Book picks similar to
The Small House Book by Jay Shafer


non-fiction
nonfiction
self-sufficiency
diy

Living Without Plastic: More Than 100 Easy Swaps for Home, Travel, Dining, Holidays, and Beyond


Brigette Allen - 2020
    

Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World


Vaclav Smil - 2020
    There's a wonderful mix of science, history and wit, all in bite-sized chapters on a broad range of topics.Urgent and essential, Numbers Don't Lie inspires readers to interrogate what they take to be true in these significant times. Smil is on a mission to make facts matter, because after all, numbers may not lie, but which truth do they convey?'The best book to read to better understand our world. Once in a while a book comes along that helps us see our planet more clearly. By showing us numbers about science, health, green technology and more, Smil's book does just that. It should be on every bookshelf!' Linda Yueh, author of The Great Economists'He is rigorously numeric, using data to illuminate every topic he writes about. The word "polymath" was invented to describe people like him' Bill Gates 'Important' Mark Zuckerberg, on Energy 'One of the world's foremost thinkers on development history and a master of statistical analysis . . . The nerd's nerd' Guardian 'There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil' Guardian 'In a world of specialized intellectuals, Smil is an ambitious and astonishing polymath who swings for fences . . . They're among the most data-heavy books you'll find, with a remarkable way of framing basic facts' Wired 'He's a slayer of bullshit' David Keith, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics & Professor of Public Policy, Harvard UniversityVaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of over forty books on topics including energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment and public policy. No other living scientist has had more books (on a wide variety of topics) reviewed in Nature. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, in 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. This is his first book for a more general readership.

Finding Your Way Without Map or Compass


Harold Gatty - 1958
    By observing birds and other animals, weather patterns, vegetation, shifting sands, patterns of snow fields, and the positions of the sun, moon, and stars, would-be explorers can learn to estimate distances and find their way without having to rely on a map or a compass.The wealth of valuable data and advice in this volume — much of it unavailable elsewhere — makes it indispensable for hikers, bikers, scouts, sailors, and outdoorsmen — all those who might find themselves stranded or lost in an unfamiliar area. Through careful study of this book and its lessons, pathfinders can learn to interpret signs in the natural world to find their way in almost any kind of terrain.

Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less


C. Spike Trotman - 2012
    So get ready! It's time to cut your expenses! (Or just make sure they never pile up.)

Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett: The Winning Strategy to Help You Achieve Your Financial and Life Goals


