Shakespeare and Co. Booksellers

Springtime means ______ (insert cutesy, frilly haiku about flowers and sunshine, etc.), or…

self-sufficiency!

• Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, 3rd Ed. (Skyhorse, $24.95)
• The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It (DK, $30)

The change in weather, the starting of gardens and outdoor markets, and other various influences all seem to have jump-started a renewed interest in self-reliance ’round these parts. Along with the pleasant onslaught of garden-oriented titles to hit the store since March are a couple of sturdy, yet reasonably priced, hardcovers to guide those wishing to lead a more self-supportive lifestyle. If you’re looking for a comprehensive ‘how-to,’ come check these two titles out. Both are well-illustrated and thorough, and between them you can learn the basics for pretty much anything, within reason…beekeeping, spinning wool, raising and slaughtering livestock, gardening and canning, weaving/basketry, metalworks, woodworks, generating your own alternative energy…

I expect every women’s book group who’s reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to come flocking down to 3rd Street…which is great, but please leave your chickens outside the door.