Today we’ll run through some more fast book reviews from the 2022 reading list.
Less: A Visual Guide to Minimalism by Rachel Aust
A small, graphically interesting book with some quick ideas for simplifying your life.
Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life by Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus
More of an inspirational pair of autobiographies than a treatise on Minimalism. One good point I liked: Don’t ask what someone does for a living. Ask what he loves doing, as it’s a better measure of the individual. Of course, ultimate meaning doesn’t come from simplifying your life or even having great relationships – it comes from turning yourself over body and soul to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, Ryan and Joshua do have some good practical ideas.
De Agricultura by Cato
A fascinating book of agricultural advice during the Roman Republic, written by the brilliant Cato. This book reminds me yet again how much I wish I had studied Latin harder in high school. I need to learn it properly so I can read classical texts in the original language instead of being stuck with translations.
Don’t Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk
This is the most accurate look at life in the Caribbean I have ever seen. It’s really spot-on. The main character is a neurotic, amoral Jewish man with issues, but if you can get past his rather unsavory life, the travails he undergoes while trying to reinvent himself as a resort owner in the Caribbean are so true-to-life if you’ve lived there that it gave me flashbacks. Very funny story as well, with tragedy mixed in.
The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz
The most in-depth guide to fermentation methods ever created. It is a treasure trove of useful information, despite Katz’ sometimes solipsistic wanderings. A must-have for anyone interested in live culture foods.
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Highly amusing novel with some very memorable scenes. Truly an excellent story, with some laugh-out-loud moments.
Coppice Agrofrestry by Mark Krawczyk
Despite the SJW-style apology at the beginning for calling people who work in the woods “woodsmen,” the book has some fascinating ideas and covers a great deal of history and practice. An excellent resource with only a touch of cringe.
2 comments
Katz was what first got me making sauerkraut (there’s a hot pink batch in the fridge now!). I used his instructions to make ginger beer and a few other things as well. Fantastic, and he knows his stuff. But I think the main thing his books did for me was get me over being squicky about DIY ferments and food “going off”– like no, it’s not automatically poison if it’s been in the fridge more than two days. There are some pretty clear guidelines for determining whether it’s safe or not… and sometimes, as luck will have it, it’s not “gone bad”– it’s an exciting homegrown culture!
On SJW apologies… I’ve encountered that a couple times recently, and it seems to be mandatory in order to publish anything ag-related at a mainstream publishing house right now, which is unfortunate. The Hidden Life of Trees (written by a career forestry guy) was really interesting, but also… felt like the poor guy wrote the whole book, and was then given a mandate to mention “climate change” every X number of pages, and he went back and shoehorned it in to fill the quota. You could delete every mention and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference to the book. OTOH, I quit halfway through the book Mycotopia, because I was hoping for a book about fungi, but the woke garbage completely overwhelmed it. Sigh.
I agree that people need to stop asking what people do for work as the first get-to-know-you question (especially annoying to those of us who are full-time moms & housewives). But I gave up on the minimalist lifestyle years ago. I gave away so many books when trying to be a perpetual traveler…and then had to buy new copies of them one by one, once I realized it’s impractical to be an itinerant book hoarder (or prepper, for that matter). And while it’s clearly possible to be an itinerant homesteader, as evidenced by Jim Kovaleski the nomadic gardener, and that guy with the sheep that you posted about a while back, you have to admit it’s much harder.