Larry E. Swedroe - 2012
    If you planned to become a great golfer, you might look to Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus.So, if your goals are to outperform other investors and achieve your life's financial goals, what should you do?Think, act, and invest like the best investor out there: Warren Buffett. While you can't invest exactly like he does, Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett provides a solid, sensible investing approach based on Buffett's advice regarding investment strategies.When it comes to investing, Director of Research for the BAM Alliance and CBS News blogger Larry Swedroe has pretty much seen it all--and he's come to the conclusion that simple is better, that adopting basic investing principles always increases an investor's chance of success, and that Buffett is an excellent model for such investing.In Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett, Swedroe provides the foundational knowledge you need to:Develop a financial plan to help you make rational decisions on a consistent basisDetermine the level of risk that's right for you, and allocate your assets accordinglyBuild a low-cost, tax-efficient, globally diversified portfolioManage your portfolio by rebalancing periodically to maintain proper risk levelsThe beauty of the Buffett approach is its profound simplicity: follow the basics, keep your cool, and have a sense of humor and humility.The market volatility of recent years has ushered in armies of economists, forecasters, and other so-called experts whose job it is to explain how everything works. Somehow, they have managed to muddy the waters even more.The truth is, investing is easier than you think--even in today's economy. Complex problems can have simple solutions, Swedroe writes. Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett helps you go back to the basics--so you can leap in front of the investing pack.Praise for Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett A valuable addition to the growing library of books for investors wanting to successfully launch their own portfolio. Sticking to the core principles of this book will go a long way in preparing investors for their eventual retirement years. -- SeekingAlpha.com"A book that offers excellent pointers on planning for retirement, creating a disciplined investment strategy, and constructing a portfolio." -- Barron'sIf you've been wondering why you've had such a hard time investing well, Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett will diagnose your ills and treat them in this delightful short book. -- William Bernstein, Author, A Splendid Exchange and The Investor's ManifestoFollow the investment strategy advocated by Larry Swedroe, and free yourself to spend your time on life's treasures--like your family and friends! -- William Reichenstein, Professor, Baylor UniversityLarry Swedroe is the undisputed expert in helping investors manage portfolios the smart way. His new book, Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett, combines all facets of wealth management in an inspiring and powerful manner. -- Bill Schultheis, Author, The New Coffeehouse Investor"This book, which covers the whys and hows of successful investing, was written for those investors who just can't (or won't) read a 300-page investing book. Swedroe's set of 30 rules is an education in itself. It's a small book with a big message." -- Mel Lindauer, Forbes.com columnist and co-author, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing and The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning"You could not spend a more profitable hour than reading Larry Swedroe's wise and lucid hundred page investment guide." -- Burton G. Malkiel, Author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street"Larry Swedroe is the Mark Twain of the investment aphorism. This concise book builds to a conclusion that features thirty of his pithy truths. My favorites include: 'Never work with a commission-based advisor.' 'If it sounds too good to be true, it is.' 'The more complex the investment, the faster you should run away.'" -- Ed Tower, Professor of Economics at Duke University"Larry's book is about how to be successful in investing and in life. But, who would believe this involves understanding 'Big Rocks'? I now understand their importance and so should you! -- John A. Haslem, Professor Emeritus of Finance, University of Maryland, and author of Mutual Funds"Larry Swedroe's latest book shows you how to succeed at investing with simple yet powerful guidance that's backed by the financial sciences. Add it to your 'must-read' list." -- Steve Vernon, author of Money for Life: Turn Your IRA and 401(k) Into a Lifetime Retirement Paycheck"This book is a quick and thorough read of the passive approach to investing in as few pages as possible. As someone who teaches a college investments course that deals extensively with this topic, I would not have thought it possible to do what he has done in such a short concise book. Kudos to Larry for continuing in his quest to educate investors and save them as Larry says 'one investor at a time' from a financial services industry whose primary goal is largely to enrich themselves." -- Edward R. Wolfe, Professor of Finance, Western Kentucky University"Because common sense isn't so common, thank goodness Larry Swedroe provides his readers with this magnificent book. With well-founded actionable advice, his readers can insure that they enrich their lives not Wall Street's bank accounts." -- Harold Evensky, President, Evensky & Katz"Larry doesn't tell you how to do what Warren Buffett does as much as avoid what Warren Buffett avoids, which turns out to be exceptionally important and doable for any investor. He tells you to avoid a few things I would tell you to embrace, like some hedged strategies, but that is because Wall Street typically overcharges you for these, so even here Larry is on the side of the angels. Every investor can benefit immensely from this book." -- Cliff Asness, Founding and Managing Principal, AQR Capital ManagementMany investment books adopt an adversarial tone--urging us to achieve success by somehow outwitting the market. Larry Swedroe explains why following such a strategy often diminishes our financial as well as our spiritual wealth--and shows us how a holistic approach to money, markets, and human behavior provides the most rewarding path to follow. -- Weston Wellington, Vice President, Dimensio

The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change


David de Rothschild - 2007
    The book presents 77 essential skills for stopping climate change—and for living through it. It is a fun, compelling, and sly deconstruction of a survival guide, think Boy Scout Handbook crossed with WorldChanging atop the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, that offers equal parts tongue-in-cheek suggestions, practical advice, factual information, and bluesky dreaming of ways to save the world.Each skill is presented on a spread featuring a bright, full-color instructional illustration, a brief introduction to the skill and its core ideas, a set of instructions, spin-off ideas, and scientific and environmental facts. The book also includes a resource guide that provides useful resources for the ecoconscious reader.

The Quarter-Acre Farm: How I kept the patio, lost the lawn, and fed my family for a year


Spring Warren - 2011
    The Quarter-Acre Farm is Warren's account of deciding, despite all resistance, to take control of her family's food choices, get her hands dirty, and create a garden in her suburban yard. It's a story of bugs, worms, rot, and failure; of learning, replanting, harvesting, and eating. The road is long and riddled with mistakes, but by the end of her yearlong experiment, Warren's sons and husband have become her biggest fans, in fact, they're even eager to help harvest (and eat) the beautiful bounty she brings in.Full of tips and recipes to help anyone interested in growing and preparing at least a small part of their diet at home, The Quarter-Acre Farm is a warm, witty tale about family, food, and the incredible gratification that accompanies self-sufficiency.

