If you were going to live in isolated circumstances (with all utilities for at least part of the time) for an unknown period of time but were allowed a small library of books to help you be self-reliant, what would you choose?
- Scriptures
- A hymn book
- A poetry collection such as One Hundred and One Famous Poems compiled by Roy J. Cook
- A favorite novel or literature collection in one book
- A comprehensive reference book such as The New York Public Library Desk Reference
- A dictionary
- Simply Prepared: A Guide to Emergency Preparedness and Food Storage by Cheryl F. Driggs
- The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery
- Backwoods Home Magazine Anthologies
- The Foxfire series
- So Easy to Preserve, The Cooperative Extension of The University of Georgia
- Additional canning books such as Ball canning books or the USDA canning guide.
- How to Dry Foods by Deanna DeLong, The Dehydrator Bible by MacKenzie, Nutt and Mercer, or The Ultimate Dehydrator Cookbook by Tammy Gangloff, S. Gangloff, and S. Ferguson
- Pantry Cooking: Unlocking Your Pantry’s Potential by Cheryl Driggs
- A good whole grain cookbook such as The Grains Cookbook by Bert Greene, The Complete Whole Grain Cookbook by Carol Gelles, or The Splendid Grain by Rebecca Wood
- The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book or another good bread cookbook
- A basic cookbook such as the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book or The Joy of Cooking
- Specialty guides and cookbooks of personal interest such as gluten-free cooking and baking, cheese making, fermentation, soap making, quilting, or knitting
- Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson H. Kearny
- Maintaining Nutritional Adequacy during a Prolonged Food Crisis by Kay B. Franz and Cresson H. Kearny
- A foraging guide by Samuel Thayer or Mark “Merriwether” Vorderbruggen
- A local gardening guide which includes nut and fruit bearing trees, bushes, and vines
- A general gardening book such as The New Self-Sufficient Gardener by John Seymour, Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew, or Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza
- A seed saving guide such as Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
- Books on raising small animals and/or poultry
- The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
- Making Patterns from Finished Clothes by Rusty Bensussen
- Clothing alteration books by Mary Roehr
- Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness by FEMA
- Where There is No Doctor by David Werner
- Where There is No Dentist by Murray Dickson
- A reliable guide for using essential oils
- A medicinal herb guide such as those by Stephen Buhner
- A basic home repair guide such as one from Better Homes and Gardens, Black and Decker or the Reader’s Digest Fix-It-Yourself Manual
- Pocket Reference: Everything You Need, Right in Your Pocket! by Thomas J. Glover