A Householder's Guide to the Universe

October 1, 2010

Fasenfest, a former restaurant owner and cook, writes an intimate reflection on a year of "householding," the art of managing the small-scale economy of a household. The book is organized by month, and each chapter is divided into "Home," "Kitchen," and "Garden" sections. Readers will find concrete tips on planting, harvesting, canning, preserving, and cleaning. Fasenfest skillfully cultivates an appreciation for skills that have been lost in our modern quest for convenience, while also showing readers why householding makes sense as an antidote to the destruction of our current economic system. VERDICT Helpful charts, a scattering of recipes, and personal stories make this hybrid how-to/memoir an enjoyable and informative read for aspiring urban homesteaders as well as those who would rather household vicariously. Readers who enjoyed Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life will find something to appreciate here. [Four-city tour.]--Rukshana Singh, Torrance P.L., CA

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2010
A bible for back-to-the-landerseven if the land is only a postage-stamp-sized city lot, Fasenfests utilitarian and utopian guide follows in the footsteps of such iconic manuals for rational living as the nineteenth-centurys McGuffeys Reader and the 1970s The Whole Earth Catalog. Destined to be as influential in its time, Fasenfests treatise is filled with homespun philosophy and hard-won wisdom as she tackles everything from churning ones own butter to curing ones own ham. Month by month, Fasenfest takes her observations of the world around her and translates them into activities for reclaiming home and hearth, garden and psyche from the forces of resource-depleting agribusiness and time-sucking technology. The term she gives this mode of conscientious living is householding, a quaint expression for a very contemporary conundrum, and while the changes she advocates can be daunting, the rewards are delectable. Part manifesto, part confessional, yet totally practical and attainable, Fasenfests inviting, impassioned guide delineates precise ways homeowners can develop the skill sets necessary for self-sufficiency.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)