The Urban Homestead: A Book Review

Spring has sprung, the spring grass is sprouting, and the Purple Martins flew in last week. That means a woman’s fancies now turn to digging up the yard so she can plant a garden. But if you don’t have a yard, no problem. There’s a book available that tells you all about “self-sufficient living in the heart of the city,” namely, The Urban Homestead, by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen.

I loved this book. The minute I glanced through it, I received about six different ideas for planting up our yard with good things to eat. There are dozens of ideas in here, some of which I have yet to get to. If you’re into sustainable living, or becoming a tad more self-sufficient in light of the coming collapse of the dollar and all the attendant troubles, this book will instruct you in many of the basic techniques of food production in your own yard.

The major idea I gained from the book was the concept of raised beds. You buy treated 2 x 6’s, or 2 x 8’s, nail them together to form a rectangular box, and fill it with topsoil. You don’t even have to dig up the ground beneath it, which is a huge plus! I got so excited, I rushed out and bought lumber and hundreds of pounds of topsoil, so much topsoil that the tires of my pickup truck were flattened considerably. I built a grand total of 6 raised beds, all in my front yard, because our backyard is too shady and none of the trees shading it belong to us. I filled those beds to the brim with soil, to the detriment of my back and knees, and grew bumper crops in those beds for the past two years. That idea worked!

This book covers a lot more than growing crops where you never thought you could grow them before. They cover alternative sources of power and transportation as well, not to mention alternate sources of water. If you are worried about possible shortages and chaos when the government and the Fed finally destroy the dollar, you can learn a lot about homegrown survival techniques, besides how to compost and other organic gardening techniques.

The Urban Homestead is a great book to have on your shelves, especially if you enjoy saving money by not having to buy your fruits and vegetables at the grocery store.

The Confession: A Book Review

John Grisham has written another best seller in The Confession. It is exactly the kind of taut, suspense-filled legal thriller we expect from him.

The Confession begins when Kansas Lutheran minister Keith Schroeder counsels newly released prisoner, Travis Boyette, in his church office and learns that Boyette is very likely the killer of a young cheerleader who vanished some 15 years ago. Worse, Donte Drumm, a young black man, is due to be excuted by the state of Texas within a couple of days for the crime.

Boyette has a brain tumor which he says will kill him within a year, and he sort of, maybe, might like to clear his conscience and confess to the crime. Moreover, he can prove what he says because he knows where the body is buried, and he is wearing the dead girl’s high school ring on a chain around his neck.

In the meantime, we meet all the various players in the drama: The driven defense lawyer who is fighting a losing battle to get a stay of execution for Donte Drumm, Donte’s strong mother and siblings, the former friend of Donte’s who lied on the witness stand, the drama-queen mother of the dead girl who is milking the media circus for all it’s worth, and assorted other people representing the state of Texas who are convinced Donte is guilty and don’t want another stay of execution.

Reverend Shroeder decides his duty in the matter is to break the law by driving Travis Boyette out of state to Slone, Texas, to confess to the crime and hopefully stop the execution of an innocent man. But Boyette disappears, the clock is ticking down for Donte Drumm, and the State of Texas manifests a deep dislike of being proven wrong in the conviction of Donte Drumm, especially when the town of Slone explodes with racial violence.

The novel is tense and suspenseful, with several nice twists, and Grisham does an excellent job of pointing out the dilemma inherent in the death penalty. What is really frightening is the possibility that a scenario similar to the one depicted by Grisham could happen, or may have already happened.

Assessment: John Grisham’s The Confession is an excellent way to spend a couple of evenings.

Book review: Sanctuary

Sanctuary by Molly Noble Bull (Tsaba House, 2007)

Rachel Levin knows at an early age that she’s different – she’s a German-born Jewish girl growing up in France during the 1700s, where Jews and Huguenots (French Protestants) were especially despised. She spends years hiding her ancestry as a means of survival, even when she meets the love of her life, a Huguenot named Louis Dupre.

Two weeks before her wedding, French soldiers murder Rachel’s parents and Louis. She escapes with Louis’ brother Pierre and a group of Huguenots, but is far from being safe. Their goal is to reach Scotland and reunite with Pierre’s mother and younger brother, but obstacles crop up all along the way. A forced marriage during her period of mourning, a French military captain who wants Rachel as his mistress – or dead – and spies at every turn keep Rachel and Pierre on the run for months. By the time this first book in the Faith of Our Fathers series ends, Rachel and Pierre have each learned new ways to trust God and each other even when nothing seems trustworthy.

Spiritual messages: Rachel has spent years trying to fit in with French Catholics so no one suspects her Jewish background, but she doesn’t really understand who God is or the purpose of Jesus Christ and His ministry. Through every situation, Pierre nurtures the kernel of faith in Rachel, embodies Christ’s love for her, teaches her about Christ and helps her see that we’re always safe in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1).

Molly helps the long-ago days of France, England and Scotland come alive with her details about everyday life. I’m so glad I live a much more pampered life than Rachel (something about water basins that freeze overnight, slogging through mud and snow to another country and feeling lucky to get a bath every couple of weeks just doesn’t sit well with me LOL)! Years ago, I got pulled into another series of Scottish books from the same timeframe and really enjoyed the return trip with Molly. If you like historicals with a bit of romance and intrigue, Sanctuary just might be the book for you.