This morning as I looked at our bookshelves, I wondered how much we could have accomplished without the aid of some pretty fabulous books we own. I have a feeling that without them, we'd have muddled things up pretty badly. So I thought it would be a good idea to share the books and resources that we think are indispensable, ones we return to regularly and not just ones we read once and call it good. I should add that I am in no way being compensated or bribed to mention any of these, and though I'll provide Amazon links to them, I'm not getting any commission or anything whatsoever. These books are just that good. And though I call it your homestead's library, you don't have to have a big garden or livestock or even a back yard to learn valuable and useful information from any of these books that you can then apply to your day to day life. Your homestead could be anything from an apartment to a sprawling ranch. If you are able to incorporate homemade/handmade/homegrown/DIY anything into your life, I consider that homesteading. It's a way of life rather than a type of dwelling. So, that said (and keeping in mind there are hundreds of books out there that I'm sure are great but that we haven't read or don't own), here are the books that have helped us immensely along the way!
The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery- If your library had room for only one book, this would be it. It has a wealth of in-depth information on everything from buying land to growing food and raising livestock to recipes for that food and livestock to how to birth a baby in an emergency. Many other encyclopedia type books give general and short descriptions or information, but The Encyclopedia of Country Living is where to go to find out the details. (I'd say look no further, but then you wouldn't need any of the other books I'm about to recommend, and this would be a pretty short blog post. Even though you probably could look no further...)
Mother Earth News Magazine- Ok, not a book, but just as important to us as The Encyclopedia of Country Living, and it is the one and only magazine that we regularly re-read old issues of. Also, it is one of the most read magazines in the country, not in overall readership numbers, but in that its readership literally reads the whole magazine, cover to cover, every issue. Also, every article ever printed is available for free online on their website (along with countless online-only articles and blogs), and if you prefer to own the information but don't have room for every back-issue, they offer a collection of cd-rom disks with every article from every issue since the magazine began in 1970. Seriously, if you care about self-sufficiency, raising quality food (flora and/or fauna), or being good stewards of our land, get a subscription. You won't regret it!
Back to Basics by Abigail Gehring- Consider this one a less in-depth but more visual version of The Encyclopedia of Country Living. Most topics are covered in a single page or two, so it's by no means exhaustive, but it's fun to read through and has great diagrams and photos of lots of different DIY ideas for all around the home and farm.
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening- Though growing your own food is a big part of modern homesteading, I'm only going to include one book on gardening, and this is it. It's much more about technique than specific information about individual plants. If you're looking for a guide with info on individual plants, there are zillions of books out there like that, all good in their own ways, and if you can find one that is specific to your region, the better (for example, Sunset's Western Garden Book is great if you live in or west of the Rockies). But if you want to learn HOW to garden organically (the best way, and what should be the only way), then Rodale's is the place to go. It's one thing to look up that a certain plant likes a rich, well drained, loamy soil, but those books don't usually tell you how to make your soil rich, well draining, and loamy (or even what loam is). Rodale's does, and then some.
Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine by Andrew Chevallier- This is an absolutely excellent resource if you wish to reduce your dependence on conventional medicines. Whether you grow your own herbs, or buy supplements from a store, this will tell you what to look for to help with all sorts of ailments. I've successfully fought off multiple ear infections that otherwise would have needed full courses of antibiotics, with information from this book. (Disclaimer- I'm not saying you should ditch going to the doctor in favor if this book, but it is very helpful, especially in a pinch if you can't get to the doc quickly enough, or in conjunction with conventional meds from your doc.)
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois- We haven't bought storebought bread in nearly two years thanks to this book (which we learned about thanks to Mother Earth News). This book was an excellent stepping stone to getting creative on our own with our breadmaking, which is totally doable and not scary once you've mastered the techniques and understand the processes in this book. There is another similar version of this book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (same authors), that is essentially many of the same recipes, but with more whole grains used, and less salt (though once you are comfortable with the basic recipes and techniques, those are modifications you can make without a specific recipe, so adding one or the other book to your library would probably be sufficient, unless you're uncomfortable with baking without a specific recipe, which is totally understandable).
One of the easiest ways you can incorporate homesteading into your daily life is by making your meals from scratch and not eating out, and two great cookbooks to help you do that are How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, and The All New Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, et. al. (these are both links to the editions I have, though there are newer editions of both cookbooks). Both books are very similar, so you could easily get away with just one (and of the recipes I've tried out of both books, Mark Bittman's versions tend to involve less butter, so make of that what you will, teehee), but they are great for learning the basics as well as more complex recipes, and they both include techniques that are important tools, not just recipes.
Homemade by Reader's Digest- Consider this a cookbook not only for edible goods but also many household goods. I'm a big fan of many Reader's Digest books, and this one doesn't disappoint.
Crafts and Hobbies by Reader's Digest- This is an older book, but is a lot of fun and great inspiration if you want to try your hand at traditional and useful handicrafts for the home. Reader's Digest makes a lot of great craft type books, and I'm also a fan of their Complete Guide to Needlework and their New Complete Guide to Sewing, though keep in mind the latter should really be called the Complete Guide to Garment Sewing, as it is almost exclusively garment related techniques, and though it is a new edition, the projects included are, well, dated. (This version has a sticker on the cover that says the projects are new, so maybe they are, but my edition has some pretty special looking projects despite having the same cover, though without that sticker.)
Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook by Peggy Layton- Self-sustainability is not just about making your own food or clothing or what have you, but also your ability to sustain yourself should the worst happen. Food storage didn't used to be a 'weird' or 'survivalist' thing, it was absolutely necessary from a day to day life standpoint (and not so long ago, I might add). Just because most Americans have easy access to well-stocked supermarkets now doesn't mean you should become complacent. We by no means believe in silly Doomsday prophecies or anything like that, but disasters (both natural and man-made, widespread or personal (like an injury that keeps you from being able to work) can occur anywhere at any time, and can affect your ability to aquire food for days or even weeks at a time, and so being able to feed yourself and your family and keep them safe and healthy until things return to normal is a responsibility that many of us would struggle with today without a little forethought. This book will help you become self-reliant should the worst happen (God forbid), and will help you determine the best foods for long-term storage and how to prepare them if you need them. (Also, many long-term storage capable foods are foods we use on a regular basis as our staple foods, such as wheat berries and dried beans, so you don't have to stock up your pantry with stuff you'll never use, and they're much more affordable than their ready-to-eat counterparts.)
And that is my list for you today. I'm sure there are many other wonderful books out there that are deserving to be on this list, but these are the ones we have found to be truly useful to us, and I hope that they might be useful to you as well! Happy reading!
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