Seeking Slow

This book? 100% my aesthetic. I have to be honest though, I had no idea slow living was a thing and kind of felt doubtful at first diving into this book but after reading it I learned about a new way of living and although I don't think all aspects of Slow Living is for me, I will try to adapt bits and pieces into my routine for some semblance of calm.
Calm is what we all need in this chaotic energy we call a world.
The visuals in this book are STUNNING and calming which is the point. The author brings up several great points and solutions for managing our time and perhaps even purging from the sometimes (always in my case) anxiety inducing mess that is social media.
I have to admit that I've been feeling a bit down today and bogged down by my own thoughts and this was calming to read. I even cried a bit embarrassingly enough.
All in all, a great self help manual tossed with a lot of self care.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own. Live happy and well!

Absolutely loved this book. It is so hard in this day and age to "go slow" especially living in California like I do and working for a law office. Definitely will recommend this to everyone I know. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

Yes!! Down with the man! Stop American consumerism! Love yourself! Reduce, reuse, recycle!

This book covers a lot of topics succinctly and efficiently. Accompanied by lovely photographs, this is a great "self-help" guide meets home organization sounding board meets social responsibility manifesto. I appreciated the new and unique insights on ideas that are being hashed out in a lot of books today.

We all know by now that modern life isn’t helping any of us lead happy and fulfilled lives. Barnes looks at all the ways we can disconnect from the modern, digital world and reconnect to the natural world to slow down. Taking cues from nature and the seasons, using meditation and appreciation of the little things in our lives, Barnes shows us how to truly enjoy ourselves and to be happy

I was drawn to Seeking Slow by the beautiful cover and great title. It ended up being a wonderful little guide to slowing down in modern life, including tips on time management, self-care habits, and finding quiet in the chaos. I thought it had great advice and the photos that went along with the text added a lot to the message.

Thank you so much Net Galley and Quarto Publishing for this AMAZING book! I work a lot and find it difficult to slow down. This nbook gave me so many tips ans such neat advice to start changing! It deals with such issues as slow living of course, but also well-being, meditation, clearing, decluttering our homes, and so much more!
The pictures are superb to top it all!

"Seeking Slow" provides insightful knowledge on how to navigate through life slowly, purposefully, and meaningfully. Melanie Barnes has written a beautiful book that will resonate with many, especially in a fast-paced, social media crazed, and technology-obsessed world. The graphics are stunning, as is the writing. I appreciate all of the great advice she shares and hope to instill some of it into my own life.

This is a beautifully crafted book about slowing life down and taking time for yourself in a world where we seem to be running on empty these days because we never switch off. There are lots of easy changes we can make just to take a step back and care for ourselves in our daily lift without missing out.

What I liked about this book: I haven’t seen many things about this topic, so it felt innovative to me. The book offered some great advice about seasonal living and sustainability. It seems like a great introductory book for people interested in changing their lifestyle.

What I disliked about this book: This book could have benefited from more charts and graphics (checklists, etc.) in each chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a great coffee table book and a best friend to people who never thought about slow living and now feel the urge to inform themselves. The chapters are organized into parts of a lifestyle, into body, mind and soul and it gives great advice for newbies.

But I am doing recherché on this topic for some time now and found little new in this book. Still it was beautifully crafted and had great information for everyone who still thinks, being busy is a cool thing. It gives just the right amount of advice and personal story to the reader and explains well, WHY we need to live slower. That it helps ourselves, the environment and in the end our future.

Ironically, I started to read this book when I had ten minutes free before rushing off to do something. I came back again later and began to make the time to read this book and think about its messages and suggestions.

We all know that life is hectic, that many only feel okay while being productive and that it is hard to slow down. This book will help readers to think about what is important about slow living, as it helps you to understand why slow living is important. It is well worth your time to find out.

