(Part 3) Best home improvement & design books according to redditors

If you move the decimal over. This is about 1,000 in books...

(If I had to pick a few for 100 bucks: encyclopedia of country living, survival medicine, wilderness medicine, ball preservation, art of fermentation, a few mushroom and foraging books.)


Medical:

Where there is no doctor

Where there is no dentist

Emergency War Surgery

The survival medicine handbook

Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine

Special Operations Medical Handbook

Food Production

Mini Farming

encyclopedia of country living

square foot gardening

Seed Saving

Storey’s Raising Rabbits

Meat Rabbits

Aquaponics Gardening: Step By Step

Storey’s Chicken Book

Storey Dairy Goat

Storey Meat Goat

Storey Ducks

Storey’s Bees

Beekeepers Bible

bio-integrated farm

soil and water engineering

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation

Food Preservation and Cooking

Steve Rinella’s Large Game Processing

Steve Rinella’s Small Game

Ball Home Preservation

Charcuterie

Root Cellaring

Art of Natural Cheesemaking

Mastering Artesian Cheese Making

American Farmstead Cheesemaking

Joe Beef: Surviving Apocalypse

Wild Fermentation

Art of Fermentation

Nose to Tail

Artisan Sourdough

Designing Great Beers

The Joy of Home Distilling

Foraging

Southeast Foraging

Boletes

Mushrooms of Carolinas

Mushrooms of Southeastern United States

Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast


Tech

farm and workshop Welding

ultimate guide: plumbing

ultimate guide: wiring

ultimate guide: home repair

off grid solar

Woodworking

Timberframe Construction

Basic Lathework

How to Run A Lathe

Backyard Foundry

Sand Casting

Practical Casting

The Complete Metalsmith

Gears and Cutting Gears

Hardening Tempering and Heat Treatment

Machinery’s Handbook

How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic

Electronics For Inventors

Basic Science


Chemistry

Organic Chem

Understanding Basic Chemistry Through Problem Solving

Ham Radio

AARL Antenna Book

General Class Manual

Tech Class Manual


MISC

Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft

Contact!

Nuclear War Survival Skills

The Knowledge: How to rebuild civilization in the aftermath of a cataclysm

Oh, geez. Not Ana White. She doesn't know the first thing about joinery and her stuff is to woodworking as heating a can of spaghetti is to cooking. It is inadequate and doesn't teach you anything you need to know.

If you want to do some real woodworking, start with Tage Frid's books. Tage teaches you how to do real joinery both with hand and power tools. Traditional joinery is the difference between something left out for trash collection in a few years and a piece of furniture that gets used for 300 years. (Yes, well-made furniture will last that long or longer.) Screws and pocket jig stuff just doesn't hold up the way joinery techniques that have been used for hundreds of years will. Further, traditional joinery is not difficult and doesn't take much more time.

Second, learn about proportions and design. A good place to start is with the number Phi, also known as the Golden Section. There are other ways to proportion, but Phi always gives pleasing results. If you've never heard of 1.618 before, it's a little mind-blowing. You'll start seeing it everywhere.

Once you start sketching things out using Phi and using traditional joinery, you'll be making beautiful things that last for a very long time. Do not waste your time with crap. Make something wonderful that will still be in your family 200 years from now.

I've built about 10 homes.

Everyone has already given you the best advice which is to hire a gc to manage the project. Even if you hire a GC it would be a good idea to understand the process.

The book I always recommend is How to Design and Build Your Own Home by DiDonno and Sperling

General advice in random order.

• Most important. Hire an architect to draw up blue-prints. a $1000 change fee to plans may feel expensive, but it's cheaper than $10K during construction.
  
• Google and Youtube are not reliable sources of knowledge, there's too much variation in construction codes and methodology region to region. Go ahead and research, but don't think you know more than the trades.
  
• If you're interviewing trades and something about them doesn't feel kosher, don't hire them. Ask to see samples of their work. Get bids up front. Check the bids for accuracy. Get multiple bids. Ask them about their pricing.. (i.e. tile guy charges $4 sq. ft. for 12x12 porcelain plus $1 extra for a pattern)
  
• Find and review your city/county building codes
  
• Don't upgrade everything. Pick your battles. Before you start think of the most important room in the house for you. That's the only place to splurge. Everywhere else should be about solid but affordable choices.
  
• Create a project plan and budget. The budget comes directily from the blue prints, everything is priced by size (sq. ft., linear feat, etc.). The plan comes from the budget. Manage everything off of it. Plan should include lead times for ordering materials. A good trade will get annoyed if they show up and what they need isn't there. What they provide and what you provide should be written down in the bid.
  
• Trades clean up after themselves. Dirty worksites are dangerous and make it difficult to get work done.
  
