating clothes, shoes and trading in physical media like record albums, movie discs and yes, books. I know, I know. Getting rid of books is tantamount to blasphemy to some.

I enjoy reading, always have. If I am not reading a book, then I am reading content online or e-books. But I am drawn to books because of the tactile nature. The feel, the smell and the looks of them. Drop me off at a library or bookstore and pick me hours later.

Reading books transports me to the places I want to go and explore, it stimulates my mind, they relax me right before I go to sleep and they have been comforting while in my home office when I take a break, grab something from the bookshelf, sit in the comfy chair and relax.

I’m learning to let go of physical books for long periods of time. I don’t need an anti-library. But the process of removing them was easier than I hoped. I sorted what I wanted and parted with those I don’t. During a move across country, I would squeeze my vast library into about 25 totes that were a burden to carry and transport. I am down to sixteen physical books after ruthlessly culling the herd.

The winter season is almost here and I anticipate a lot of free time will be spent reading. So my thinking is to plan what to read specifically for the next few months.

A minimalist’s approach to reading can be just as rewarding as having your own physical library but without all the occupied space.

Screenshot from Libby, the public library app

Here’s what I plan to do:

  • Purge those books I haven’t gotten around to reading or are a one-time use.
  • Borrow from the library, either physical or digital books.
  • Seek and find books from the Little Free Library systems
  • Sell, trade or give away the rest of the books I no longer need.
  • Get comfortable reading from the iPad.
  • Organize my digital library using my BookTrack software much like a librarian, or curator would. I can enjoy thousands of books on one space-saving, portable device wherever I go.
  • I will no longer purchase digital books. After closing my Amazon and Google accounts a few years ago, I lost all ability to read them because I purchased a license and not a product.
Screen Shot 2021-10-14 at 9.29.56 PM
Screenshot of one of my bookshelves in BookTrack

Early this year I covered RSS and Read-It-Later apps in the past but I’ll be relying on these tools even more now.

I’ve mentioned books in this post but the same can be applied to all physical media like record albums, DVDs, etc. Streaming or borrowing digital media on multiple devices is quite liberating and minimal.

Plain Text

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Regarding technology, I suggest that simpler is better. Lately I am keeping it even simpler by using plain text or markdown files after years of more complex formats and software programs.

Complex file formats are slow, bloated and usually only works if you have subscribed to the proprietary software and in a few years fail, and no longer support it. There goes your data.

Simple file formats are quick, lean and light. They play well with multiple software applications, no one owns it, and are almost always guaranteed to work in the future. Want proof? I can take data I stored on a 1.44MB capacity floppy disk back in the day and still open and read it- provided I had a floppy disk reader, but I don’t.

Plain text is the way to go for my needs. It is designed to be simple, dependable and minimal.

iA Writer
TextEdit
Apple Notes
Bear Notes
Obsidian

Minimal Mac

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What does a minimalist Mac setup look like? A lean, mean, productivity machine is what it looks like. My MacBook Pro with the M1 chip can handle anything I throw at it including using multiple apps and not charging it for a full day and it will still perform with zero lag. But why stress it out when I can streamline processes and preserve it as long as I can?

Most of the software applications installed are stock, meaning they are designed by Apple to take advantage of storage space, memory and battery life. The rest of the apps are what I have deemed important enough for me to install and use. The end result? Fast speeds, no bloat and my work is frictionless and efficient.

I tell everyone that asks to imitate this type of setup, regardless of what device they are using to keep it simple and make it fast.

Suggestions

  1. Remove the clutter because a desktop that is messy is a distraction. Close the windows you aren’t using, close the browser tabs, remove all those icons on the dock. Minimize your distractions and be more productive.
  2. Keep it lean. Most computers are bloated with apps, files, and junk because they look cool, but are resources hogs. I suggest against using these features, because they slow things down.
  3. Specifics apps as opposed to all-in-ones because some try to do too much. Find a simple solution for a specific task, one that does not create bloat and hogs the memory. It takes a long time to load big apps, and they will crash or slow things down.
  4. Simple formats like text files for storing documents. Most of my documents are in text format because they are future-proofed, non-proprietary and compatible with multiple programs.
  5. There will always be something new and shiny but take it from me, the one who likes shiny stuff, find something and stick with it. Choose the best one and get your stuff done.
Look ma, no clutter on the desktop!

Simple Software

These are the software applications I suggest for a minimal setup – lightweight, fast, without bloat or too many features:

Writing- Your operating system’s very own text reader. On Macs it is called TextEdit. Bloated word processors like Microsoft Word is over-the-top if you only want to write. Most writers and bloggers get swept up looking for the perfect writing software, but all we need is text. Don’t let the software distract, just write. When you need to format it, use software such as IAWriter, Ulysses or WordPress.

