As mentioned at the start of my previous list of 15 books that inspired me to live more sustainably, I have somewhere around 2600 books in my office area alone so when I decided to put this list together, I knew that it would require some work, not because I would have trouble coming up with fifteen books that inspired me, but because I have been able to read so many amazing books over the years. Here are some additions to the original list, in no particular order -
Living the Good Life – Linda Cockburn – Hardie Grant Books (AUS) 2006 ISBN 978 1 74066 312 8 – To be honest, this one should have been part of the original list, but I ran out of room. Linda and her partner Trevor decided to live with their son Caleb for six months solely on what they produced from their suburban block in Brisbane, and spend no money. The book is written with a chapter for each month of their experiment and a final chapter entitled ‘The Results’ that summarises what they achieved. It is a great read and hugely inspiring if you want to live in suburbia on your own terms. She has since released the 20 year anniversary edition called ‘Living the Good Life – Revamped’.
Loved Clothes Last – Orsola de Castro – Penguin Life (UK) 2021 ISBN 978 0 241 46115 0 – Being a gentleman of mature age, my relationship with clothes is fairly utilitarian, but when I read this book it opened my eyes to a huge amount sustainability related, clothing based issues. It talks about the importance of clothing care and repair and techniques on how to do it, fabrics, dyes and dying, fast fashion, the fate of clothes donated to charities and much more. I found it to be an amazing resource and started me collecting other books on clothing, practicing their suggestions. The second book I picked up ‘The Conscious Closet’ by Elizabeth L. Cline also turned out to be a gold mine of clothing related information. (sorry, but I just had to sneak that one in!)
The Seed Savers’ Handbook – Michel & Jude Fanton – Seed Savers’ Network (AUS) 1993 ISBN 978 0 646 10226 5 – I have been saving at least some of our own seed for almost as long as we have been growing veg, 40 years plus, but this book really taught me the correct way, vegetable by vegetable. It also inspired me to try veg I had not been game to before and let me know the correct way to do it. I believe if we want to grow our own food, being able to save the seeds from the food we grow is one of the most important skills to have, and this book helped me achieve it.
Superbia! – Dan Chiras & Dave Wann – New Society Publishers (CAN) 2003 ISBN 978 0 86571 490 8 – When I started out on the journey to live more sustainably, I really didn’t understand the importance that community plays in that endeavour. Over the years my understanding has improved, and this book was instrumental in achieving that. It is very practical book with a stack of ideas of how to improve community where we are now. I am still working my way through it.
Toolbox for Sustainable City Living – Scott Kellogg & Stacey Pettigrew - South End Press (US) 2008 978 0 89608 780 4 – This is another relentlessly practical book with innovative ideas for producing food, collecting and purifying rainwater, dealing with waste including human waste, biofuels, biochar and biogas production, and techniques for bioremediation of soil using bacteria, fungi, compost and others. On page 99 the authors introduced me to the idea of a constructed wetland to filter washing machine greywater, starting me down that track. While they planted the seed of that idea, their particular design didn’t work for me (although it might for you!) but the design in a later book in this list did.
Soap Naturally – Patrizia Garzena & Marina Tadiello – Programmer Pty Ltd (AUS) 2004 ISBN 978 0 9756764 0 7 – Back in the day when I was working as an industrial chemist in the chemical industry, I did some work on developing a soap for industrial wool scouring. In the end we were not able to compete with petroleum-based surfactants that were much cheaper, but I never really translated that knowledge into making soap at home. Until I read this book! The information it contained enabled me to design and make the hair washing soap I still use to this day. I have run workshops for local councils on soapmaking and even taught soapmaking my grandkids, based on the information in this book. I have since bought other books on soapmaking, but this is still the best.
The Humanure Handbook – Joseph Jenkins – Chelsea Green Publishing (US) 1999 ISBN 978 0 9644258 9 0 – This one introduced me to the idea of being able to compost human waste and return it to the earth safely, rather than having to flush it away and lose all those nutrients. It has lots of details and great illustrations, I read the original edition which I borrowed off a mate before I got my own second-hand copy of the second edition. I started working towards this years ago, but then did what I thought was the right thing and asked council what the requirements were, they had two: don’t cause problems for neighbours with any smells and the output must be disposed of at a sanitary facility. Seems to me that that misses the point somewhat!
Food Not Lawns – H. C. Flores – Chelsea Green Publishing (US) 2006 ISBN 978 1 933392 07 3 – This one was instrumental in starting the delawning of our front yard and changing it from pointless grassy space into a productive space that could help feed us. This is another very practical book that talks about setting up to grow food, but also managing water, ecological design, polycultures and also the importance of setting up and maintaining community structures. It is the water management part that provided the assistance with my constructed wetland in the form of what she calls a ‘sludge monster’. The book is worth getting just for that!
Just Enough – Azby Brown – Tuttle Publishing (US) 2012 ISBN 978 4 8053 1254 4 – I was amazed how interesting the lessons from living on small islands with limited resources was maximised by the traditional culture of Japan. The book has lots of lessons about how they lived and how what they learned could be translated into how we live today. There are lots of line drawings about how they did things which illustrate the points being made very well. I read it originally some years ago and looking through it now I need to reread it again! Lots of practical lessons from how they build houses, grew food, saved water, carried out cottage craft, lots of stuff! Japan was not perfect and one of their issues was avoiding overpopulation, sometimes done by the midwife ‘sending back’ extra kids. (insert shudder!)
Organic Gardening – Peter Bennett – Child & Associates (AUS) 1989 ISBN 086777 270 0 – This is one of the first books I bought to help me put together my organic veggie garden in the backyard. It covers information on general subjects like the soil, improving biodiversity, pests and diseases, improving fertility and preparing the garden. It also provides information on growing specific crops, it was his advice on how to grow carrots that I have been using ever since because prior to that I had really bad germination rates. The fact that it was written from Australian experience didn’t hurt either.