The book is divided into many chapters and is illustrated throughout with beautiful photographs. Readers can read straight through or look first at what makes most sense for them. There are sections on everything from creating rituals to explanations of what mindfulness and meditation are, to learning to listen to your body, pay and more. Hopefully, readers will take away the intended message and will begin to slowly enjoy life more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this helpful read. All opinions are my own.

This is a lovely book all about slowing down to live more intentionally and stay in the present! In today's society we have so many choices in all aspects of our lives and we often live beyond our means financially and energy wise. Our schedules are so busy and there's always more to do. The perfect way to help counter some of the busyness and living beyond our means is to slow down, simplify, become more aware and mindful of our lives and choices. The author gives us a plethora of ways to do just that! Whether it's to spend time meditating, spend less, clean clutter and/or detox from digital devices this can help us decide what really brings us joy, enhance our well being and help us to direct our energy to those things. I enjoyed this book with all of the practical tips as well as the history shared about the American Dream and buying things for social status. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Seeking Slow is the next, of many, in the category of simplicity and slower living. This book is beautiful, with very evocative photographs on a majority of the book's pages. It is a short book (126 pages) and covers a large variety of topics including time, self care, listening to your body, a slow hot, mind and soul care, a slow home, sustainability and more. Because the author covers so many topics in a short book, she does not have much space to go into any of these in great detail.
If the reader is new to the topic of simple living, this book might be a good introduction. If they have read much in this area, then likely they will learn nothing new from Seeking Slow. I was very familiar with this topic, and as a nutritionist and healthy lifestyle expert, most of this book was not new to me. I enjoyed the beauty of the book, however.
I would like to thank the publisher for allowing me to have an advance review copy on NetGalley.

Seeking Slow talks you through getting out of teh busy world and making time for yourself. Predictably, it includes a lot about getting out of technology; but this is a needed thing to help s relax sometimes. While the bigger sections are verbose, Melanie Barnes breaks down practical ways to help you. Each section comes with activities or self inflection to help you slow down.
In a busy world, some times it's hard to slow down. Let this book and it's seen photos help you.

My whole life, I've often felt out of place in the world because my desire to stop and smell the roses can be viewed as odd. This book was reaffirming for my life philosophies and gave me some important reminders and useful guidance for day to day living.

While I appreciate the emphasis the author places on literally slowing down, physically and mentally, this book is about much more than that! It's about mindful, intentional living. Her writing is straightforward, yet almost poetic. I love the phrasing she uses to explain her philosophies and give tips. She talks about the need to redefine what is essential in our lives, stressing that urgent does not always equal important. While there are a. lot of practical tips for things such as time efficiency and boundaries with technology, at the core of this book is the emphasis on prioritizing wellbeing. It's not only about not rushing or multitasking, it's about making time to take a bath or pick up pretty leaves when you take a walk.

And not only is the writing in this book great, the photos and layout of it are pretty and calming. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to make changes in lifestyle, or to maintain the ones you've worked hard to make!

Seeking Slow by Melanie Barnes is a brilliant self help book about slowing down in the modern age. Full of wisdom.

Seeking Slow is a book looking at how you can take a step back in your life and live more mindfully in the present with more gratitude. Barnes looks at why this is important, the psychology behind it and most of all steps to take to be able to practically do this. Filled with gorgeous photos (one of my favourite aspects of reading this) this book is the sort of volume that you would have on a coffee table to dip in and out of. An easy read but some fabulous ideas within the pages.

I started reading this and had to come over to NetGalley to leave a review straight away. The 'Glorification of Busy' part was incredible. Literally life changing.
Everyone needs to read this book.

Goes through a few different topics (ex. consumption, digital detox, working smarter). Things to do and benefits of many of them. Looks at different areas that could help out the reader.

This book encourages the reader to take time out of the unnecessary and to start living more fulfilled lives, slowing down the mayhem and to start doing what you actually want to do.

She shows us how we can make small changes to our daily life where we will see a big difference in our emotional fulfillment.


I would definitely refer back to this through time to gain new ideas.

