HARRIET FASENFEST, THE HOUSEHOLDER'S GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE: A CALENDAR OF BASICS FOR THE HOME, GARDEN, AND BEYOND

 

Nowadays, "go local," "organic food," and "sustainability" are on the tip of everyone's tongue.  Fasenfest takes up the banner of progressive homemaking and urban farming as a way to confront the political, social, and environmental issues facing the world.  While offering plenty of useful advice on doing common household chores sustainably, Fasenfest goes deeper to discuss the philosophy of "householding." The book is organized in monthly installments according to season, and the author invites readers into her own home, garden, and kitchen to consider concrete tools for change. Streetwise and poetic, fierce and romantic, the book is more than just a blueprint for escaping the current economic and environmental logjam.  It's also a readable and pithy analysis of how we got (t)here.