Hello loves, I hope you are well and taking care of yourselves. I thought it would be a nice time to release this blog post since it is a collection of inspiring books!
This guest blog post is by my friend Anna Schneider, who is also homesteading with her partner. They are living in a tiny home they built and so I asked her to compile some information/books that have helped guide and inspire the lifestyle they happily live. I met her in college at Humboldt State University and our paths have recently re-crossed because of our similar lifestyles, and small town connections!
Grab a cup of tea and enjoy her share..
The internet and I have a complicated relationship. I’m grateful for the incredible abundance of information available at the click of a button, but it often feels like a double-edged sword and I find that sourcing reliable information sometimes feels daunting and overwhelming. Despite the easy access of smart phones and google, I still prefer to turn to good ol’ fashioned books for advice and inspiration. I thought I’d share a few of my current and all-time favorites—books that inform and inspire my aspirations to live a simple and sustainable life.
Country Women, Jeanne Tetrault & Sherry Thomas: Ah, this book! Inspiring is a serious understatement. Chock full of real-world DIY instructions on everything from digging a well to keeping goats, complimented by the most incredible photos and illustrations of badass back-to-the-land women doing it all.
Gaia’s Garden, Toby Hemenway: Toby Hemenway breaks down the fundamentals of permaculture into an easily digestible read. A wonderful reference guide, this book is especially useful in the process of planning and designing a home garden. Full of useful diagrams, illustrations, charts and inspiring photos. For anyone even mildly interested in permaculture, this book is a must-have.
Six Seasons, Joshua McFadden: I’m a self-admitted cookbook hoarder and this book stands apart from the crowd. Divided by season and tailored to fresh, seasonal produce, it features beautiful photographs and illustrations of Joshua McFadden’s unique yet simple recipes. Just flipping through the pages has me itching to get into the kitchen!
Handmade Houses: A Guide to the Woodbutcher’s Art, Art Boericke & Barry Shapiro: Art Boericke and Barry Shapiro are legends in the world of handbuilt structures. They published a host of photobooks in the 70’s documenting creative owner-built homes, and all are wonderful. My partner and I live in a home that we built, and during the design process I scoured these books for inspiration. This one is my favorite because of the amazing variety of architecture styles and the incredible interior photos.
Golden Gate Gardening, Pam Pierce: Although perhaps most relevant to us Bay Area folks, I would argue that this book is a total gem for anyone interested in starting a home veggie garden. One of the most comprehensive and straightforward guides I’ve encountered, with a thorough explanation of every part of the process from seed to seed, I find myself referring back to this book OFTEN and it never fails to be useful.
The Tiny Mess, Maddie Gordon, Mary Gonzalez & Trevor Gordon: This book is so up my alley I’m a little disappointed I didn’t think of it first! The sweetest collection of stories, amazing recipes and the most beautiful photographs of cozy small kitchens and their inhabitants, The Tiny Mess is a great reminder that cooking in a tiny kitchen doesn’t have to be limiting.
The Art of Fermentation, Sandor Ellix Katz: Sandor Katz is a total gem. I used his earlier book, Wild Fermentation, for years before finally buying this one a few years back. This book is wonderfully comprehensive—so much incredible info and I feel like I’ve only barely scratched the surface. Definitely a lifetime kitchen companion!
Living on the Earth, Alicia Bay Laurel: This book was love at first sight when I stumbled upon it at a used bookstore years ago and continues to spark joy every time I pick it up. A DIY guide to sustainable living, every page is full of Alicia Bay Laurel’s incredible illustrations. This book reminds me over and over again why I choose this non-traditional lifestyle.
The Humanure Handbook, Joseph Jenkins: When my partner and I embarked on the crazy adventure of building a house, we became acquainted with this absolute BIBLE. What first felt like a daunting task of figuring out how we would manage our waste without a septic tank became the most amazing lesson in composting, thanks to this book.
Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning, The Gardeners & Farmers of Terre Vivante: If you grow your own veggies, this book is a wealth of knowledge. Simple, no nonsense recipes and instructions on a wide variety of preservation methods, from drying to lactic fermentation. A wonderful addition to the cookbook collection!
Thanks for reading—I hope this list is useful! Reading about sustainability and self-sufficiency has been so empowering for me over the years, and having access to this knowledge has been especially comforting during these times.
Happy homesteading! And don’t forget to support your local bookstores.
XO
Anna