Here is a list of books you would do well to put on your winter reading list if you are interested in old fashioned skills. Most of these books I own or have owned and have gained a great deal of information and old fashioned knowledge from. I know the authors of several of them, too, so I can vouch for those that the author is living the life they write about.
You can buy them all from these links if you like. If you do, CHK gets a small fee. These are the books that I recommend if you are trying to learn about how to live a more self reliant lifestyle.
Down Home Ways – Jerry Mack
Skills For Simple Living – Hartley and Marks
Pearls Of Country Wisdom – by Deborah Tukua
Back To Basics – Readers Digest
The Herbal Medicine-Makers Handbook – James Green
Idiot’s Guide to Fermenting Food – Wardeh Harmon
Whole Wheat Bread Baking – Donna Miller
Encyclopedia Of Country Living – Carla Emery
Preserving Food Without Canning Or Freezing-The Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante
Home Grown Whole Grains – Sarah Pitzer
Root Cellaring – Mike Bubel
Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game– John J. Mettler
Keeping A Family Cow – Joann Grohman
The Practical Beekeeper – Natural Beekeeping – Michael Bush ( I don’t own this book but it comes with great reviews from my friend who does raise bees and uses this book)
Water Storage – Art Ludwig (there may be a newer edition than this, don’t know )
Surviving Off Off-Grid – Michael Bunker – This is not a “How-To” book but a book about the different philosophies of living in a self reliant way. Good reading, thought provoking.