1000 Fields of Roses

…again.
We love our local library! Where else could you go for free books, on practically any subject, any day of the week? (Yes, I know you can download e-books at any time. It’s not the same.)
If you don’t have a library card, I would recommend that you go down and get one – libraries are cool. 😀

So, we’re off soon. I’ll probably just sit in the corner reading – I can’t get any new books out today because I’ve already reached my 20 item limit. I’ll replenish stocks on Tuesday.

I’ve been reading some interesting books lately. I had to let go of formal studying this year, but I’m still choosing books that cover various aspects of my ex-course. What I’ve been finding is that the books I’ve chosen, even if just tenuously linked to natural health/sustainable lifestyles, often say very similar things.

Here’s a quick review of the last three…

The Wonder Box – Roman Krznaric
This is a bit of a romp through history – specifically ways of seeing and understanding different ideas, in different eras and cultures. It’s meant to read like a Renaissance curiosity cabinet, with shelves (chapters) dedicated to each idea – such as love, family, work, nature, belief, and death. The author does not present other perspectives as the truth, or as a definition of the topic involved. We are meant to read these perspectives, and re-examine what we believe, and why. It was interesting to consider whether my understanding of something is based on timeless truth, or fairly contemporary belief.

The Wild Medicine Solution – Guido Mase
It took me a long while to get to this book, but I found it fascinating once I started reading it properly. It discusses recent findings in physiology and the biochemistry of wild plants, and the importance of including wild plants in everyday life. The author weaves the more clinical and scientific text with myth, history and folklore… It was a bit strange at first, but I found the combination helped me to understand the concepts better than if it had been a solely clinical approach.
If you are looking for a comprehensive herbal, explaining the usage of an alphabetical list of herbs, this is not the book. It does explain the value of three different types of wild plants –
tonics (wormwood, dandelion and burdock) for normalisation of cell function and to nourish the immune system
aromatics (chocolate, astragalus, hawthorn) to relax tension in nerves and muscles, and stimulate sluggish systems, and
bitters (ginger, peppermint, garlic) for digestion, and to balance blood sugar, buffer toxicity and improve metabolism.
The author has found that wild plants can regulate heart variability and adjust the way that DNA is read by the cells.
Of these three books, this is the one that I would like to buy, in order to dip into it more frequently.

Radical Homemakers – Shannon Hayes
I quite enjoyed this book. It discusses the ways in which we can use our lives and the choices we make to help ourselves and our communities. Being a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mum (with an interest in sustainability) myself, I found it encouraging to read of others’ journeys. Not all the people interviewed fit that profile, though, so it offers a fairly broad spectrum of experiences. The main resemblance between those interviewed is their commitment to a sustainable and productive lifestyle, a rediscovery of creativity and learning to use their hands and minds to provide for families and communities – to “strengthen independence from an extractive and parasitic economy.” The author holds to four tenets – family, community, social justice and ecological health. Reading about how others work within their individual situations to achieve these goals is inspiring.

Are you ready to lose a few hours in the wonders of the public library service? You know you want to! 😉