Newly Purchased Books!

Online shopping can be a dangerous thing. I went on Amazon for just one book, I swear! But I ended up checking out with four books. Although I'm pretty excited about all of them. I'll be writing up a review for each book as I read it, but for now I wanted to share the titles of the books and what I know about them from their inside covers.

Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World and Keep Us Safe, By: Maria Rodale. This is the book that I initially set out to purchase when I got distracted by the "You might also like..." section of Amazon.com. The description, and title, of this book is pretty straightforward. It talks about the impact that pesticides, fertilizers and genetically modified seeds have on our planet. The biggest way for us as consumers to change this is simple: demand organic food.

A Chicken in Every Yard: The Urban Farm Store's Guide to Chicken Keeping, By: Robert & Hannah Litt. I heard about this book from a friend and I wanted it right away. I have a fantasy of living on a farm someday and providing myself with all of my own food and eggs come from chickens. Just by reading the list of topics that the book covers I can already tell that this book has the wealth of knowledge that I'm looking for. The topics are as follows: Picking the breeds that are right for you, building a sturdy coop in one weekend for $100, raising happy and hearty chicks, feeding your flock for optimal health and egg nutrition, preventing and treating common chicken diseases, planning ahead for family, neighborhood and legal considerations and whipping up tasty egg recipes from flan to frittata. I can't wait to read this book!

To Buy or Not To Buy Organic: What You Need to Know to Choose the Healthiest, Safest, Most Earth-Friendly Food, By: Cindy Burke. This book covers how pesticides affect certain foods more than others and which foods you want to eat only if they are organic. I was interested in this book for the simple fact that it would probably shorten my trips to the grocery store greatly. As it stands now, I usually stand in front of the pears and organic pears sniffing, touching and holding them up to the light trying to figure out which one to buy, but having know idea how to make that choice.

Last, but definitely not least, is the book that I am most excited about! Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre, By: Brett L. Markham. This book covers topics such as: saving, selecting and buying seeds, maintaining and improving soil, compost, crop rotation and timing, using organic methods, canning, freezing and dehydrating. Since I have started my own mini indoor garden I am greatly interested in these topics and I will most likely be reading this book first.

More to come after I've read these books...