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening


Louise Riotte - 1975
    If you want to know whether it is kosher to plant onions between cabbage plants, this is the place to look.-- Oklahoma TodayFirst published in 1975, this classic companion planting guide has taught a generation of gardeners how to use plants' natural partnerships to produce bigger and better harvests.Over 500,000 in Print!

Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home


Renee Loux - 2008
    In her new book, Easy Green Living, she applies her whole-foods philosophy to home, garden, and beauty routines. Renée Loux demonstrates that being green at home is easy, affordable, and better in every sense of the word. She discusses the daily choices we face that can keep the home, personal care, and beauty routines free of toxins. She exposes the dirt on cleaning products and common hazardous ingredients and reveals her recommendations for greener options, including her "Green Thumb Guides" for choosing non-toxic, eco-smart, and human-friendly products. Peppered with compelling and inspiring facts, Easy Green Living is full of "5 Step" lists, products and recipes for green cleaning, helpful charts, safer choices for every room, and inspirational advice so we can save the planet--one cleaning spritz at a time. As recent special issues of Vanity Fair, Time, Newsweek, and other major publications have demonstrated, going green is an idea whose time has come. Whether addressing big-picture topics like renewable energy, or offering simple suggestions for everyday living, this complete lifestyle guide shows that healthier choices don't mean a radical or complicated life change--it is, after all, easy to be green.

Unstuff Your Life!: Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good


Andrew Mellen - 2010
    Mellen has created unique, lasting techniques for streamlined living, bringing order out of chaos for the chronically overwhelmed everywhere. Acknowledging that it's often the "stuff behind the stuff" that holds people back, Mellen offers a surprisingly simple, yet effective solution in his step-by-step guide, guaranteed to help achieve organizational bliss for everyone from perpetual key misplacers to hard-core hoarders.From basement to bedroom, kitchen to car, and into every corner of life, Mellen’s system yields lasting results. Discover how to:Never lose your keys or wallet again Stop mail, magazine, and paper pileups for good Feel empowered to tackle bills and budgets Reclaim space and time once dominated by clutter Built on the principle that we must distinguish ourselves from our possessions, Unstuff Your Life! starts with truly achievable goals and works toward the nightmare projects everyone tries hard to avoid. With humor, honesty, tough love, and foolproof advice, Mellen makes it easy to finally let go and embrace the decluttered life.

The Style Checklist: The Ultimate Wardrobe Essentials for You


Lloyd Boston - 2010
    His style philosophy is: Less is Modern.The good news is: the most stylish clothes you can have are probably already in your closet. But savvy women are on a perpetual quest to find the perfect addition to their wardrobe: the perfect bathing suit, a traffic-stopping pair of jeans, that classic little black dress. While the editorial pages of high fashion magazines can offer inspiration, they can’t help you find what works for your looks and lifestyle. But Lloyd Boston’s The Style Checklist offers basic guidance to help make your everyday commute your runway. With solutions to common fashion problems and a lot of how-to advice, this book simplifies and demystifies how to achieve style.

Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All


Michael Shellenberger - 2020
    He helped save the world’s last unprotected redwoods. He co-created the predecessor to today’s Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions.But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die,” contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction.Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas.Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions.What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.

DIY Projects for the Self-Sufficient Homeowner: 25 Ways to Build a Self-Reliant Lifestyle


Betsy Matheson - 2011
    Many of the projects require basic materials available at your everyday home center, but this book also provides valuable DIY resources for solar, hydro, greenhouse, and gardening needs. This book will help you build security with utility backup systems and become more sustainable, resulting in less dependence on city systems for basic needs. Whether you have a city plot or simply pots, this book includes all of the information needed to plan, build, and succeed with greater self-sufficiency.

Novel Interiors: Living in Enchanted Rooms Inspired by Literature


Lisa Borgnes Giramonti - 2014
    This is a stunning, photo-driven book that shares enchanting and timeless ways to live more elegantly.

Show Me How


Derek Fagerstrom - 2008
    In a series of 500 nearly wordless, highly informative step-by-step procedurals, readers learn how to do hundreds of useful (and fascinating and important and sometimes downright bizarre) tasks, including: Perform CPR, dance the tango, pack a suitcase, win a bar bet, play the blues, make authentic sushi rolls, fight a shark . . . and 493 more essentials of modern life. Packed with useful hands-on reference material, Show Me How is a work of art that just happens to also be an indispensable real-life resource.Visit showmenow