This book is exactly what I needed right now. Life is so frantic and living slowly is not something that I had considered until now, to be honest this book may prove to be somewhat transformative. I have most definitely ended up in a bit of a rut and it's easy to see why. 

You need money to live and to get money you need to work. Not many people would dispute that but (and it's a big but) I ended up rounding off that sentiment with one of my own and got it twisted. Because what I added to the phrase was you have to work to live and it swiftly turned into living to work. Which is pretty much the opposite of the message in this book, a message that I very much needed to hear. 

An important message from this book is that time is a commodity. When I was living to work I knew that but it was a twisted version of time being valuable. When you have no time to plan your relaxing activities then you do not relax because you don't know what you are meant to be doing. You spend the time thinking about relaxing rather than actually doing it. At least I did. I became very greedy with my time, not wiling to sacrifice a moment that I could have to myself to the absolute detriment of my relationships. I could never get this time back and, because I hadn't been intentional and planned my free time, I was never sure that I was spending it in the right way. And it was a vicious cycle because I never switched off but also never did anything to relax. 

Other themes that resonated with me are taking time to look after yourself, self-care and daydreaming being important. Also seasonal living is an area that I am majorly interested in following up. Working the 9-5 doesn't always allow you to really see the changes in the seasons; supermarket stocks are often all year round and taking the car means only paying attention to the condition of the roads, not nature. 

The first step that I have taken following reading this book is to become a more conscious consumer. I already do a lot of the suggestions (buying used and vintage; shop locally; buy less and choose well) but I do still have more to consider. Honestly I could probably write a book in response to this book, which is always a good thing! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who feels like they are swimming against the tide.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an egalley. And thanks to the author, Melanie Barnes. I genuinely think that my life is better for having read this book.

Seeking slow is a refreshing take on trying to live a slow life. This book is full of chapters on living slowly by meditating; taking care of yourself; reusing what you can; taking the time for what is in your life already before adding more; and enjoying life more. It's so easy to speed through life and even though it is hard to slow down sometimes, it is so rewarding!
#seeking slow
#Netgalley

Excellent book regarding living your life intentionally, savoring each moment and enjoying it. In this fast paced world we all agree we need to slow down. This book opens the door to seeking a slower more worthwhile life.
How there is joy in the simple small things. It talks about intentionally spending your days, what you spend your money on, how to spend your leisure time and what you surround yourself with. In today's world we feel that somehow being busy correlates to success. The author explores how slowing down is the opposite of what our society tells us. She also discusses how materialism has turned our society in to having it now. Seeking Slow gives the reader much to think about. It is well worth the read. Well done.

I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short, very basic book about why you should embrace a slow life. Suggestions are given for each area (such as decluttering or embracing seasons) but they are very common ones. Most of the book is talk about why you should slow down, declutter, take care of yourself, etc. and then there is generally a page of common suggestions (don't keep your phone on you, take breaks from social media, get rid of things that don't bring you happiness, buy less, buy used...). There are some lovely photos sprinkled throughout the book and it may be helpful for someone who really has no idea why they might want to slow down and live more simply or where to start, but those who already live a slower lifestyle are unlikely to find anything new.

I received a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

Seeking Slow: Reclaim Moments of Calm in Your Day by Melanie Barnes is a thoughtful reflection on the pace of life today. The author advocates for literally slowing down to actually take in the world and humans around us. Given the subject matter, I appreciated that this isn't a lengthy read. Rather she focuses on easy to implement strategies to make this happen. Prior to reading this, I hadn't heard the term formally used, so this was also a good exploration of what a slow living lifestyle would look like. Much of that lifestyle means being mindful of the moment you're in, putting down you're phone, and finding contentment in the everyday. This isn't a lengthy read, so if you're looking to get an introductory look at the concept, I think this is a good place to start. Thanks to NetGalley for the early peek at this read!

