bookshelf

Books we've read related to  'a GOOD and SIMPLE life' :
Our rating system:
★★★★★ - Excellent book, a must have for our personal library
★★★★ - Great book, will refer to it in the future so we purchased it
★★★ - Good book but not necessary to buy, recommended
★★ - Good book but not outstanding, in our opinion
★ - Not good at all, not worth our time, not recommended

FAMILY/CHILDREN/PARENTING:

Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay
★★★★★ This type of teaching and disciplining method makes sense to us.  We highly recommend the Love and Logic books.  It takes a little practice as a parent but soon becomes second nature with very positive results.

★★★★★ One of the authors of Parenting with Love and Logic partnered with his son to address issues pertaining only to early childhood.  Much of the same information as the other book but extremely helpful for younger children. 

Parenting the Strong-willed Child by Rex Forehand and Nicholas Long
★★★★ I must admit that I never finished this book.  It's designed to be a 5 week program helping you improve your relationship with your child which will, in turn, improve their behavior.  We noticed improvement just by following the first step so our efforts slacked off considerably until the book just got set aside.  I purchased it, however, because I felt there was real value in it and we will probably need to use it again in the future.  I especially liked the positive parenting aspect and the recommendations to work with your child's strengths, rather than against them.

The Family Dinner:  Great Ways to Connect with your Kids, One Meal at a Time by Laurie David and Kirstin Uhrenholdt
★★★★★  This book/cookbook is wonderful!!  Not only is it filled with delicious photos and scrumptious recipes, it's filled with all kinds of ideas and suggestions to help make your family dinners a success.  She has a chapter about after-dinner games, another on conversation starters and another yet on how to make your dinners special and unique, in addition to several recipe chapters.  I've always been a believer in family dinners, yet this book inspired me and motivated me to take our dinners to the next level!


FRUGALITY/MONEY MANAGEMENT: 

America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money : Your guide to living better, spending less, and chasing in on your dreams by Steve and Annette Economides 
★★★ I was excited to read this book based on what I had read about the Economides family.  I didn't really pick up anything new that I wasn't already doing although I was totally inspired by their commitment to their lifestyle.  If you're new to frugality, I recommend you start here.

★★★★★ The Bible of Frugality.  A must read and I recommend owning it too so you can review it when frugality's got you down.  Definitely inspiring! 

Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominquez
★★★ This is a classic as far as financial books go.  I found it interesting but I didn't follow the program they lay out.  I was too lazy and felt that I was somewhat past that point although I'm sure if I would have, it would have been beneficial.   

★★★  I didn't expect much from this book, to be honest.  I've read a lot of articles and books about how to save money and, for the most part, I've been disappointed.  This book is definitely an exception though!!  She offers a lot of practical yet effective ideas that will trim your grocery budget.  

Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
★★★  I don't know why it took me so long to read this book... I've been reading about people reading it for years!  I bought it thinking I would refer back to it often but I'm not sure that I really will, so I recommend checking it out from the library and borrowing first, and then deciding for yourself if you need to borrow it or not.  Regardless, this is an excellent book with wisdom far removed from our consumer society.  After reading this, Mason and re-committed to living DEBT FREE!!

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
★★★  I don't want to be a millionaire per se but I've been hearing a lot about this book.  I highly recommend reading this one!  The two authors have studied and analyzed the habits and tendencies of millionaires, and their findings are very interesting, although perhaps they shouldn't be.  We can learn a lot from tried and true millionaires!
GARDENING:

 The Backyard Homestead edited by Carleen Madigan
★★ An interesting read but it left me wanting more information. I probably wanted a "how to homestead" book and this is more of a "look what you can do" book. 

★★★ A decent book (Mel seems like quite the character!) but I didn't feel like it was necessary to buy it.  Most of the information we get for our Square Food Garden is off of his website anyway...  

★★★★★ This is a great reference for any gardener!  He shares many tips of the trade in order to maximize your garden.  He's not a square foot gardener (he has his own preferred method), but I felt like it was still very relevant.  This book makes you excited to have a garden!

HEALTH and WELLNESS:

★★★★★ A must have, I think, for anyone with any type of chronic illness or if you just want some alternative ideas on how to treat illness in general.  Thomas Cowan is a doctor in the San Francisco area and if I had the money, I'd fly to go see him for my fibromyalgia.  His approach much different than western doctors and medicine, but it's not hokey either.    

HOME & HOUSEKEEPING

Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck
★★★ Good book... Not exactly what I was expecting but still a good book.  She's got some excellent housekeeping advice that I hope to be putting to practice soon.  :)  A LOT of information on chemicals and toxins which I wasn't really prepared for... once I'm ready to make more substantial changes, I'll check it out again. !

REAL FOOD and TRADITIONAL COOKING METHODS: 

★★★★★ Basically the Bible of Traditional Food Cooking.  I learned a lot just by reading this book and that was before I even got to the recipes!  

★★★★★ Nina has done her homework for this book.  I read 'Mother and Baby' first so I thought this might just be an expanded version of that book.  I was wrong.  There is so much information in this book that I bought it just to be sure I could reference it again.  

★★★★★ Highly recommended for anyone pregnant or wanting to become pregnant or anyone with young-ish children..    

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
★★★ This was the book that got Mason excited about real food!!  For that reason I could give it 5 stars, but, at the same time, I don't feel like this is a must-have for our library.  A good and educational read though.  I don't agree with his "Mostly plants" section but I can see why he comes to that conclusion.  

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan 
★★ No new information from the book above, just in a condensed, easier to read format. Probably a good place to start if you're new to traditional vs. industrial food.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
★★★ This was a fascinating and inspiring book! Definitely worth reading.  It will get you SO excited about gardening so, if possible, read early in the spring!  

★★★ This book will challenge everything you thought you knew about the food industry and health in general.  Highly recommended.

★ I was very excited about this book even though it had mixed reviews on Amazon.com.  And I think I would have learned a lot but I quit reading not too far into it because of bad language.  I was really turned off ; it was not at all necessary.  I'm disappointed but I won't read a book with that kind of language in it.  If anyone has a Rated-G copy, I'd be very interested in reading it!

★★★★ This is technically an ebook although we purchased a hard copy of it for reference.  Grab your own copy at www.keeperofthehome.org!   

    SELF-SUFFICIENCY: 

    ★★ A quick, fun read but not exceptional as it left me wanting more.

    ★★★ A great book that I really enjoyed and learned a lot from.  I can't decide if I need to purchase it...  I really want it, but do I need it?  I'll let you know what I decide.  Her "Health is wealth" chapter may be worth it alone!!

    ★★★Just a small, simple guide to composting.  More of an overview of the whole process and different composting options rather than a how-to book. But it was a good place for me to start since I knew hardly anything about composting. 

    ★★★ This was a really interesting book.  He's more radical in his philosophy and approach to self-sufficiency but I think we still have a lot to learn from him.  He's got a lot of great ideas.  His explanation at the very beginning of the current economic collapse in 2008 was the best explanation that I've read and I learned a lot just by that chapter alone.  I'm undecided about whether or not to purchase it...

    ★★★★★  My mother-in-law had this from the 70's and happened to give it to me once several years ago.  I read most of it - I thought it was really interesting as well as humorous - but tucked it away on the bookshelf, not really knowing what it was.  Then a year or so ago, I realized what a classic it is!  She is a hard core homesteader so some of the information she gives, I don't intend on necessarily using.  However, I still find it fascinating and I suppose you should never say never.  


      BOOKS WE'RE READING / WANT TO READ:


      Any good books you recommend?
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