currently reading...

the week is winding down, and it seemed like a good time to share some books again that i am reading these days.



on the top of the pile is everything i want to do is illegal, by joel salatin. i borrowed it from the library and am slowly working my way through. anyone who has read michael pollan's the omnivore's dilemma might remember joel and his farm, polyvore, where he raises a variety of meat animals (cows, pigs, chickens) in a sustainable way. joel is a big believer in local food, and this book details his battles with the state of virginia and the USDA while trying to offer a local, healthy product for his customers. it's very interesting, but he has a lot of anger (not that he doesn't have a right to). i just find all that anger a bit exhausting, so it's good for me to read other things too. i'm not sure if this is because regulations are a bit different in canada, so i don't feel the same level of rile as he does, but he does give an insider's perspective on those fighting to offer a better source of food than the CAFOs that predominate the meat industry these days.

second is a book A just got for me the other day, is dyes from american native plants, by lynne richards and ronald j. tyrl. as the dye experiment continue (in the photo above you can see one of my current dye jars, from yellow onions), this book is a good resource for over 150 common plants in north america that can be used for dyeing. it also has a bit of history of natural dyeing in north america.

third in the stack isn't really a book, just the latest issue of whole living magazine. i only started reading it this year, but i truly enjoy each issue. incidentally, mav did a review of whole living over on 3191, back in january, which is actually what finally pushed me to buy an issue. she isn't wrong.

finally on the bottom of the stack is another recently gifted book, marine life of the pacific northwest. you can imagine this book from Andy Lamb and Bernard Hanby would be right up my alley, and i have spent much time already giddily pouring over its pages of colour photos. i think it's almost sensory overload for me, actually. it is way too big to be schlepping down to the shore as a field guide, and it is a bit pricey, but if you are interested in sea life from this coast i highly recommend it. i can't imagine that i would ever get tired of this book.

i will be back in this space over the weekend, hoping to share some recent dyeing and some new stuff for the shop. i am participating in poppytalk handmade's next market which starts monday, so i will let you know when stuff is up there too. hoping you all have great weekend in store!