I’m always interested in what others are reading so I thought I’d occasionally share what’s on my nightstand these days.
Currently I’m reading mostly books on Urban Homesteading and self-sufficient living .
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I’m really enjoying all of these books particularly “Quarter Acre Farm: How I Kept the Patio, Lost the Lawn, and Fed My Family For a Year” . Mostly because it’s a mix of gardening tips, a memoir of her turning her suburban lot into a mini-farm (what I’d like to do) and very cool recipes. Plus it’s an easy read (she’s pretty funny).
She has a blog The Quarter Acre Farm where she frequently posts not only more delicious recipes but also quite a few pictures of her yard and her very funny goose.
photo credit Quarter Acre Farm
I’m always interested to see how people set things up. I think she has both her front and backyard set up for growing veggies!
I’m not going to review the others as I’m still reading them (I think they all have reviews on Amazon if you’re interested in them). Quarter Acre is the only one I’ve finished so far.
What are you reading?
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you all have a great weekend!
Thanks for sharing…your new look is wonderful and enjoying my visits as always. I am interested in the same and will check out her web site
Oooh she sounds so cool! I’ll have to check out her blog!
Megan
A good old romance novel. Very light, very fluffy. I’m off to visit this blog. I don’t want to do this much labor intensive gardening, but I’m interested in the simpler things that I can adapt.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m going to check out this book and blog, looks good. Have a great weekend!
Oh great list of books, We are of the same mind xoxo Clarice-who si too busy writting to read 😉
Thanks for sharing. That is one of things I want to do in the next two years as I wind down to retirement. I want to have my suburban home as self sufficient as possible. I wish a two acre farm was in my future but with the housing market the way it is, that seems highly unlikely. So I will do as the pioneer women did…make do with what I have and feel blessed to have it. Have a wonderful weekend.
Yes, I feel the same. Be grateful for what you have and use it to it’s full potential!
Manuela
I am VERY interested in that topic, Manuela. I need to google that last book.
I’ve been trying to read a few novels but with all the lawn work needing to be done (as a result of a cold and rainy Spring), I was only able to finish one of them so far.
However, I always have time for wonderful gardening and cookbooks. Really enjoyed Tyler Florence’s latest because it is about cooking fresh, local (to a certain extent) food for the family and has a great recipe for kale chips.
Also, a garden book I’ve had on my stack for months now and keep coming back to is called Grow Great Grub, Organic Food from Small Spaces by Gayla Trail. It has become of of my all time favorites with lots of pictures to SHOW what she is talking about as well as creative ideas for growing food in ways other than the usual garden space. I think you would really enjoy this one.
Hmmm…I think I have Grow Great Grub on my Amazon Wishlist. I’ll double check that later. I need to find some light reading. I haven’t ready a trashy romance novel in about six months!
Manuela
Wow! That is one cute garden! I’ll have to run over and take a look. Thanks for the recommendation:>)
Loved seeing what you are reading. I’m currently reading An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser and have Amish Prayers by Beverly Lewis on my bookshelf too.
I would love to see you convert your yard to an urban farm! Somehow, I think it would be the most charning farmlette around! You are so creative and have such an eye for design, it would be a treat and NOT a chore to work on it!
Reading…. depends on the room… “Stillmeadow Road” or “Melting Beeswax for Candles” or “”Little House on the Prairie” cookbook. I’ll let you figure out the room and book connection! LOL
I recently started David Platt’s “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” for a book club, but never finished it. Life got in the way. So I just picked up Margaret Roach’s, “And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading In the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road” from the library. Let’s see how far I get with this one…
I read non-fiction almost exclusively, and mostly on topics of gardening, self-sufficiency, homesteading, leaving suburbia and buying the farm. Hopefully…. someday…. *smile*
Let me know what you think of it. I have it on my wishlist but it got such mixed reviews on Amazon I’m not sure about it.
Manuela
Hi Manuela,
Your books look so interesting! I just went to amazon and ordered The Quarter Acre Farm. did you ever read Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? That was really good, too. I’m about to pick up Diane Ackerman’s, One Hundred Names for Love.
Thanks for sharing — adding The Quarter Acre Farm to my (ever growing) Amazon list. We just (this evening) got back from the beach at Seaside, FL (where they have a community garden and a weekly farmer’s market), and my beach reading was/is The Help (Kathryn Stockett) and The Not So Big Life (Sarah Susanka), and family reading: Eight Cousins (Louisa May Alcott).
Diana
I’m currently reading a women’s novel, and trying to keep up with magazines that continually pour in. I keep weeding down the subscriptions. But then I think: Well, I have to keep Time so I can keep up with what’s going on in the world. I need BH&G & Mary Jane’s Farm and gardening magazines as a homemaker. And then there’s More for the over-fifty woman, The Atlantic Monthly so I can read literary works of quality and not just fluff. There’s Women’s Health, because I am, ah, over 50. And then there’s my total fluff magazine, People. I don’t know half the young stars anymore, nor do I care. But ya gotta have a little Hollywood gossip to keep things interesting!
Brenda
LOL! I’m down to one subscription and two that I buy at the bookstore. I’ve been in the process of getting rid of magazines (even my beloved Mary Englebreit ones). I get most of my Hollywood gossip online and TV – it’s hard to get away from it if you want to!
Manuela
We have a garden in our back yard, right at the end of the pool:) Love it! I will visit Quarter Acre Farm, she looks like a smart Lady! I think it is great in these times to learn to feed your family from your yard! Have a blessed day Manuela, HUGS!
Great and inspiring reads for sure! I LOVE “THE BACKYARD HOMESTEAD” edited by Carleen Madigan. It is full of great ideas as well. I love the direction your blog has taken, especially with the changes we have been through on our little hobby farm the last two and a half years. It’s beginning to grow on me.
Jen
Spring Warren’s book is a great read – playful, honest, self-depricating, and inspiring all the same time. Thanks for bringing it to your readers’ attention.
I just finished Food Heroes by Georgia Pellegrini. It was so inspiring! It sort of made me want to run away from home, but in a good way :)) I’ll certainly be buying books in the future about making my own cheese, sausage, and everything else I have ever wanted to try making. I’m in love with the idea of creating some of those food traditions for my own family.
Quarter Acre Farm is going on my with list, thanks!
I’m so happy you enjoyed The Quarter Acre Farm, Manuela! I’ve just been enjoying your site – love the hose guides. I’m about to cast some from concrete in the next couple of weeks. I’ll let you know how they turn out (and post pictures on thequarteracrefarm.com – well, if they aren’t a disaster!)