This book came at a time when I really needed to carve out some “me” time in my life. I had just started a full-time job after years of staying at home with my sons and then working only part-time through their early school years. I’m finding that the transition has been exhausting! I am tired just trying to get through Monday to Friday and running all weekend to play catch up on things I didn’t get done during the week.

This book offered suggestions for so many areas of life that are beneficial to me, from ideas for self care to some thoughts on decluttering. There are even suggestions for seasonal living that were a surprise to me, but another area I appreciated that the book covered. I also really liked the authors soothing voice that shines through in her words, and the occasional photos that added to the ideas in the book.

I really needed this book, and I am very grateful for the suggestions that are improving my life.

It may seem a bit funny to hear that I read this book while working out, to some the exact opposite of slow. But for me taking time to go to the gym is a part of my mindful and slow day.

This is a beautiful book, not too long but packed with so many great tidbits and tips for incorporating slow into your daily life. I love that it included more than just meditation and self-care but also had chapters on sustainability, seasonal living, and much more.

There may not be too many new concepts to those of us that have read many slpw living books but the way it is laid out is very engaging and made my workout seem to go even faster.

Wishes were granted and I got the opportunity to read this lovely book.
Well laid out, beautiful photography and practical tips and ways to seek slow, be slow and actively change your mindset from busy rules, to slow feels better.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

A great overview of the "slowness" movement by author Melanie Barnes. Brief essays on topics such as self-compassion, minimalism, and mindfulness offer nothing groundbreaking, but are still a great reminder of their importance. For those new to these topics, this offers a perfect introduction without overwhelming.

A beautiful book with lovely photos that really encourages you to sit, slow down and take your time browsing its pages.

Filled with lots of practical tips to help you start leading a more mindful lifestyle and touching on the reasons why this is of benefit to us all.

In a society where productivity and being busy are seen as signs of success, this book challenges that norm and shows us ways to come back to ourselves.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

A great book to add to a busy persons book collection. Great for helping with mindfulness and just to "seek slow" in our busy lives.

Are you reflecting on your life being to busy and feeling like you cannot control your day ? This is the perfect book to slow you down and help you reorganize your life. I loved the beautiful photographs and the calming techniques the author offers from meditation to mindfulness, to resting quietly looking within to looking honestly at your schedule and what takes up your days. The author discuss openly the psychology of slowing down and the health benefits. Today's society pushes us to exceed our abilities and if you feel that pressure I recommend this book quite highly. This is a great read for those that utilize self help books and need to recapture control of slowing down our lives to appreciate every quiet moment.

Thank you with gratitude to the publisher and to Net Galley.. My review opinion is my own. Posted across review platforms.

A comfortable look at slowing down, about learning to appreciate your life more, about living more in the day-to-day. I learned some stuff and it reinforced some other stuff!

A beautiful pretty book suggesting ideas for slowing down.

In this frenetic world we tend to multitask and consume constantly.The book suggests tips to relax,practice mindfulness and nurture in nature.
👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

Like so many of us I feel the need to slow down things in my life. I'm tired of busyness and this is a great inspiration for making that change.

Everyone is "busy" these days. That seems to be the fashionable response and is nearly necessary to keep up with the demands of modern life, but most often leaves us feeling stressed, unfulfilled, and like we're unable to keep up.

Seeking Slow by Melanie Barnes offers an antidote; intentional living. This beautiful book lays out ideas for how to step back from the busy and offers suggestions to incorporate slowness holistically in many facets of life. There are ideas for how to be mindful about consumerism, social media, and technology, but it acknowledges these things as a useful and necessary part of living in the 21st century. The book also discusses how to not mindlessly feed into consumerism or multitasking and encourages noting the difference between important and urgent tasks, practicing self-compassion, and taking time to engage in mindfulness and meditation.

I love this book, from the gentle manner in which the information is presented to the accompanying pictures and graphics that add to the sense of calm within the pages. I found myself taking notes on many of the topics mentioned here and can see myself referring back to this book regularly as I too am seeking a deeper, more meaningful, and consequently slower way of life.

