I love books. I might have lost more books than some have ever read. I might have an obsession. At least it’s a healthy one. A Good part of my collection is devoted to books for survival. I still own the first book I ever bought on the subject. Mostly a reprint of the same stuff. I have a few other books that I include in my prepper only book shelf. Things along the lines of gardening and home construction. I include my prepper fiction there as well. Everything from Patriots to Day By Day Armageddon. Today I will only talk about specific titles briefly. The focus of today’s post is about the the kinds of books to get and how to get them.
Books
So what books should go into a proper prepper library? What every you want. Everyone is different and will focus on different areas. Maybe you are way into tactical and will focus on that. Maybe you are a medical nerd and will have tomes on surgery. Even with all that there are certain things you should include. Once again I don’t want to list titles and links to them. I want to impart the philosophy behind it. So you can go fill it with the books you can find. And to find them on the cheap.
Where To Get
Used book stores are your #1 friend here. I’ve got about 90% of my books at used book stores. One of my best finds ever was at a thrift store. On a whim I was browsing through the books and one stood out. The title seemed familiar. The One Straw revolution. Where have I heard that before. I opened it up and realized it was the book of sustainable agriculture by Fukuoka. Just checking on Amazon the book is $11.50 on prime. I got it for $1.50! Less than two bucks for a book I had been wanting. The world is not going to end tomorrow so get your books cheaply. I also like real books over digital ones. It’s the smell and tactile feel.
Top Categories
So what are the books that should make the list. Obviously you should have some books on survival. That’s what we’re here for right? I’m partial to both Cody Lundin’s books. Neil Strauss’ Emergency is well written. Finding the army survival manuals used is easy. You will need some books on medical treatment. If you can only have one book Dr. Bones and Nurse Amys Survival Medicine is great. I’ve never seen it used though. You can find a ton of EMT books though. I also have several on herbal remedies. Books on wild edibles are great. I buy them whenever I see them. I also buy most everything on growing plants. I have so many books on how to grow food. That is my main focus. Recently I started getting books on house building. Found one on underground home building. A book on hunting and trapping would be great.
The list could go on and on. Mostly dictated by what interest you. Much like the five priorities of Survival. Food, Water, Shelter, Fire/ Energy, First Aid. Books should be bought those categories. Try to start with general books on deeply specialized ones. Maybe one day you can move on to an entire book on the Egyptian Bow Drill. Start out with the more general ones though.
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I have been collecting books for quite some time also. I am a master Herbalist and read lots of medical studies (just for fun). I make all my own medicine from wild plants. ‘Wildcrafting’ being my Forte’. I also handcraft custom knives and have been avidly prepping since well before Y2K. So you kinda already know what my book shelf looks like.
One of my favorite books (series) is ‘ ‘Dies the Fire’ by SM Stirling.
I enjoy apocalyptic fiction, especially when there’s much ‘How To’ information. I often make notes in the margin when there’s info to be gleaned.
TinMan
Check out local colleges and library for used book sales. I try to buy all the regular books as you do. My husband is being pulled into the prepping world, so I buy used books for him too…..electrical repair, woodworking and etc. I just put them on the bookshelf, they will be there when he needs them.
Excellent post! I have always been a book junkie, and have a wide range of titles, both for learning and for entertainment. Always wanted my own library like the big one down the street!