Recommend an Old Style Book?

raeble

I'll have to be honest and say I thought the tight-wad gazette was a waste of money and had far too many irrelevant sections for the international reader. A lot of the writers ideas about storing food would work out quite expensive if you couldn't find the equipment second hand, plus you need space for all this storing. And then she had this thing about second hand clothes - they aren't always cheaper in fact a lot of times they are more expensive. Of course it would be a boring world if we all agreed. I would borrow the book from a library first to see if it was for you or try and get a copy second hand.

mows

I would thoroughly recommend "Self reliance" by John Yeoman. It has alot of really interesting ideas for more radical cost cutting on food, ranging from how to make your own cheese and lots of ideas for leftovers (for example, i used to attend lots of meetings where there were left over sandwiches - place sandwiches in an oven proof dish, add milk, egg or two and seasoning and oven bake for a savoury bread and butter pudding) through to hydroponics for intensive food production and what stores and supplies you will need in the event of a breakdown in civilisation as we know it!! - well worth a read even if you don't intend shooting rabbits or brewing moonshine!
Also "Food for Free" by Richard Mabey - comprehensive work on wild plants which make good eating, and "the no work garden" by bob flowerdew - his ideas worked really well when i had an allotment (on hold at moment due to year old daughter and another baby due in december) and it's nice to have alternatives to all that digging!
Hope these help.
All the best mows

se999

I thought I'd do a quick list for myself of the books to look out for, so thought you might like the summary too.

As Raeble said, not every book is for everyone, I too try to see it first if I can, but if I can't I do resell mistakes or ones just gathering dust & unused on Amazon (I've even made a profit sometimes if I found it cheap enough in the first place), then I can buy more books . Apprentice Tycoon's thread on Amazon selling is really good.

I love the idea of Food for free and No work gardening especially!! Things that save time &/or money are always my favorites

I think my wish list for books for Christmas is going to be a long one this year

Anyway, here's the booklist to date, sorry if I got anything wrong or missed one:

Recommended:

Save Cash & Save the Planet – Andrea Smith & Nicola Baird
Money Diet – MSE Martin (new edition out Dec).
Shirley Goode Cookbooks
More with Less cookbook - Doris Longacre
The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
The Paupers Cookbook - Jocasta Innes
Just like mother used to make - Angela Nilsen & June Weatherall.
A Good Life - Leo Hickman
Look after the pennies' by Joy O.I.Sposzynska ( also self-sufficiency in a flat & food for free)
Household hints and tips - Barty Philips
The Vegetable Garden Displayed and The Fruit Garden Displayed, both from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Square-Foot Gardening - Mel Bartholomew
Unplug the Christmas Machine, by Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli
Self reliance - John Yeoman
Food for Free - Richard Mabey
The no work garden - Bob Flowerdew


Worth thinking about but not read yet, or awaiting publication:
Kim & Aggie TV Cleaning Book
MSE Martin – Old Style Tips - ? Work in Progress/not yet published.

MSE_Martin

Yes just to update

Of course the Money Diet - 'Now Even More Savings' (don't u love publishers) is due out in December.

However we're now at the negotiating table over MoneySaving Old Style the Book for launch next year. It will be written based on this forum. The negotiating is as I will be donating all the money I'm paid to MoneySaving Kids, the charity - so i want to push for as much cash from the publisher as possible

martin

competitionscafe

se999 wrote:

I thought I'd do a quick list for myself of the books to look out for, so thought you might like the summary too.

Carla Emerys Encyclopedia of Country living is also an excellent read (although it is a bit 'American'. There are many tips and plenty of good advice in there though, well worth a read. Not that cheap, but try ebay.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/157061377X/

By the way what I do with books that I like the sound of is set up a wishlist on amazon (for family to use at Xmas/ birthday) and I also set up my 'favourite searches' on ebay so that I get an email when one of the books I want is listed.

This means I get loads of books that I really want, either for 'free' (presents) or cheap (2nd hand on ebay). Sometimes I get lucky in the local OXfam bookshop too and I also splash out on a new book from amazon (or wherevers cheapest) once or twice a month, escpecially if I need to 'top up' an order to £19 for free delivery. As you say, if the book doesn't live up to expectations you can always flog it on amazon or ebay.

This books sounds interesting too although I don't know if I want to risk £14 to see if it lives up to it's lofty promises. Mixed reviews on amazon, including this one!:
"A book without equal in the history of literacy, February 5, 2002
Reviewer: Ian Burdon (ian.burdon@blueyonder.co.uk) from Edinburgh
I can only add my praise to that of the previous reviewer - and in fact would go further. I would willingly deliver my lovely wife and charming children into slavery; divest myself of all material belongings and abseil naked down the Kangshung Face of Everest if, at the end, I could be guaranteed to find another book as good as this one."

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1856230155/

Bit over the top Ian!

Book Description
"A daring and entertaining book full of ‘recipes’ in the broadest sense; from getting out and staying out of debt and becoming financially independent, to tried and tested recipes for household items and life sustaining meals made from the simplest (and often free) ingredients. Some are highly unusual! Packed with essential information for anyone wanting to live a more independent, self reliant lifestyle. This book is genuinely radical in very beguiling ways; more than a mild-mannered ‘green consumer’ guide, John Yeoman questions very basic habits and assumptions, and does so in a way that is thought-provoking and audacious."
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1856230155/

Anyone read it?

henhog

I have mentioned these two books before on various posts but they are both so geared towards OS that they are worth a look, and not only for their target audiences. Grub on a Grant by Cas Clarke is very good for anyone on a tight budget, especially for people new to cooking. Cooking in a Bedsitter by Katherine Whitehorn is also good for new cooks and those on a limited budget with limited resources.
I've got the How Clean is your House Book - it is good for people new to OS.

competitionscafe

I forgot about 'Scenes from a Smallholding' which I really enjoyed too, an amusingly written book about a couple who move to a smallholding in Wales - you should enjoy it if you are interested in the whole downshifting/ self sufficiency/ 'the good life' idea! I think it makes great 'summer holiday' reading:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0091905079/
(for info and review, although i think cheapest is thebookplace.com or Play.com)

There are also some (lots!) of comments on the book and reviews here:
http://www.thirdleafbooks.co.uk/scenes_from_a_smallholding_critiques.htm

jo_b_2

Can't wait to read the new book, Martin! :j

rumblytum

My first foray into this subject was a stocking filler called Mr Thrifty's How to Save Money on Absolutely Everything

Here's a link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843170566/qid=1123601771/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-3105615-3694053

But get it from the library!

I thought it was invaluable.

Kind regards

RT

spendaholic

Aside from the Be-Ro cook book (what else?) I also like We'll Eat Again.