The Big Tiny

March 15, 2014
His was 150 square feet and hers was 84, but Henry David Thoreau and newcomer Williams find significant common ground in their little abodes. Though Thoreau didn't spend a lot of time regaling us about living in his cabin by Walden, and Williams spends a great deal of time describing living in hers, they shared the same desire: to pare down their lives. "I imagined," she writes, "I'd learn something about myself by stripping down to the basics--by living with two dinner plates, three spoons, two pairs of pants, a dress, and my wool skivvies...with humility and gratitude." While Thoreau wandered off into the briars of transcendentalism, Williams hews to the quotidian. She was also disturbed, to say the least, by a mysterious, potentially mortal heart ailment and has a defibrillator built into her heart, which, when activated, feels "like being Tasered from the inside out." The author amiably narrates her story of building a tiny, portable space, off the grid (except for a propane heater), complete with a composting toilet and enough room to turn around without having to kick the dog from the house. She chronicles how she found ancient planks of wood to use as siding, learned how to use her eyes and intuition when building, joined the "Flannel Shirt Club" and became an all-around do-it-yourself builder, minimizing unused materials. Williams also displays a light humor, though she occasionally lapses into what is not so much quirky as chirpy. However, the narrative is tempered by the somber thoughts of the deaths of two close friends. "For me," she writes, "the idea of living small has always involved being curious--taking a look at how my day-to-day is connected to the larger world...[and] the delicate universe that sits between my ears." A lightweight curiosity that will find sympathy with readers frustrated with the conventional rat race.

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June 1, 2014

Living with a smaller footprint both in consumption and square feet has been a growing trend, especially given the current economy. Williams, a consultant and educator with Portland Alternative Dwellings, chronicles her transition from typical homeownership--with renovations, repairs, and costs--to a simpler life in an 84-square-foot house. While the publisher bills this book as how-to and memoir, the material is more biography than building guide. The author's stories are entertaining and create a fine read, however, she offers no real instruction or construction details. While this title may inspire readers to pursue this lifestyle choice, they'll need to look elsewhere for assistance to get there. VERDICT Recommended only for those looking for inspiration and motivation. Titles such as Jay Shafer's Tumbleweed: DIY Book of Backyard Sheds and Tiny Houses, Taunton's Small Houses by the editors of Fine Homebuilding, and Gerald Rowan's Compact Houses are better suited for plans and construction.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
Even those who are contemplating downsizing may not be familiar with the DIY tiny-urban-house movement Williams describes. Imagine a floor space smaller than an average-size living-room rug with an external peak elevation of less than 10 feet and an open-space ceiling height of less than seven feet. Now picture a sleeping loft above the 84 square feet below. That's it. The entire house. Williams explains that she was driven by a need to build a home and to be at home in the world and in my body after awakening in a hospital following a cardiac incident that caused her to reevaluate and change her life. Feeling like a woman learning to swim, Williams recounts studying DIY manuals as bedtime reading, and learning, hands-on, the finer points of using the correct tools to build a floor frame and much more as she undertakes securing prefabricated walls to the trailer-skeleton. She calls on friends for help with hoisting walls. Here Williams has built an engaging and inspiring how-to/memoir that goes beyond the DIY perspective.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)