Homesteading Books #1

Okay, I've been a slacker.  I've had a lot of stuff going on this week and I haven't done anything particularly homesteadery.  I will, though, fulfill my promise of writing about the homesteader books (or at least books I think are helpful to the homesteader) that I have.

Ball Blue Book of Preserving--This is the #1 canning primer out there.  There are also sections on freezing and drying, but by far, this is a great canning introduction book.  I can't imagine learning to can without it.

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine--This should be your companion book to the Ball Blue Book after you get a little canning under your belt.  There are tons of recipes in here and lots of creative things to can.

The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery--This is regarded as the go-to book for all things country living.  I love it, but also would only give it 4 1/2 stars.  She is a little bit of a hippie, and not all of her information is absolutely correct, but the environmental rantings and bad information are in there, but few and far between.  Mostly just an enjoyable resource.

Storey's Basic Country Skills by John and Martha Storey--Another encyclopedic volume of country information.  This time, though, it is a collection of articles by experts on different topics.  This book and the one above probably weigh 10 lbs. each.

Back To Basics:  How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills by Readers Digest--This is probably my favorite of the encyclopedic country books.  It covers hundreds of topics with color pictures and in lots of detail.  Though you may need to do a little more research on each topic to do it well, it is a good place to start from.

The Self-Reliant Homestead by Charles A. Sanders--This is probably my least favorite general homestead book because the way it is set up is hard for me to glean information from.  Honestly, I probably haven't given it a fair shake.  It will always have a place on my bookshelf, though, because of the section on selecting a homestead firearm and because of the quote, "If I had to settle on just a single firearm for use on the homestead, I would probably choose neither a rifle nor a handgun.  Given the "one gun" alternative, I would have to choose a shotgun".  Amen, brother.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour--This book would be an excellent resource if I lived in the UK.  Unfortunately, a lot of the gardening advice isn't good for midwest USA.  Other than that, it is a good book, especially for the recommendations for being self-sufficient on 1 acre, 5 acres, 10 acres, etc.

This is probably good for now.  I still have a stack here on my office floor to write about, so I'm sure more book posts will follow.