Books Read of 2024

I set myself a goal of reading 52 book this year, somewhere near what I used to read before smart phones came in and made our lives "better". I broke the goal at the start of December, and have finished the year with 60 books under my belt. I do include audio books and the longer books I read to the children.

Posting this a little earlier than I normally do, but I can't see me finishing another book before New Year now!

I can remember being on holiday with some friends in The Gambia (must have been around 2004ish), and we were sat in a bookshop having a few beers with the owner, as you do. It wasn't really like any bookshop you've been in, more a booth, and he kept sending a younger underling to go and get us beers out in the oppressive African heat.

Books Read of 2022

 Now I'm a bit of a book worm. So is my wife. Arguably she is worse than I. But we're both happy intertwined together reading a book each late at night. We've been terrible this holiday period, one night we stayed up until one in the morning, neither of us able to put our books down! 

It reminded me of when we went round Europe in an ambulance I had converted into a camper van and how we both read so much. I worry that scrolling on my phone stops me reading as much as I used to, but I still get through quite a few books. 

The other day my wife posted on Instagram all the books she had read in 2022 and I thought it was a really fun thing to do. So I manged to move all the covers into a folder in my phone and post them as well. I'm fairly sure I've missed quite a few from earlier in the year but I've managed to find 45 of the titles I've either read or listened to. 

Taking Stock - Roger Morgan-Grenvillle - Book Review

I got asked a while a go on twitter if I fancied reading a new book coming out. There was no ties or conditions with it, so I agreed (after all my book addiction is only slightly cheaper than my problem with tools).

This one was Taking Stock - A journey among cows, by Roger Morgan-Grenville.  

It's funny timing as I've been listening to a lot of books while I work wood about writing, my other passion. One book I'm listening to is about the genre of "creative non-fiction" and I don't think I could pick a more perfect book that illustrates what that is than this one. The book is beautifully written and talks about the history of cows and their future in the 21st century woven in a story of a man trying to learn and experience more in the subject.

I found the way it was done was very compelling, he worked on a cattle farm while writing it, gaining first hand experience, as well as traveling around the country to find out more and what ends up on the page is easily digested. 

The history of the cow I found particular fascinating and there is some real soundbites I can pull from the book about how we've changed animals over time, one stayed with me - "Apart, perhaps, from the wolf, no animal has been asked to undergo so much change on man's behalf as the cow"

He also talks about the villainization of the cow and yet how important it has been to some rewilding projects. He talks about our hunger for beef but advocates self control over moving away from eating it completely. He talks about these conflicts and how it's not the cow's fault, they never deserved to live in the unnatural conditions some live in now. 

Basically he talks a lot of sense. 

If you have interest in the food system around you and it's future, in the history of our food and animals then I'd recommend this book as a great read. Well written and well rounded. 

Burn By Ben Short - Book Review

 I follow a lot of people that make their income through traditional skills on Instagram. The other day an account I follow shared that the book of charcoal burner was coming out. It's not often I'll pre-order a book but I decided to do it while I was thinking about it. 

The book follows Ben's journey from high paid ad man in London to a charcoal burner living in a hooped trailer in Devon. It talks about his struggles with depression and how he came to learn his trade and spend time in the woods to help deal with this. 

It's full of some great characters Ben has worked with while learning to work in the woods, some of which really reminded me of people I had worked with myself. 

This book is beautifully written. I read it very quickly as I just loved his writing so much, such an easy read. It really transported you there into the woods with him. He paints such a scene with his words and weaves it with a simple story and a bit of folklore effortlessly that it's hard to believe it's his first book. 

My only criticism is it finishes too soon for my liking, I want to know more and where his life takes him next, but maybe I'll have to wait for the next instalment?

Highly recommend. If he writes another I'll buy it straight away. 

The Man Who made things Out Of Trees

 I think I might be a little late to the party with this book, but the last few weeks I've been working my way through it. 

This is a book that is, pretty obviously, going to appeal to me. The premise is that Robert Penn has an Ash tree cut down than tries to use as much of the timber as he can to make as many things as he can from it. 

The author writes brilliantly and his affection for trees, wood and things of beauty is apparent from the first page. 

I love his zero waste approach to this tree and how he gets so many things from it. At the end of the book there is a list of all the items and it's impressive. I also like how rather than trying to make the things himself he seeks out the true master crafts people to make them for him, while he witnesses the work. Each comes with it's own story and memory then and I love how the items he collects aren't just for decoration - they are to be used. Something I think we should do more in this country, beautiful items enrich our lives and using them daily gives a reason to own them. 

From a carpenters point of view it's great to learn more about ash and it's uses, a wood I have only used a few times, other than in tools handles.  I did use ash many years ago to make some legs on a stool on a pole lathe, something I'd love to do again when we get round to building a pole lathe here (there's a link to a blog post on the course I took here)

I love this book for it's simple promotion of craft in so many different forms and the fact that we have just a few of some of these traditional and very specific trades left in the world (fletcher, wheelwright, etc) and how they need to be looked after as much as any historic building or monument.

If you enjoy craft and wood then you'll enjoy this book. 

Book Review- Ray Mears My Outdoor Life

I've been a fan of Ray Mears ever since my brother and I watched his first program on the TV. Since then both my brother and I have had a keen interest in bushcraft and survival skills, we've even spent a week in the Scottish highlands to put our skills into practise!

So when I saw he's written an autobiography I added to my Christmas list and then promptly forgot that I had! On Christmas morning I was pleased as anything to see this in my pile of presents and started reading it that day.

The book is quietly written and it really reads as if its his voice in your head, softly and quite understated. The pace is quite slow and at times some of the dialogue feels a little "clunky" but it doesn't distract from what is otherwise a really enjoyable read.

He's had an amazing life and has worked hard to seize any opportunity he could which would help him learn more bushcraft skills and this pursuit has taken him all over the world.

 I knew little about this otherwise private man before reading this book, so it's nice to see what makes him tick and the adventures that formed him like driving across Africa, or helping the police hunt Raoul Moat. I do feel that he may have written this book a little too soon and some parts (where he deals with loss and bereavement) the wounds are still quite fresh and this shows in his writing.

I enjoyed this book but I'd say it's only really one for fans of his work, hopefully he'll write another book in 20 years time and have many more stories to tell.

Book Review - 5 Acres & A Dream

I've got a lot of books on smallholdings and homesteads but this is the first one I've read from a fellow blogger. 

It's written by Leigh Tate who has the blog "5 Acres & A Dream", its a blog that I visit regularly and I enjoy seeing what she and her husband do with the same sized piece of land over in the US.  

The book is well written, easy to read and broken into sensible chapters. Certain things in it have really given me food for thought - seeing things like how their master plan changed through the years of being there made me wish I'd drawn up more definite plans for here on paper so I could alter them as ideas and needs change.

One chapter I really enjoyed was about food self-sufficiency for animals. This is something that most books skip over, but if you really want your own patch of land to completely support you then it's no good bringing in feed for the animals the whole time. And although they've no where near cracked it in terms of animals feed she shares all their failures and what they're planning to do next.

The book isn't a "how to" or a "guide" but more of the story of how they came to be in the position they're in and the way they are tackling each issue of self sufficiency. I could see that Leigh has a same kind of approach to self sufficiency as I do, whilst still paying the bills and mortgage, and I guess that's part of what makes it so appealing to me.

If you enjoy her blog, then you'll enjoy this book.