Nonfiction Book Reviews

Got Sun? Go Solar: Get Free Renewable Energy to Power Your Grid-Tied Home by Rex A Ewing and Doug Pratt was a surprisingly interesting book.  I say that because I am of the non-mechanical variety, so I was prepared to be bored to tears by in-depth information that the average person (me) would never have a chance of understanding.

But I’ve always thought that running your house off solar power, even if it was just a partial supply of the total energy needed, was just such a great idea, that it would be worth it suffering through a boring book to learn more about it.

Unfortunately, most books covering this subject spend their time talking exclusively about how to power your house “off the grid” (meaning, not connected to any power lines - powered exclusively through wind, solar, and/or hydro power.)  I don’t know why, because the amount of people in the US living on the grid outnumber the ones living off the grid a million to one, at least.  So I was excited to see a book covering houses on the grid exclusively.

I also picked this book up because Rex Ewing is a name I recognize.  In the solar and wind industry, Rex is The Man.  He has lived in a house for years that is powered with just solar and wind power, so he knows of which he speaks.  He also spends a large amount of time writing books and consulting with home owners who want to do the same.  If he doesn’t know about it when it comes to solar power, it isn’t worth knowing.

Fair warning: The book does get technical when trying to explain how silicon works, but even then, the authors tried to inject some humor into the explanation.  Here’s a quotation from the silicon portion:

Chemically, silicon has 14 positively-charged protons, and 14 negatively-charged protons.  This would seem to be a happy arrangement, if not for the fact that it has room for four more electrons in its outer energy level.  How does it get them?  It could snatch four passing electrons from somewhere, but there would be no protons to hold them in place, so the kidnapped electrons would soon escape.
~Page 39 of “Got Sun? Go Solar”

It does obviously go on from there, but the point is: It’s readable. Even for people who are not chemists in another life, and who don’t play one on TV either.

Do I think that after reading this book, you’ll be able to go out and install your own solar powering system without a contractor to help you along the way? No way. But it does give you a good base of knowledge so that when you go to talk to an installer, you know the right questions.  Better yet, it will help you figure out if contacting an installer is even worth your time - it may not be in the realm of possibilities for you.

If adding solar power to your house is something you’ve thought about, and you want to learn more about the idea, then look no further than Got Sun? Go Solar. If you’re going to learn, it might as well be from the best.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Hava

Picture Credit: Nevmic

Affordable Remodel: How to Get Custom Results on any Budget by Fernando Pages Ruiz was a great book on remodeling.  It had enough in-depth information so that the reader wasn’t left saying, “But now what?” but it wasn’t so technical that it would lose the clueless (the clueless, of course, being me).

I had finished reading another book on remodeling a couple of weeks before starting this one, and the differences between them were astounding.  This one had lots of gorgeous pictures, clean illustrations, and step-by-step instructions that were never condescending or patronizing.

The other remodel book was written by a guy who spent the majority of his time saying that you needed to hire someone to do the work for you.  And he did it in a very patronizing tone, as if the reader was simply too dumb to know how to do anything.  The only project in the whole book that he said the home owner could “easily” do was painting.  I should hope so!

But Affordable Remodel was written with the goal of educating the homeowner enough that he or she would be able to do most of the work themselves, or at least have a good idea of how the work should go so that they could oversee the contractors intelligently and not get taken for a ride.  There’s also a lot of advice on how to get something done cheaper, although that’s not as big of a focus as you might expect, considering the name of the book.

I was surprised at how fun it was to read this book - I would get started while eating breakfast, and would keep reading even after I’d finished eating.  I almost ended up late to work a couple of times because I lost track of time!  This, while reading a remodel book! Not what I was expecting…

If you’re wanting an idea-generating book, plus loads of helpful information, make sure to pick this book up.  I give Affordable Remodel 4.75 out of 5 stars.

Havs

PS If you’re on the hunt for ways to save money, make sure to check out the Thrifty blog here at Today - Beth is one of my good friends, and her blog is just awesome! Lots of great ideas on there.

I picked up Cheap. Fast. Good! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross after I reviewed Desperation Dinners because I wanted to see if I would like the food better in Cheap. Fast. Good!.

As I said in Desperation Dinners, the cooking duo were able to whip up a meal in 20 minutes because they were using a lot of convenience foods.  Those tend to be expensive, so I would end up cooking the food the old-fashioned way, which of course takes a lot longer, and defeats the whole dinner-in-20-minutes idea.

Enter Cheap. Fast. Good!.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. The food is more “normal” in this one, although there were still quite a few “out there” recipes.  Flipping through the pages, I bookmarked quite a few recipes as being possibilities for dinner, more than I did in Desperation Dinners.

I think I also enjoyed it because there were a lot of tips on how to cook more frugally, something I like to read about. It was kind of a cross between a how-to-be-frugal book and a recipe book, with the heavy emphasis on recipes of course.