This is a great guide for anyone looking to be more connected with themselves and the world at large and who seeks relief from the chaos that comes along with the fast pace of the world today.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rock Point Publishing for the advance copy.

I loved reading Seeking Slow by Melanie Barnes! I felt like I was sitting with a friend and chatting over a cup of tea. This book is full of practice advice to slow down all areas of your life. I learned about the importance of slowing down and how it will benefit me and my family in the long run. This is a great book for anyone who is looking to slow down and simplify their life.

Seeking Slow: Reclaim Moments of Calm in Your Day is a new tutorial and philosophy handbook by Melanie Barnes. Released 24th Sept 2019 by Quarto on their Rock Point imprint, it's 128 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.

Almost everyone I know has a more or less frenetic life. We race from place to place and overbook our time to the minute. Our society has become one where being a workaholic is a good thing. Most of us are overconsuming and have a throwaway philosophy concerning everything from phones to relationships. This book provides some good arguments for why we can (and should) slow down and take control of our time and recapture calm for psychological and physiological health benefits.

I liked the layout of the book. The introduction (~10% of the content) covers 'what, how, and why' for slow living. The following chapters cover these whats hows and whys in more depth and in specific situations (work, social interaction, prioritizing time use, recapturing time from our schedules and using it wisely, and more). I especially liked the tips for being more aware of how much time electronic devices use up of our days. I think most people have experienced planning to only check their social media quickly to be surprised that an hour (or more) has disappeared.

Tips and techniques are often set into sidebars for focusing readers' attention to the info. The book is generously illustrated with crystal clear illustrative photos and the text is easy to read and accessible. Information is grouped into logical chapters so readers can find and easily access the info they need, a la carte. There are a number of wide-reaching subjects covered here, from meditation to decluttering. The info is presented objectively and well.

Four stars, well written, accessible, sensible, and useful.

Seeking Slow is a well-rounded and practical guide to slow living – whether you’re curious about getting started or just need some inspiration.

Many of us want slower and simpler lives as an anecdote to the multi-tasking and busyness of today. But to actually infuse those values into our everyday lives is a different story.

In her new book Seeking Slow: Reclaim Moments of Calm in your Day, Melanie Barnes argues that it’s not about doing everything slower or having loads of free time. It’s about setting priorities so the less important things don’t end up taking over. And it’s about making space for what matters most.

Seeking Slow offers a holistic approach to slow living that looks at everything from how we travel and spend our days, to what we buy or do for leisure. Because this all adds up to either an intentional life or a life filled with anxiety and overwhelm, Barnes says.

GEOFFREY AND GRACE

Barnes is the writer and photographer behind the blog Geoffrey and Grace and the popular Instagram account @geoffreyandgrace. Her beautiful photos have long inspired readers to appreciate slow moments and daily pleasures.

Though Barnes also has 15 years of experience in well-being. She’s a trained yogi, meditation teacher and massage therapist. And this background makes her book a more practical and realistic look at slow living that’s rooted in experience.

Barnes began to explore slow living after the birth of her daughter. She realised as her daughter was growing up that time – and her daughter’s childhood – passes so quickly. And she didn’t want to miss out.

WHAT IS SLOW LIVING?

Slow living means being present in the moment, appreciating the little things and taking time to enjoy life, Barnes says. In our modern age, we come up against the glorification of busy, materialism, consumerism and constant online connectivity. So we must re-evaluate our values if we want a slower life.

“By altering our definition of success, we will naturally slow down the pace of our days,” Barnes writes. “By being realistic about what it means to be busy and by learning to relish the small, simple pleasures along the way, we can all find more meaning and joy in our lives.”

Understanding the darker forces brings awareness which can also help change our mindsets, Barnes says. Tracing the consumer culture back to the 1920s advent of PR, for example, makes us realise that consumerism is a recent innovation. It’s not a universal law we’ve always lived by – and we don’t have to, either.

