If you’re looking for a fun, inspiring read, I recommend “Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer” by Novella Carpenter. Said author was born on an Idaho farm to hippie parents, then raised in free-spirited Washington. Naturally, she has farming blood running in her veins, but she also enjoys the excitement and company of city life.
Shortly after moving to a highly shady part of crime-ridden Oakland, Novella eyes a vacant lot adjacent to her apartment and envisions a thriving garden. As time goes on, she uses this empty lot (with the owner's permission) not only to cultivate all manner of heirloom crops, but to keep bees, rabbits, chickens, and eventually two pigs. She also feeds the animals by way of dumpster diving around town. This unusual behavior leads to many entertaining anecdotes and relationships with other members of the community.
The book works well because not only does the author have a quirky personality and an interesting story to tell, she is a talented writer to boot. This novel made me want to order heirloom seeds (in the middle of winter), check out a book on food preservation from the library, and rack my brain for ways to keep my own chickens. This story of unlikely successes (mixed with a healthy dose of failures) inspired will inspire you to become more self-reliant in whatever ways you can, wherever you may live.
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