Each recipe has an approximate cooking time but unlike Desperation, the emphasis isn’t on beating the clock but cooking cheaply.  That’s more what I care about, so to me, this book was more usable.

One thing that I enjoyed in both books were the comments in the sidebars on each recipe - how it came into being, what they liked about it, etc.  The writing style is approachable, as if you’re sitting down to chat with old friends when you flip the book open.

Overall, I would give Cheap. Fast. Good! 4.5 out of 5 stars, and will probably buy it for my own collection. Any of my readers a fan of the cookbooks?  I would love to hear your thoughts on the recipes - too weird or perfectly normal?  Chime in on the comment section.

Hava

In the cheapskate community, Amy Dacyczyn reigns supreme. And it’s not hard to see why, when you flip through her books.

Amy originally started out by producing a newsletter with tips she thought were helpful. She eventually put those tips into books, and produced three amazing books that every tightwad in the country owns (bought off eBay at a discounted price, of course). They are (originality in naming not being her strong suit) The Tightwad Gazette I, The Tightwad Gazette II, and (drumroll please!) The Tightwad Gazette III. I know, you didn’t see it coming, did you? Neither did I.

Lack of originality aside, there is little here to criticize. Seriously. This is the frugal person’s Bible. Too often, a “how-to-be-frugal” book will simply regurgitate the same tips over and over again. (Great example here. Or here’s another one that did it too, although not to the same extent.) How many times can people say, “Save up money and pay cash for big items” before publishers start to say, “Wait a minute, I think this has been covered before”?

Apparently a lot.

Amy stands at the pinnacle of frugalness for a very good reason: None of her “tips” are recycled stuff that someone slapped together from an hour of Googling. Amy never takes the easy way out by saying, “I’ve heard that it’s cheaper to…”

Instead, she sits down with a calculator and figures out, down to the penny, how much something will cost. And then she does it again the other way. Math is not my strong suit, so she completely lost me when it came to some of her calculations, but I was mightily impressed by her conclusions.

Here’s an excerpt on freezing food in bulk that illustrates that point nicely:

The first step was purchasing a humongous, $7.99, 2,000 foot-roll of 12-inch-wide clear plastic wrap from a warehouse store. One could make the argument that free bread bags are cheaper, but this wrap costs just 4/10ths of a cent per foot and allows a stretched-tight wrap that gives good protections from freezer burn. If this quantity is too much for you, we found that store-brand plastic wraps are 6/10ths of a cent. (But be aware that name-brand wrap costs as much as 2 and 3/10ths of a cent per foot.)

Am I just the laziest person alive? I never, no never, would have thought to calculate something like that down to the tenth of a penny.  She does this constantly.  Reading her books is like peering into the mind of a frugal genius, truly.

If you’re really observant (as are all of my readers, naturally) you might have noticed that I reviewed book #3 first.  I did that to make the point that you don’t have to read these books in order.  She does refer back to stories in previous books occasionally, but she always makes sure to give enough of the backstory that you’re not lost.

My only gripe (boring name aside) is that there isn’t anything more to read.  Amy Dacyczyn has retired, and is no longer producing newsletters, books, or even a simple blog. Others have tried to fill the gap by producing their own books and blogs, but none of them are as good as The Frugal Zealot.

Amy, we miss ya.

5 out of 5 stars

Hava

I picked up Living Well on a Shoestring: 1,501 Ingenious Ways to Spend Less and Have More by Yankee Magazine on a whim.  I tend to like “how to live thrifty” books, and am always looking for a new money saving tip.  I’ve already reviewed America’s Cheapest Family and I have several similar books in the queue.

Well, this thrifty living book left me with mixed feelings.  I would read an entire section where there wasn’t a single new idea that I hadn’t heard before, and then the next section I would read a tip or two that I think, “Well, I wouldn’t necessarily do that myself, but at least it is new idea.”  Overall, there just wasn’t much originality to the book.

Then there was a tip that was completely and utterly wrong.  It was in the getting-out-of-debt section, and it advised the following:

Do you have a credit card that has gotten out of hand, and you have to struggle to pay even the minimum balance every month?  Do yourself a favor: Cancel the card immediately.  That way, you can’t make new charges while you’re getting the balance under control. Living Well, page 28

Warning!  Warning!  Warning!  Do NOT, any ANY circumstances, follow the above advice!  Once you cancel a card, the credit card company has exactly zero reasons to work with you.  It makes your credit report look even worse than it already is, and your credit score will drop.  Your interest rate will likely zoom up into the stratosphere because, again, the credit card company has no reason not to twerk you off.  In fact, they’ll kinda want to because they want that money back so they can lend that money out to other people who will borrow it over and over again.  You, however, are officially no fun: You’re never going to borrow anymore money from them.  Why play nice?

So that part made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.  Then there was the section about saving money, where the tip was to assign each household chore a specific monetary value that you would’ve had to pay a housecleaner in order for it to be done, and then pay yourself that amount.  No, wait: It gets even better.  They said to put the money in a savings account instead of spending it - that way, you’ll have a nice fat savings account, and a clean house!