• Even if a trades doesn't look it, or act it, they know more than you about their job. Treat them as a partner. Admit when you don't know and ask questions.
  
• When you mis-schedule something, be prepared to have the completion date slip a month as trades go to other jobs.
  
• Constructions sites are magnets for thieves. If you leave things unlocked then they will walk off. Thieves will steal roof shingles, appliances, tile.
  
  
  I don't live in any of the houses I built, so I'm uncomfortable posting pictures. I'll pm you a picture of the house I built for myself.

A 2001 NB Miata was my first car!

It's cheap to maintain and run, and very easy to work on if you intend to learn how to maintain a car. There's a ton of space in the engine bay and the regular maintenance parts are placed in easily accessible parts of the engine.

This book got me into wrenching my own car. The title is a bit misleading, the book is pretty much Miata Maintenance For Dummies with complete tool lists and step by step instructions on regular maintenance tasks, complete with pictures!

https://www.amazon.com/Mazda-Performance-Projects-Motorbooks-Workshop/dp/0760316201

The combination of this car and book completely redefined car ownership for me. Go for it.

Simplified Aircraft Design for Homebuilders https://www.amazon.com/dp/0972239707/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6M8PDbB99VQAQ

Welcome to the cult. How many miles do you have and what are your plans for the car at this point? I don't know how much you have gotten into it but may I recommend some books:

• My favorite shop manual
  
  
• General performance options info
  
  
• Optional, but general Miata information
  
  Also some useful websites (which you probably already know):
  
  
• Miata.net (especially the garage section)
  
  
• Some really useful information and budget minded tips
  
  
• My favorite performance parts supplier. Great service and help.
  
  I'm obviously a bit of a Flyin' Miata fan and a Tanner Buff.
  
  Be aware you are working with the lowest end of the miatas. We don't have the fancy engines and differentials of the 1.8s (94+) or the improved structural bits here and there (92+). With the age of the car I would suggest doing a suspension bushing change; poly sets are cheap, easy, and give you a nice feel. Maybe some structural stiffening to make it feel like new again. Other than that just make sure you are good on maintenance and have fun.

https://www.amazon.com/Wiring-Simplified-Based-National-Electrical/dp/099790531X

Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Wiring is an amazing book for Home Inspectors (and home owners) that explains all of residential electricity including service entrance conductors, sub panels, circuits, electrical converstion etc. Tons of pictures and diagrams.

I've really enjoyed "The Joy of Less" and "The life-changing magic of tidying up". I find that when I have less clutter IRL, my mind feels less cluttered and it's easier to stay focused on my goals.

Thank you!! We have 600 watts of solar on the roof (which is an obscene amount) and two 200 amp hour sealed lead acid batteries (these guys). Here's the inverter we have.. We basically have standard household appliances: we occasionally use a microwave, we have a toaster, and we have a regular cheapo minifridge. We chose to use our big ol' roof and some space for batteries rather than worrying too much about having the most efficient fridge. Most of the time, though, the solar powers our lights, laptops, and fridge. If you're curious, we found this book very helpful. It's very practical and easy to understand.

As far as the off-grid length:if the batteries have been fully charged on a regular basis, we can live our regular lives (using lights/plugging in laptops) for about three days with little to no sun. If we have good sun, the limiting factor is water. We have 80 gallons of water, and we've found between drinking, eating, washing dishes, and very occasionally ourselves, we can last about two weeks without refilling.

I want to encourage you and say your CPTSD won’t affecting your parenting and you providing her with love and security is enough, but I also don’t want to delude you into a false sense of security. To answer your question as to how I do it: Firstly, I put in a massive amount of effort everyday to keep myself grounded and mindful and conscious of how I’m acting/reacting towards my child. On top of that, I never let myself slip into depressive states. On top of that, I have learned to manage and control all of my triggers so that my emotional states never negatively affect my child.


One major element of CPTSD is that it is an attachment disorder. This attachment disorder WILL affect your ability to provide a consistent sense of safety and security to your little one unless you learn how to manage and counteract those insecurities. Another element of CPTSD is that it causes you to develop a distrust/distaste for humans, and a desire to avoid human interaction. This will be absolutely detrimental to your child as he/she ages. All children rely on their parents to provide them with safe, healthy and consistent family and friends. It’s a very tiring and very difficult job, but it creates a ‘safety net’ of security on which your child can lean. How you interact with and value others will turn into how your child interacts with and values others. You will have to spend lots of time around other moms, letting your child play with their child. It’s a strain on you emotionally and mentally, but it’s necessary for healthy child development.


