BOOKS I FINISHED - JULY 2012

The City Homesteader: Self-Sufficiency on Any Square Footage, by Scott Meyer

The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City, by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading, by Sundari Elizabeth Craft

All three non-fiction. I read The Urban Homestead a couple years ago, but thought I'd skim through it again now that we're in a house.  As I was searching the library site for it, I came across the other urban homesteading books and decided to check them out too.  I have no desire to raise chickens or remove all non-food producing plants from my yard, but I thought I may find some ideas to try.  Several of the things in these books are things we already do, though urban homesteading was never on our radar and certainly not our goal.  The recent change inspired by these books?  Using grey water from the master shower for flushing the master toilet.  The future project?  A solar food dehydrator.

Li Lun, Lad of Courage, by Carolyn Treffinger
Pre-read for Silas and Devon.  Fiction.  A young boy, afraid of the sea, is sent to grow rice on the top of a mountain as punishment for not going on a fishing trip.  Good lessons in perseverance, valuing the different strengths people have, being resourceful, and what it means to be courageous.

Hudson Taylor: God's Adventurer, by Phyllis Thompson
Pre-read for Silas and Devon.  Non-fiction.  The story of a man's journey to China and over 50 years spent living there as a missionary.   Good lessons in trusting God for provision, being willing to give up your own ways of doing things when doing them another way is for the greater good, and perseverance.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker, by Gesine Bullock-Prado
Non-fiction.  Bullock-Prado was the head of her sister's production company, but the glitz of Hollywood didn't outweigh the superficiality of the scene for her, so she and her husband moved to Vermont and opened a bakery.  The chapters of this book move through the hours of her day and are filled with recipes, funny anecdotes, and a little bit of sarcasm.  I enjoyed this book, but what I'd really like is to eat some of her treats.

Silkworms, by Sylvia A. Johnson
Pre-read for Silas and Devon.  Non-fiction.  The title says it all - just a bunch of information about silkworms.