I Love Libraries

[Oola]

I was watching an old rerun of Room 101 last night, and Stephen Fry was the guest. He was waxing lyrical about how wonderful libraries are - the simple concept that you can go and borrow something for free, and have access to such a bountiful resource of knowledge.

I had to call in at my local library today to return a book, and thinking about Stephen Fry's enthusiasm, I decided that I would have a good rummage about. I've come home with some very useful books:


The New Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour
The Classic Encyclopaedia of World Recipes
Delia's 'How to Cook' Vol One (never too late to check I have all the basic skills I need!)
The Complete Gardener by Monty Don
In the past I have been quick to complain about how my small local library doesn't have certain books to hand, but I decided I should stop moaning and start thinking about just how great these places are. If there's any recipes I like, I'll simply copy them into my own recipe book (handwritten notes). If I like any ideas from Monty's book, I'll photocopy the relevant pages. In fact, I might put a few of these books on my Christmas and Birthday list.

I could happily spend a couple of hours in my library, perusing all the different sections. Great for getting you thinking and enthusiastic about projects. I'm especially looking forward to thumbing my way through John Seymour's self-sufficiency book as I've heard so much about it from other Smallholding/Gardening blogs. Goodness knows I need a good prod in the right direction at the moment!

[eleanor2]

oola i love my library.go every week.we sit and have a hot drnk in a lovely comfy sofa.read books.lend loads of childrens books.we also hire d.v.ds for £2 a week.

[buecherwurm]

I have John Seymour's book at home. Haven't looked at it for a long time. So maybe I should get it off the bookshelf and start reading so I'll be ready in spring. I remember that I wanted to learn some of the old crafts after reading the book and I joined a spinning course. I can spin a nice yarn now. I also went to a basket making course. Have 2 baskets I made myself at home now. Couldn't contiune basket making as the willows give me terrible headaches. I also learned lace making and all this because of a book............

[Shelli]

I have "complete guide to self sufficiency" open at home right now as am making cider (oo arr!!)

It's one of my favourite "Life" books of all time ever. I especially love the diagrams on consecutive pages of increasing holdings - from a raised veg bed in town up to a 5 acre holding. It is also beautifully written - "The fat of the land" was the book he published in the 70's that inspired the Good Life on TV.

The Monty Don Gardening book is also in my collection. - I like it but dont find it as user friendly as others I have read - I love that he is organic in all he does and his sections on companion planting are good but I feel that he is a bit pompous in style - unlike Alan T - who guides you through the whole process and makes it sound easy (even though it isn't!)


Dont Like Delia - sorry - the only 2 recipes I have ever had that failed were Delia ones, one was seville marmalade - she recommended it be boiled for far too long (and I didn't have enough jam experience to know the difference - so was trusting the recipe to be accurate) and it ended up like orange toffee !! the other was biscuits that specified too much bicarb /baking powder and tasted fizzy!! - not nice
Okay so these were possibly editorial errors - but in recipes it's quite important to get the measurements right!

Net result - I dont do Delia at all - there are other much better cooks (as opposed to chefs) out there - esp Nigella and the Good Housekeeping complete cookbook takes some beating

Shelli X

[TIGGYWINKLE]

Shelli, You are the only other person I have met who is not a fan of Delia. I thought I was on my own.My daughter was using her recipes,but I felt they were not always true to form.I am not a fan of Sophie Grigson either. My daughter has now gone back to Mum's recipes, and developing her own style. She looked after her dad well, while I was away.