What are you reading?

[Mrs Moustoir]

I'm almost embarrassed to say that I'm reading The Bad Cook by Esther Walker (she's Giles Coren's wife).

Very funny, quite sweary with a few tasty recipes. Think - Nigella meets Bridget Jones.

[oldjerry]

Scouting through the library yesterday ,came across a book that's new to me,on a subject I know little of, '' Aquaponic Gardening '' by Sylvia Bernstein.Fascinating stuff (I recall last year we used to have an American couple that posted on here that were into it.)

In about 18 months,when I've shored up this decrepit old house we've bought,and sorted the garden,if I'm still breathing and vaguely solvent,I'm going to give it a little try in the basement.

Easy read,and very thought provoking.

[Green Aura]

This popped up on the permaculture FB page today, OJ.

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/ho ... stem-ducks

[oldjerry]

That is,quite simply brilliant.The only reason backyard duck-keeping is not more popular is this continual waterchanging thing(although they mess up grass,they work well in a straw yard system).If that system was perfected,it would be as easy to keep ducks in your garden as chickens,but with more,better eggs,laid more in the winter months,and from a longer lived bird.........this is almost as exciting as talking about sheds!

[baldybloke]

Just starting reading Weeds by Richard Mabey.

[Smilesbetter]

Haha sorry, I know this is an old post that I'm resurrecting...

I am currently reading No Impact Man by Colin Beavan and I love it! It's really inspiring and informative and I love how honest it is. I got an Amazon voucher recently so got a lot of similar books on my Kindle. I would have got the Self Sufficientish one but it's not available on Kindle, pfft :P I would be an embarrassment to the No Impact Man if I bought the paper version and had it shipped all the way to Germany after all (Although I noticed that his book is also available in physical form, tut tut). :P

[ojay54]

Thanks for reviving this thread.
At present I'm only reading stuff I've already read.This weeks 3 are:'Waldon',by Thoreaux,'Travels with Charlie',by Steinbeck,and 'Christ Stopped at Eboli',by Carlo Levi.In each one you can feel the ground under your feet.

[ina]

Only escapist literature at the moment, I'm afraid... Books by Christobel Kent for now, and whenever I run out of anything from the library, I read my way through the disc world series (again, for the umpteenth time).

[Flo]

No-one has mentioned The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger which I might just read again (don't often read again). But at the moment I'm in the middle of The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay which is a threesome of fantasy stuff, somewhere after Lord of the Rings and in the area of Game of Thrones. Like that sort of stuff.

[Smilesbetter]

I have finished The No Impact Man and now started the Moneyless Man haha, getting a bit of a theme going :P I thought No Impact Man was good but I was quite disappointed by the ending, I mean I know it was awful about what happened with his wife's miscarriage, but the book seemed to quickly end after this and he seemed to have given up a lot of the lifestyle. Also he kept going on about the not using toilet paper thing, and said he wouldn't say because it's personal, but if the main point of his book was to inspire others to do the same then surely describing the actual details of that, and many other things he skimmed over, wouldn't have gone amiss.

It was an alright book, and quite inspiring, but if you're looking for actual tips on how to live lower impact or no impact yourself then this is not really the book.

The Moneyless Man is starting off promising, I'm very interested to see how he got on with the year and his reasoning for going for the year without money are very good points that make me feel a little sad that we seem to to be trapped in a world so ruled by money, but quite hopeful too.

No-one has mentioned The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger which I might just read again (don't often read again). But at the moment I'm in the middle of The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay which is a threesome of fantasy stuff, somewhere after Lord of the Rings and in the area of Game of Thrones. Like that sort of stuff.

I've not heard of that but love. Game of Thrones (not read it yet though...) and LOTR so might have to check it out!

[Smilesbetter]

Finished The Moneyless Man the other week, loved it! Would really recommend it. I found it really inspiring and in contrast to the No Impact Man book, I was delighted to see that the author of The Moneyless Man kept living that way in the end (and appears to be starting a wee moneyless place in Ireland!). It gave me a lot to think about anyway, and I loved the writing style and the occasional tips on how to do things myself.

In fact as a result of reading this book, I suggested to my man that we see about getting a Freeskilling event on the go in our area if there isn't any all ready, I absolutely loved that idea. It's also got me thinking a lot about our perceived value of things and how ridiculous money can be. For example, I regularly go to the supermarket and by berries. To get there I walk past absolutely loads of wild berries, that's ridiculous! And half the berries my supermarket sells aren't even from Germany despite them being in season here, coz it's cheaper to ship them in from abroad, which is equally ridiculous. I don't know why I've never thought about that before.

Anyway I'm so glad I read this book and hope others will too, it's great!

[ina]

It's easy enough to stop buying berries - you just have to find yourself out of work (at least out of work that pays a living). I've been going through what my garden produces all summer, starting with rhubarb, then gooseberries, black currants, red currants, now brambles (I only have one of each). Haven't bought any berries all year, simply because I can't afford them. Don't need to buy (or at least read) a book to learn how to live without money! :)

Winter will be a somewhat fruitless time.

[Smilesbetter]

Hahaa his book is more about his journey though, living completely without money rather than about how to do it. He has his second book online for free though, on his website, which seems to be more tips and things. I've not looked at that one though yet.

Haha I would like to start learning to forage, I'm terrified I'll end up poisoning myself though haha. I've taken to photographing things that look interesting and trying to identify them at home. Also found a great website called Mundraub which while mostly based on Germany also has some things marked in other countries including Scotland. It's basically an interactive map of wild berry bushes, trees and anything edible and forgeable really, plus a few pubs for some unknown reason haha. I've not actually picked anything yet, kind of waiting to find something I am certain of like blackberries or cherries.

[ina]

Get to know some older former east Germans. They all knew about foraging, as there was so little to buy.

[Smilesbetter]

Good point. Everyone I talk to about foraging here (mostly non-Germans to be fair) so far seems to think I'm mad/cheap/a stereotype (oh my gosh what is with the Scottish cheap stereotype here, half the shops are called Mc-something or other or have a Scottie or tartan for a logo!)/poor haha. They usually say "but you can buy that in the supermarket!" haha, to which I reply "exactly!".