The best advice I can give you as a fellow parent with CPTSD is to start searching for a trauma psychologist and get an appointment scheduled ASAP. Of course anyone can recover from CPTSD without the aid of a psychologist, but when you add a child to the mix, quality and speed of recovery becomes a very important factor. Getting a psychologist to help you process your trauma and learn newer and better ways to do things will save you a lot of time and heartache. A psychologist will also teach you the importance of obtaining and maintaining friendships, and how to better manage all the triggers that parenting will bring up for you.

In the meantime, here is a short list of my all-time favorite parenting books. I’ve read probably hundreds of parenting books at this point: most are bad, a few are great. These are the best, most knowledgeable books I’ve found for ‘people like us’, at least in my opinion:

The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering our Children

ParentSpeak: What's Wrong with How We Talk to Our Children--and What to Say Instead

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind

The Parents We Mean To Be: How Well-Intentioned Adults Undermine Children's Moral and Emotional Development

The Attachment Parenting Book : A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby

No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind


Feel free to PM me anytime :)

I am a contractor. I have only seen one book from tumbleweed and was not impressed. This was years ago, so perhaps later editions improved, but the one I saw had almost no detail and certainly not anywhere near what a novice needed.

If you have no experience building, I'd suggest The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling. It has detailed photos and drawing.

If you're still interested in some construction books, Renovation is written for remodeling, but it has some really interesting work-arounds.

Try this book

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1305578295/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_L4yRzb3HM8Q59

If you can’t afford it, I can send you the digital version

Home:

• Don't iron. Ever. In fact, don't own an iron.
  
• Dry t-shirts in coat hangers (unless you have a dryer, obviously...). No folding required.
  
• Clean less often. Seriously. Simply vacuuming every once in a while will keep your place looking pretty spotless. There's no need to mop the floor every week unless you have pooping pets or pooping children.
  
• Declutter. Get rid of everything you don't need. I can recommend this book to help you get started.
  
  Groceries:
  
  
• Have them delivered if possible, depending on where you live. It's especially useful to have vegetable packs delivered. I'm quite fond of the "random fruit & veg" variety. It's basically a mix of everything. Sometimes recipes are included for lesser known vegetables (salsify anyone? om nom nom!).
  
  Edit: formatting fuckup

Do not bother getting copies of the old keys made. Plan on rekeying or replacing the locks the day you close. Even good people sometimes lose keys or lend one to somebody they shouldn't.

This brings me to the other must have: a basic tool set and one of those big books of home repairs. You may well eventually want to get a cordless drill/screwdriver; you'll be shocked how handy one can be.

Everyone else has said everything I could say and more so I'll recommend these two things:

• Buy a copy of Wiring Simplified. A section of the book goes into great detail about conduit and is well worth the (IMO, inexpensive) price of the book alone. Even if you don't touch a single wire in your home yourself the reference is invaluable as it will help you have informed conversations with your contractor.
  
  
• Make sure there is some form of conduit running from the termination point (usually the utility room) to the attic space. Codes will probably require this conduit to be sealed or fireproofed in some way but make sure this is a large diameter conduit. It will be incredibly difficult to predict all future scenarios where wire and data cabling will be needed. Having a conduit running to the attic will allow you to fish cabling to the attic and down through the interior walls into the rooms below.

Right here

refrigeration and technology







We pay for our books just like any college student, if she's serious about this trade and wanted to do it, this will probably be one of the cheapest yet most valuable item/tools she will buy.

Get this book. It is a month-to-month guide for the first year. Each month is only a couple of pages, really good helpful stuff.

Either one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Refrigeration-Conditioning-Technology-MindTap-Course/dp/1305578295/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526763783&sr=8-1&keywords=hvac+textbook

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Refrigeration-Air-Conditioning-Refridgeration/dp/1631263544/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1526763783&sr=8-16&keywords=hvac+textbook

If you want an analogical source, you might also consider Bachelard's The Poetics of Space. That should give you a few ideas about how to talk about social networks as a personal space. Also, I ran across this yesterday, which you could probably put to interesting use.

There are several books out there that should help you out with understanding home wiring. Here's one.

The main things you'll need to look into are how to add a circuit breaker and a completely new circuit, how to branch off an existing circuit, how much you're allowed to put on a single circuit, how to properly ground everything, and what kinds of wiring and outlets you should be using where (15A vs. 20A, which wire gauge to use, GFCI, etc). Those are just the things that come to mind, but when you're DIY wiring, it's important to read through a whole book like the one I linked and make sure you're completely comfortable and knowledgeable about the whole process and how everything works. Don't do anything until there's no question in your mind that you're doing it the right way.

There are two that I know of:
Sailplane Design

and

Light Airplane and Glider Dynamic Stability

I have the first and it's pretty detailed.

The Raymer books are fantastic, I've read the Homebuilt one cover to cover.

