What's in your library?

[kyosa]

What sort of books do you have in your homesteading 'library'? Were/are they a 'getting-started' reference for you or do you find yourself referring to them on a continuing basis? Any materials you don't currently have that you really want to add to your collection?

[bbird]

I have two old books that I use the most. One is Veterinary Medicine, and animal science. Anything you need to raise animals is in there.

I have tons of gardening books, landscaping, herbology, trees, perineals, annuals...you name it, and I hardly use them. Once in awhile I will look through them, and try to remind myself to look there when I have questions, but I don't...who knows why! lol

I have some "how to survive" books, first aid books, and how to homestead books. Read them once, and that was that.

I think its easier to ask questions on the internet, that's probably the main reason I don't use them much anymore.

[Kathy]

Although many are packed right now since I don't need them, I have a very large homesteading/livestock library. Amazon was/is my friend. I * my favorites!

Five Acres & Independence *
The Have More Plan *
You Can Farm
Sell What You Sow-gardening
Handy Farm Devices and How to Make them
Encyclopedia of Country Living-version 7
How to Live Without a Salary
Raising Dairy Goats the Modern Way *
Merck Veterninary Manual *
Complete Guide to Herbals for Livestock
50 of the Story Books on various rural/homestead/garden topics *
Barns, Sheds and Outbuildings
Papercrete-book and DVD
How to Build an underground house
$50 and up underground house book
Travel Trailer Homesteading for under $5000 *
The Humanure Handbook *
Rodales Complete Garden problem solver
The Jerry Baker series on gardens & lawns-booklets and video's
Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening *
Making and Using Dried Foods
Ball Blue Books-the last 10 yrs of them at least *
Make Your Own Groceries *
In a Pickle, in a Jam *
Putting Food By
Stocking Up-vol III

There's more I just can't remember all of them. I know I have a number on the various options with Solar Energy and also very cheap building methods.

I really,really want Back to Basics by Readers Digest!

[Deleted]

I have all the homesteading how to books and some on animal husbandry. I am currently reading "The Mists of Avalon". My next read will be a book on herbal medicine followed by one on making incense.

[momo]

Off the top of my head I have

Encyclopedia of Country Living
Readers digest book- I think it's called Basic Living
Five Acres and Independence
Merck Manual
Putting Food By
Organic Gardening
Several Healing with Herbs books (given to me)
Years of MEN, Backwoods Home and Countryside magazines

[bbird]

lol, now that I read others lists I have remembered more things.

I have the Raising Goats the Modern way.
Raising Rabbits and a ARBA book.
Back to Basics (I know that isn't the exact title, and I really need to look at this book again because it has so much information in it you can't possibly remember it all)

Lots of cookbooks, but the one I use most is a old Betty Crocker one my Mom had that I use for remembering the basic recipes of pancakes, bread, rolls, how to cook certain meats. Everything else I usually make up my own recipes.

I have Five acres and independence too!

I guess this winter would be a good time to go through the books, and gleam more information from them. Good topic Kyosa!

[Deleted]

I've been wanting to get Carla Emery's book. Kathy and Momo, is it a good book? Worth the money? I haven't asked Rich to get it for me because it's kind of spendy (for a book) and I wasn't sure if it was a really good resource or not. What do you guys think?

As to the original question, I have only a few books. I have 2 or 3 of the Foxfire books (they were Rich's originally), I have Living with Chickens, which now after having had chickens for a while I find was a total waste of money (I don't know WHERE this guy got some of his ideas!), and I have Country Wisdom & Know-How, which is a pretty good book, but missing some essential information, I think. That's it for homesteading type books, but I also have a slew of herbal and gardening books, too.

~Lannie

[momo]

Carla's book is actually cheap. It has more info in one place than you can imagine. Maybe he could get it for you for Christmas? Of course, that would require you to be a good girl for at least 8 more weeks.

If you consider frugalness to be an important homesteading skill, I would also recommend all 3 of Amy Dczycen (sp?) books. They have a compilation of all three of her books and it is great. Some of her ideas are farfetched but there are many jewels too.

[Kathy]

Lannie, I happen to like the older versions of Carla's book more than the last published edition-I had both and gave the latest edition to Cody.

Momo, I don't have the frugal books by Amy , I'll have to look into those now that someone has said they're good. Are those the ones called the Frugal Gazette or ??

I love to read, so any threads on books will be one of my favorites.

[Deleted]

OK, then, can I have yours? (Where's that sad puppy-dog face when you need it!)

[dirty]

'Back to Basics' - was my first homesteading type book that i read. after checking it out form the library umteen times. i finally bought it.

i have ' five acres and independence' and a bunch along that line.

also have several building and how to books- electrical, plumbing that kind of stuff.

i purchased a lot of my books at the library book sales.

however over the years i slowly transitioned to magazine subscriptions. which i loved getting. it's like getting a present in the mail. but the cost got to be to much. so when i moved last year i canceled all of them. don't really miss them now. plus it's hard too refer back to magazine articles after you get to many magazines. i can't even remember what the name of the magazine an article was in let alone the month and year of the article.

as bbird said i use the internet for questions.