Notes and Tasks- Again, the built-in software could be the best. Apple’s Notes app is one of the best out there, and the ugliest but it works. When I need more I turn to Bear notes for specific formatting and design use. Both applications have the ability to use text as a task format to check things off your to-do list. Why pay $50 a year for that?

Browsing- My daily driver right now is Safari. It syncs up on all my Apple devices and is one of the most privacy-driven browsers available. Again, designed by Apple to be lean and secure. No crashes, no bloat, no excessive memory usage.

Blogging- IAWriter and WordPress. I use WordPress because it’s free and does everything I need it to do. This text is being written on IA Writer, another minimal, no nonsense, everything in text format kind of software. When I am done with this article all I need to do is send to WordPress and it publishes to my website.

The minimal aesthetic of IA Writer

Photos- Here is one of the few places I can splurge when it comes to resource hogging. I use several photography software applications but mostly use Adobe Lightroom. I use Apple’s Photos app for organizing and Lightroom for post processing and storage. Both are available on all my devices so I can work with my images everywhere.

Communications- Apple’s Mail and Messages. You don’t need Skype, or WhatsApp or any other IM app. Mail and Messages are free, can do everything those other apps can do and do it better. Why waste the storage and memory on those others?

Cloud Storage- iCloud. Duh.Alternatives-I stay away from anything that has Google attached to it. Go ahead, name one out of any Google product. The answer is nope. The truth for me is I have tried almost every software out there for various and specific needs and they all came up lacking in utility but heavy on the price for the same capability as the preinstalled software. I’ll pay and enjoy those software apps that will be the most beneficial but again, those are kept at a minimal.

Applications installed and used-

  • ACDSee Photo Studio
  • Adobe Lightroom and Bridge
  • Bear
  • BookTrack
  • Books*
  • GoodLinks
  • iA Writer
  • Mail*
  • Messages*
  • Mindnode
  • Music*
  • Notes*
  • Obsidian
  • Pixelmator Pro
  • Reeder
  • Safari*
  • WordPress
    *Apple product

These software applications are my current preferences for their design, utility and keep my Mac a lean, mean productivity machine.

mnmlist

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I caught the minimalism bug again. I recently decided to create a list of all the things that no longer served their purpose in an attempt to declutter and called it the mnmlist. Get it?

I emptied my bookcase of everything except sixteen books. Seven are about photography. The rest were donated to a local book store. From now until I change my mind again, I’ll be borrowing e-books from the library or online resources to view on the iPad. Done.

Next up, record albums. Earlier this year I caught the nostalgia bug and purchased a few recent releases and the rest were acquired at my neighborhood record store. The majority of those records were from mystery packs. Pick a genre of music and get 20 albums for $10. Only a few of those survived after I traded them in yesterday for store credit. That didn’t last long and I brought home a Jimi Hendrix, and Rolling Stones album for a grand total of $2.50. Most of my music is streamed through Apple Music from now until I change my mind again. Done.

Working from home during the pandemic made me realize how many dress shirts and slacks I have in my closet that I am not wearing. Throw in some old shoes, and they will all be donated very soon.

Up next I will be tackling my digital archives and reorganizing them in a way that makes it easier for me to find and access along complete with physical and cloud backups. I’ll probably log that in a future post.

The Library

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After scanning the website and cleaning up some design code, I came across the Library page. It has been neglected and needed a good dusting off. So of course I neglected it again but that will change soon as I also rediscovered an e-book resource called Standard E-Books and need to make room for new additions.

I just downloaded and installed more copies of public domain classics in beautiful modern formats. So this is just in time for cooler weather and curling up with a good, uh, iPad.

Screenshot from my Apple Books library. Page 3 out of 10 (not shown)

Sayonara, Sonya

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I hardly knew you, but you just weren’t enough for me to consider keeping you on. I had high hopes for a modern, lightweight, mirrorless camera but your interface and outdated, unsupported features that made you so appealing to me just wasn’t cutting it. The software was not supported for MacBook nor the bluetooth/wifi connectivity.

Low light shooting in Manual mode produced way too much noise and grain that I thought I was working with a Nokia 600 camera phone from the early 2000’s. I shouldn’t have to rely on your Scene modes that does the work for me. No thanks.

The good news is I still have Nadia, my ever faithful companion.

After Polacon

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I spent last weekend in Dallas/Denton Texas at the 10th annual Polacon hosted by the Instant Film Society. Good people down there and it felt great to get out and explore new towns while doing photowalks too.

Max

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I know, I know. I recently mentioned that I was content with the iPhone 12 but you know what? Those camera upgrades on the 13 Pro Max were just too tempting.

I looked at upgrading the iPhone 12 to the as-yet-to-be-released 13 next week. You know what? I am content. My current is that good. It’ll be good for at least 3-4 more years.

Me, in my post about Contentment