I would not expect to read a book and suddenly long to join the Old Order, but “Better Off” has nearly done it! No other book has so convincingly laid out the case for banning televisions from my home as this one.

Eric Brende is a professor who got tired of being ruled by technology and wanted to explore what it would be like to live without most technology for a year. He and his new wife head off into the “wilderness” to join a community that is living an Amish-like lifestyle.

Brende adjusts to life without indoor plumbing and electricity surprisingly well. Giving up his car takes a little longer and he has some honest disclosures about his struggles with going “all the way”.

The fascinating parts of this book are about how much work it really takes to live this way. Think it’s a lot harder than how you live now? Maybe it isn’t!

Here is a community who helps one another with tasks. It’s also a community that lets the natural rhythms dictate their schedules. When it’s rainy, projects are found indoors. When the men are working hard in the fields, they take breaks for meals, for snacks and just to sit in the shade and visit awhile.

Can you imagine how much time you’d have if you didn’t have Tivo? Email? Facebook? Your cell phone ringing all the time?

You could get to know your children better! With a diet rich in fresh vegetables that you grow, they might be a lot healthier! They’d also grow up with a sense of accomplishment and responsibility because they’d be vital, contributing members of a community.

I’m not ready to put on a bonnet and sell my car just yet, but it was a thought provoking read. Maybe, just maybe, I’ve let technology get the better of me. I am now a slave to my BlackBerry instead of it making my life easier.

What do you think? What technologies do you regret? Or do you feel like you only use the technologies that best serve you?