Yeah…Not so much.  If I could afford to pay a cleaning woman to clean my house A) I would and B) Why would I be reading this book?  And even if I did, do you honestly think I’d have the self control to clean my house, give myself money for cleaning, and then not spend that money?  Not a chance, Sunshine, not a chance.  But it wasn’t just cleaning the house - they suggested doing the same thing for mowing your lawn, repairing household appliances, and other chores like that.  I wasn’t impressed.

There were a few ideas scattered in there that I hadn’t heard before, but overall, it was a recycling of the same generic tips you hear everywhere, not to mention a few tips that completely led you astray, and more tips than I care to think about that just left me scratching my head.

I just can’t give Living Well higher than 2.75 out of 5 stars.  It was a disappointment - there are better books out there on this subject.  I’ll be reviewing a favorite of mine, The Tightwad Gazette, later on.  Watch for that.

Havs

PS Looking for some thrifty tips?  Be sure to visit A Frugal Mom here at Today - she’s got a great blog packed with good ideas.

I checked Sprinklers and Drip Systems by Sunset Books out of the library because my husband and I are looking at putting in a sprinkler system this summer, and I figured that I should study up so I knew what the sprinkler installation man was talking about when he explained our options to us. I was pleasantly surprised by how readable this book was, and yet it still managed to be chockful of information.

I’m not the world’s most mechanically inclined person (hahaha!!!!!  On a good day, I might be able to tell you where the engine in my truck is at!) but even for a dummy like me, this book made sense.  I’m not exactly ready to go out and install a sprinkler system myself, but I think for any readers who are fairly confident in their handyman skills but haven’t actually installed a sprinkler system before, they would be able to read this book and gain enough information to install a sprinkler system without having to pay someone to do the work for them.

If you’re wanting a brush up on sprinkler systems, and like big pictures that are clearly labeled, plus step-by-step instructions that actually make sense, then you’ll love this book.  Installing a sprinkler system is something a homeowner could do on their own and save themselves hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in labor costs.  The $12.95 for this book is worth it, or even better: Check it out from your local library!

Warning: It is definitely geared towards beginners, so if you’re the owner of a sprinkler installation company and you’re wanting an advanced book covering things only a sprinkler installation owner would want to know about then this is NOT the book for you.  For the average homeowner who hasn’t installed a system before and wants some handholding, this book is a godsend.

Oh, and while we’re on the topic of gardening and lawn work, I don’t know how much wandering around my readers have done here at Today, but in case y’all missed it, there is a great gardening blog here at Today.com - In the Garden, written by my friend Teresa.  Definitely worth a visit!

I give Sprinklers and Drip Systems 4.75 out of 5 stars.

Havs

America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money by Steven and Annette Economides is a good book to pick up if you’re looking for inspiration on how to live cheaply but well.  The Economides (yes, that really is their last name!) are cheapskates, and proud of it.  Yet they come across as being fairly normal, if a bit over-organized.  They go grocery shopping once a month, period.  No, they don’t even go by to “pick up the milk” or “grab a loaf of bread.”  They buy gallons of milk, pour a little off the top, and freeze it.  They buy bread by the bagful, and freeze those too.  I don’t think I’ll ever be as organized as they are. Ever.

They produce a bimonthly newsletter, The HomeEconomiser, which is where the bulk of the information for the book came from.  I haven’t subscribed to that newsletter, so I can’t say myself that it’s a good idea to sign up for it, but if it’s anything like the book, I would think it would be worth the while, especially if you need ongoing support to keep your focus on your goal of living below your means (or at least paying off your debt).

But still, it was an interesting book, and had quite a few good suggestions on how to tighten your belt.  A lot of it was the same that you’d hear in other tightwad books (shop with coupons, don’t buy on impulse, shop around for the best deal, etc - standard fare for financial books like this) but there were some real nuggets of helpful information buried in there.  The most interesting part to me was seeing how the family as a whole operated.  There is a picture on the front of the whole family, and their input is scattered throughout from the kids.  The parents, of course, are the authors.  Many of the financial books out there come from the mother’s point of view (I’m not sure why that is - perhaps because the moms are trying to stay home and raise the kids, so they’re the ones who have the time to streeeeetch their money as far as it can go…?) so it was fun to read this one that was basically from the everyone’s point of view.

If you’re new to saving money and trying to live below your means, this might be a good book to pick up, for a broad overview of how to do be a better tightwad. If you’ve already read every book out there on saving money and making every penny count, there probably won’t be enough new stuff in here to make it worth the read.

And if you’re on the hunt for budgeting or finance tips, we’ve got several great websites here at Today.com that cover that subject: Counting Pennies and Frugal Living.  Be sure to check them out!

I give America’s Cheapest Family 4 out of 5 stars.

Havs