I'm dreaming of a green Christmas

Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes that Use Less and Mean More

by Anna Getty

A lovely book filled with lots of environmentally-friendly ways to celebrate.

Eco-Chic Home

Rethink, reuse & remake your way to sustainable style

by Emily Anderson

Ways to reduce and reuse with instructions for many projects to use in various rooms.

I liked this book; it has some really nice ideas. But a lot of the instructions are very unclear, and twice (pp. 29, 175) the word "harkening" or "harkens" is used when the author meant "harking" or "harks." On page 97, I can't make heads or tails of the instructions for making a reusable snack carrier. On page 128, there are instructions for making a ladder clothes rack which call for "two identical wooden ladders" and later it says "the ladders should be open, with the steps facing out to the left and right." Oh, step-ladders. But the rest of the instructions are very confusing too. On page 172, "long-distance" should not be hyphenated. And on page 100, there's a picture with a plastic water bottle on a table; that is not environmentally-friendly.

I don't mean to be so picky, but I read a lot of books that have no errors at all. I have no formal experience or university education on proofreading, so if I can pick up on these things, a professional surely should. And if someone is writing a book with project instructions, they really ought to get someone to try making the project from those instructions before publishing the book.

Free-Range Chicken Gardens

How to create a beautiful, chicken-friendly yard.

by Jessi Bloom

A complete guide to caring for chickens and designing gardens for free-range.

The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading

An Encyclopedia of Independent Living

by Nicole Faires

Instructions for how to do almost everything yourself; building houses and animal shelters, digging a well, growing and preserving food, raising and slaughtering animals, health care, waste disposal and even homeschooling.

This is a really nice book; lots of pictures and diagrams and very thorough information. Although very few people would use all of this knowledge, almost everyone would find some of it useful.

homegrown & handmade

a practical guide to more self-reliant living

by Deborah Niemann

Do you know where your food is coming from? Do you know how it was grown or produced, what drugs or pesticides were used? In this book, Deborah Niemann talks about things like ethics and sustainability and why she chose to produce many of the things her family uses every day. She explains the basics of gardening and raising your own poultry and dairy products as well as fiber for knitting or weaving. A number of recipes for foods and soaps are included.

I liked her writing style and found it interesting as well as easy to read and understand. A great resource for anyone interested in starting to produce their own food. I borrowed this book from the library, but would definitely consider buying my own copy.

Homemade:

Gorgeous things to make with love

by Ros Badger & Elspeth Thompson

Lots of things to make with stuff you probably already have. Everything from sewing, gardening, and painting to crochet, baking and crafts made from natural materials and more. Unfortunately, I didn't find this book terribly inspiring; the only thing I wanted to try making were the cushion covers made from old wool blankets or sweaters.

Handmade Home

by Amanda Blake Soule

This is a lovely, cozy book full of projects you can make. The directions are clear and simple. Most of them are sewing projects that use old things to make nice, useful new things.

Visit the author's blog at SouleMama.

Home Dairy

All you need to know to make cheese, yogurt, butter and more


with Ashley English

History, methods and recipes for making all kinds of dairy products including cheese, kefir, buttermilk and ice cream as well as a few recipes that incorporate the finished products. This book seems very thorough and I noted several recipes that I want to try.

Visit the author's blog at Small Measure.
Also read my reviews of Ashley's books, Keeping Chickens and Canning & Preserving.

Nova Scotia guide to frugal living

How to save money and live well!


by Carol McDougall

Many different tips that can add up to saving a lot of money. The book includes a number of recipes and helpful website addresses.

Do it gorgeously

by Sophie Uliano 

How to make and do everything yourself from beauty products, home cleaners and pet products to fitness and massage. Very neat book.

Suddenly Frugal

by Leah Ingram

Ways to save money on many things -- from cleaning supplies to vacations to home renovations and more.

organic housekeeping

in which the Nontoxic Avenger shows you how to improve your health and that of your family while you save time, money, and, perhaps, your sanity

by Ellen Sandbeck

How to look after your home and property in less time without resorting to toxic substances. This book is worth reading, but it's quite long.

Easy Green Living

The ultimate guide to simple, eco-friendly choices for you and your home

By Renee Loux

This very informative book tells about the dangers of chemicals that are found in things we use every day. It describes specific chemicals and the specific problems (such as cancer, birth defects or pollution) they cause. It also lists green alternatives and where to find them.

I liked this book but it's quite long.

How to sew a button

and other nifty things your grandmother knew

by Erin Bried

Erin gives step-by-step instructions for doing over 100 housewifely things, arranged in 10 categories. Some examples are: "How to make a bed", "How to light a fire", "How to give yourself a manicure", "How to barter". I liked her humorous style and recommend this as a useful and entertaining book.

Plastic

A toxic love story

by Susan Freinkel

This well-researched book tells what plastic is made of, how it affects us and the environment, and suggests possible solutions for the problems of plastic. Eye-opening.

Keeping Chickens

with Ashley English

In this book, Ashley talks about everything you might need to know about chickens including the different breeds of chickens, housing needs (including instructions to make a lovely little chicken house), chicken health, and shares several recipes featuring eggs.

I thought it was very interesting and comprehensive.

The heart of simple living

7 paths to a better life

by Wanda Urbanska

This book explains the importance of and method for managing money, doing work you love, housing, homemaking, kitchen, gardening, rituals and community. I thought it was great and I wish more people lived this way.

Tomorrow's Garden

by Stephen Orr

Examples of sustainable gardening in different parts of the United States and using different materials and methods as well as different reasons people have for making gardens. Very nicely illustrated with photographs from the gardens visited and talks about.

This book is informative, interesting and lovely to look at.

Simple Country Wisdom

501 old-fashioned ideas to simplify your life

by Susan Waggoner

This lovely book from Country Living has chapters on things like how to clean, cook, decorate and garden with several tips in subcategories within those topics. There are nice photographs on almost every page.

I think this is a great book. The layout is easy to follow, the information is relevant, the pictures are beautiful. I was so inspired, I had to stop reading several times and go clean something. The book I read belongs to the library, but I'd love to have my own copy.

I found three mistakes: on page 46, "its prone to glaring" should be "it's"; on page 108, "Draping them over or chair" should be "over a chair"; and on page 157, "grocery story" should be "grocery store". But it's still a really great book.

Rodale's Vegetable Garden Problem Solver

by Fern Marshall Bradley

An alphabetical list of chapters on different vegetables, pests, plant diseases with detailed information in each. Very good.