In no particular order, books that have caught my eye the past couple months!
Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life by David R. Montgomery
This book is a wonderful introduction to the many different forms of "conservation agriculture" popping up all over the world— a kind of agriculture based on regenerating land instead of degrading it. It's not just better for the environment, but cheaper, easier, and more resilient, not to mention encouraging locally-based solutions and indigenous knowledge rather than expensive high-tech outsider solutions. If you're skeptical that sustainable farming can feed the world, I encourage you to read this book to see all the solutions that are possible.
Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess by Rachel Hoffman
A delightful book about cleaning and decluttering, written from the perspective of someone who hates both. I highly recommend for anyone who struggles to keep their house clean but also doesn't have the time, mental/physical energy, or clear starting point for making it happen.
Turnip Greens and Tortillas: A Mexican Chef Spices Up the Southern Kitchen by Eddie Hernandez
This is a cookbook written by a guy who brought his cooking perspective from his homeland of Mexico to the style of Southern cooking, and the deliciousness that results. Although I'm not generally a fan of Southern food, this book made me want to try new versions of everything, with more spice and flavor!
A Woman's Place: The Inventors, Rumrunners, Lawbreakers, Scientists, and Single Moms Who Changed the World with Food by Deepi Ahluwalia and Stef Ferrari
Delightfully illustrated, this book is a series of profiles of women who changed history through food— whether introducing the potato to Sweden, inventing the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, being a famous rumrunner in the Caribbean, or hosting a famous cooking show. I learned a lot!
Get Up, Stand Up: Uniting Populists, Energizing the Defeated, and Battling the Corporate Elite by Bruce E. Levine
I honestly thought this book would be too "Commie" for me, but I found a surprising amount of common ground with the author's arguments. The book definitely feels outdated (a LOT has happened politically in 10 years), but it articulated a lot of the frustrations that I have with our political system, and made an argument for dividing people as not "liberal" and "conservative," but "authoritarian" and "anti-authoritarian," which is often a much more useful spectrum. I definitely disagree with a lot of what he says, but he gave me a ton to think about, as well as some useful language for getting a handle on things that I couldn't quite put into words. If you feel helpless, especially in our current political climate, this book might be one to pick up.
The Backyard Herbal Apothecary: Effective Medicinal Recipes Using Commonly Found Herbs and Plants by Devon Young
This book is a great overview of herbs that are easy to grow or forage in most areas of the US; each plant profile has information about how to use the herb as well as tips for growing or foraging, and a recipe to demonstrate how it can be used. Highly recommend!
Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild by Doniga Markegard
This memoir is a fascinating story of a woman who tracked wolves and eventually became a permaculture rancher. I wanted to love this book, but in the end I just couldn't get into her storytelling style. Still, I liked it enough to finish it, and it covers a lot of important ideas about indigenous knowledge, land use, and the line between engaging with the wild and feeling separate from it.
What have you been reading lately?
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