“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.”
– Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
Living in a foreign country, although usually fun and exciting, has its challenges. Among them is finding daily “necessities” that we take for granted in the United States…like cinnamon Trident. Something seemingly small and ridiculous, but it’s the only kind of gum I like. As a result, I’ve turned to Amazon to order gum, the toothpaste and soap we like, Thor wigs, etc. And because of the company’s genius marketing strategy and perhaps a little peer pressure (“customers who bought this item also bought…”), before I know it I’ve often clicked through enough pages to make Kevin Bacon envious. So, when I started researching educational homesteading books, that peer pressure led to a million choices for books that we MUST have.
The first book I purchased, even before we started looking at land, was Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide for Home-Scale and Market Producers by Gianaclis Caldwell. The original goal was to begin making our own mozzarella for our Friday homemade pizza & movie nights, but as I peruse the pages of this gorgeous book, I envision aged cheddars and silky bries becoming staples in our home. After all, who doesn’t like cheese? As a result, I’ve added “how to create a cheese cave” to our ever-growing list of tasks to learn.
The next three books I purchased after playing “Six Degrees of Amazon”. The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery is a wealth of information, and I look forward to using it as a reference book throughout the years. Little House Living by Merissa A. Alink features beautiful pictures from her homestead and is already one of my favorites. In it the author has recipes for DIY beauty products, pet care, cleaning products, fun things for kids and and delicious food. Stay tuned for posts about what we’ve made so far. Lastly, The Homesteading Handbook by Abigail R. Gehring looks to be very informative, and I’m excited to start reading it.
The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book by Ruth Stout and Richard Clemence (copyright 1971) is part educational book, part autobiography. Mrs. Stout is smart, inspiring and sassy, and I want to be just like her. She was ahead of her time with her “radical” gardening method. Check out this short video for a glimpse into her method and life. The book can be difficult to find, but I highly recommend making the effort to locate it if you’re at all interested in making your gardening easier. We’ll definitely be implementing her deep mulch method on the farm.
The Small-Scale Poultry Flock by Harvey Ussery is reputed to be the chicken Bible, and once I’ve cleared out every other book that’s in-progress, I’ll be sure to post a review of it.
Ebooks like Homesteading for Beginners by Imogen Alix, Homesteading for Beginners by Micheal Cook, Backyard Farming by Sanford Evans and Year of Plenty by Craig L. Goodwin (thank you for the recommendation Steve!) are also gracing my Kindle. The first two are proving difficult to get into, Year of Plenty is entertaining so far, and I’m looking forward to starting Backyard Farming.
Luckily, our local library on post also has several books that I’m gradually adding to the list to read, and the inter-library loan program offers many more throughout South Korea. If you’re a budding homesteader or just like to keep your mind sharp and educate yourself, what would you recommend reading? You never know when a friend might advocate a particular work that becomes a new personal favorite, so let’s hear those suggestions!