“Having an awareness of the industry and how we are marketed to gives us the understanding to make more conscious choices,” Barnes writes.

HOW TO SLOW DOWN

I don’t think slow living is possible if we’re checking our notifications every hour.

And Barnes devotes an entire section to digital detox and simple strategies to ensure that Internet time doesn’t take over our lives – and that we have space for wholehearted moments.

“We must not underestimate how being intentional with our time is instrumental in slowing down,” Barnes writes.

Seeking Slow offers tips on working smarter to be more efficient and reduce stress. From focusing on what’s important and resisting the trap of multitasking, to defining your priorities and batching similar tasks together.

A section on self-care looks at the guilt we often feel about taking time for ourselves, especially amid long to-do lists. Barnes suggests we redefine what’s essential and look at ways of slowing down from gardening to enjoying an unhurried cup of tea.

Barnes also looks at the importance of self-compassion in slow living. She says self-compassion isn’t often a trait that’s valued in Western societies and it’s seen as weak. We often feel we have to be hard on ourselves to stay motivated and that we have to be tough to succeed. Self-compassion can be regarded as indulgence or laziness.

Barnes makes a convincing case for how the opposite is true. Self-compassion actually makes us happier and more motivated. She suggests asking yourself: “What do I need?” and then treating yourself like you’d treat a dear friend.

FACTORS IN SLOW LIVING

Seeking Slow also looks at the importance of boredom as a way of making space for inspirational ideas that can only come with free thought uninterrupted by notifications.

There’s also a chapter on the body – an essential part in slow living that doesn’t often get much attention. Barnes stresses the importance of listening to our bodies and how they can tell us what we need. The benefits include better health, increased intuition and a better understanding of stress. This self-awareness leads to greater happiness and confidence.

A section on home looks at how our surroundings impact our well-being, and lists ways to make our homes more comfortable by getting rid of clutter and organizing.

Barnes lists activities for each season with lots of ideas for kids like making beach mosaics from seashells in the summer or garlands of popcorn or orange slices for Christmas. Many of these activities will get you out into nature to experience its calming effects.

Seeking Slow also includes tips on meditation to make us more thoughtful, focused and calm. Meditation can help us deal with daily stress and be more present.

“Meditation allows us the space to return to a neutral mind, helping us to not become fixated on or attached to negative thoughts and emotions,” Barnes writes. “Learning to be present in the moment helps when challenging situations arise; we find that we don’t have an emotional knee-jerk reaction but are able to take a moment to mindfully react, so generally we are able to remain calm and act with more compassion.”

CONCLUSION

With its well-rounded approach to slow living, Seeking Slow is an inspiring read with beautiful photos. But it’s also a practical guide to slowing down and not letting the years pass us by.

Love this book! Slow living, slowing down, such a benefit to everyone. To be devoured by lists, activities, commitments....so many of us are in this never-ending wheel. The premises in this book are invaluable in this busy world of ours. It is easy to speed through life, but slowing down is beneficial and relevant to us all.

Wow! I absolutely loved Seeking Slow! I have really been trying to slow my life down, practice mindfulness, and eliminate the sense of being overwhelmed by the everyday life of being a mom to a very busy child. This book gave me the confiidence to keep going on the road to slow living. There are a lot of practices in this book that I was already doing which confirmed for me that I am on the right path. From little things like turning notifications off so that we're not constantly interrupted by social media, to taking time to enjoy the wonders of nature around us. Social media seems to force upon us the need to be busy, as though if we are not constantly doing something then we must be lazy. This is not the case, we need to slow down and enjoy the little moments. Relaxation and even just doing nothing is so good for our mental wellbeing. We need to take time out and just enjoy the moment. It also impresses upon the reader that we all need to be practicing self-compassion. This is something I have struggled with as it feels like we are being self-centred when we take time our for ourselves, but we need to. Just like we are compassionate and understanding with others, we need to do that for ourselves as well. There are so many great ideas and practices within is book to get you started on, or continue your journey to slow living. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️