Top Three Eco Books
HappyEarth
4 Comments
Someone asked us recently “what three books have been most inspirational or helpful for you embarking on your adventure in urban sustainability?” It’s a tough choice! But we’d have to say... Ally’s top three: - Living The Good Life, how one family changed their world from their backyard by Linda Cockburn. I came across this book, at the time when we were dreaming about our future home, and found Linda’s 6 month adventure in ‘domestic sustainability’ on their suburban block hugely inspiring and empowering. I loved reading through and constantly thinking ‘what a great idea! I could do that too!’ Thanks for all the tips Linda! (Linda’s blog is http://www.lintrezza.blogspot.com/) - Silent Springs by Rachael Carson. This classic by Rachael Carson, about our need to rethink the indiscriminate use of pesticides, and understand that everything in the world is connected, is just as important today as when it was first published in 1962. I love this book because it also reminds me of the importance of having the courage to stand up for what you believe in. - Harvest for Hope, a guide to mindful eating by Jane Goodall. Being a total foodie, passionate about sustainable food production, I love Jane’s insight into the global food system and ideas on how we can best create a healthier food system with the well-being of people, animals and the land at heart. Rich’s top three: - Permaculture Home Garden by Linda Woodrow. I was amazed at how this book presented such a clever system of growing veggies, that minimised the amount of work involved! It’s also a great reference book I am constantly checking back too. - Your Home Technical Manual. This book has been invaluable in retrofitting our home for sustainable living. And it’s free, on-line and constantly updated (http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/index.html) - Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison and Reny M Slay. This book was way ahead of it’s time. While most books were just starting to describe the sustainability challenges we face, this book came out offering practical solutions and advice on what individuals and communities can do in response. What’s your top three?
Reader Comments (4)
Definitely Living the Good Life as number one.
Backyard Self sufficiency by Jackie French (I think I first read this as a teenager)
Kitchen Garden Cooking by Stephanie Alexander.This helped me really visualise what you could do with a garden and a kitchen.
And so so many others as well. We are so lucky to have such a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips.
I always find it hard to pick favourites, but the last three really good books I read were:
- The 100 Mile Diet (still reading)
- Living The Good Life
- Permaculture One
Next on my reading list are:
- The Transition Handbook (Aus/NZ edition)
- Cradle To Cradle, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
- Real Dirt, by James Woodford
- all the Barbara Kingsolver books
Just to throw some new books in:
"Not on the label" by Felicity Lawrence convinced me I wanted to grow organic food.
"How can I be prepared with Self-Sufficiency and Survival Foods?" by Isabell Shipard (herbsarespecial.com.au) made me relook at the types of plants I was choosing. (Herb and sprout books are also excellent).
"Homegrown Evolution"(http://www.homegrownevolution.com/) - there's so much more to learn!
"Introduction to Permaculture"
Fantastic to hear about your fav eco reads guys - we'll be heading back into the library to see if we can track down the books in your top 3 that we haven't read yet!
We love Isabell Shipards books to littlem - especially the herb and sprout book, refer to them all the time! Thanks also for the link to the Homegrown Evolution site, hadn't seen that site before - very inspiring!
Happy reading,
Ally and Rich