Reads

Here’s what is on my bookshelf:

• Extreme Gardening: How to Grow Organic in the Hostile Deserts by Dave Owens
   
  

You don’t have to live in the “hostile deserts” to find this book useful.  I keep this book nearby when I am planning my garden.  The “when to plant” and “what types” information is more specific to the desert southwest, but there is awesome information about companion planting, maintenance, and harvesting for a variety of vegetables, fruits, trees, herbs, and flowers that can be used in any climate.   

• Mini farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 acre by Brett L. Markham

• Homesteading: A Back to Basics Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More (Back to Basics Guides) by Abigail Gehring

•  Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family, 2nd Edition by Arthur Bradley

•  The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery

I think this book covers everything you need to know about country living, from buying your land to taking care of your dead.  No joke!  I don’t ever plan on living in such a rural area that I have to take care of my dead or give birth all alone in a cabin, but the information is ther in case it may ever find the need.  Other topics include raising animals, growing and preserving food, maintaining tools, homemade remedies, making candles, driving a tractor, and much, much more!  There are hardly any pictures, just lots of knowledge.  A must have for you homesteading library.

• Raising Chickens For Dummies by Kimberley Willis

• The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp

This book saved my life with my second child.  His calming techniques worked wonders with my son.  Must have for parents with fussy babies!

• Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judy Kingry and Lauren Devine

• The Attachment Parenting Book : A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby by William and Martha Sears

This is a method of parenting that we were following before we knew it had a name.  Attachment parents are big on breastfeeding, baby wearing, positive discipline, co-sleeping, etc.  Basically, things that promote a strong attachment between parent and child.