Everyone mentions local codes, but few actually read them. Even fewer are qualified to interpret them. Instead, they're repeating what they've been told by teachers, tradesmen, contractors, and (especially) inspectors, and what they've learned from reading other books and product manuals. It's also a catch-all for possible bad advice: "Check local codes" on /r/DIY is the equivalent of saying "I am not a lawyer" or "check with your doctor".

If you have a strong opinion on something and have been told "it's required by/against code" and want to go look it up, have at it and good luck.

If you want to do a project and make sure it complies with local code, I suggest getting reference materials instead of the original code. Buy a copy of, for example, Wiring Simplified to learn how to do wiring that's compliant with code (that's one I've personally used, it was pretty good). Let an expert read the legalese and translate it into how you ought to implement it.

From this book, each 1 degree increase over 60F is about a 1 second increase in pace, amplified by humidity and direct sunlight.

You should really check out some of Dr. William Sears' books. He is a pediatrician and author with something like 9 kids. He has written lots of books on parenting and is a huge advocate of attachment parenting, co-sleeping (what he calls "sharing sleep"), breast feeding, and baby wearing.

He certainly has the credentials to back up what he is saying, so if you are interested in co-sleeping and attachment parenting I'd check him out.

The Baby Book.

The Attachment Parenting Book.

A little unconventional, but since many games (especially heavily narrative ones) are concerned with the construction of spaces, I'd really recommend Bachelard's The Poetics of Space. It's a really excellent, poetic breakdown of the meaning and psychology of many of the spaces we inhabit, and it'll really help you unlock a new dimension of the spaces you're creating.

Here you go - How to live out of a van.

I haven't lived in the city for a while now so I'm not up on groups but someone here will certainly chime in. There must a ton of speed workouts online. The first training book I bought, which I still refer to as 'the bible' was written by a husband and wife team who ran (run?) running groups in the city: this one.

I like it because they offer a lot of practical advice to new racers. My $.02.

edit, ran, past tense: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/sports/after-37-years-of-guiding-new-york-runners-ready-for-a-new-path.html

Vanabode:

http://www.vanabode.com

Bob Wells' vandwelling book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1479215899

if you live in the USA is the best guide I have found to learn from zero. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1600852467/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

also, any Books or Videos from Larry Haun, that guys is fantastic.

I really recommend the video series of how to frame a house. is 3 parts of one hour each but you will watch a master working and taking the time to describe what you as new, need to learn.

I would strongly recommend doing some reading on the subject. Not knowing your background, I would recommend the following books: Simplified Aircraft Design for Homebuilders, Kit Airplane Construction and Flight Testing Homebuilt Aircraft. Those definitely aren't comprehensive, but it'll give you a good start towards helping you decide if this is something you really want to pursue.

Depending on the complexity of the task, don't discount the possibility that you can tackle this yourself. Home Depot sells an awesome book called "Wiring 1-2-3" which has a ton of useful information. I used it to teach myself how to do some minor work, and eventually to take on larger jobs like installing new lights and receptacles and even whole new circuits. It's really not rocket science.

At this point, I've re-wired about 75% of my house. That one book has probably saved me thousands of dollars.

I'm a visual person, so I found this very helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Your-House-Works-Understanding-ebook/dp/B007U91PBC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

But, the pictures in the Kindle version aren't very big. I had trouble on my 5" phone screen. Otherwise, its really helpful for the big picture stuff over just following step by step instructions, especially with plumbing.

Check this out too:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ROI4JO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3VF06KPXKETLC&coliid=I3P2VUHQUZG5SC

Graphic Guide to Frame Construction.

I love this book. It has great tips, structures, methods, and detailed pictures to show how to accomplish what you're looking for. Also mentions code requirements. In the link above, it goes to the third edition, which is what I own.

I haven't actually used it that much on jobs because I've gone union and work mostly commercial jobs, but I've used it on some other projects for straight framing and it was great.

Here is a link for the fourth edition.

It's kind of cheesy, but I have been really happy with books like this and this and this and this.

I recommend checking out The Competitive Runner's Handbook
( http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Runners-Handbook-Bestselling-Marathons/dp/0140469907 ) - no affiliate link.

Bob Glover basically covers running from start to finish. He talks in depth about side stitches (and seemingly everything else), and his strategy is just to power through them.

The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard


>"Sometimes the house of the future is better built, lighter and larger than all the houses of the past, so that the image of the dream house is opposed to that of the childhood home…. Maybe it is a good thing for us to keep a few dreams of a house that we shall live in later, always later, so much later, in fact, that we shall not have time to achieve it. For a house that was final, one that stood in symmetrical relation to the house we were born in, would lead to thoughts—serious, sad thoughts—and not to dreams. It is better to live in a state of impermanence than in one of finality."
—Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space


I read it front to back and it is a pretty easy read. I have used something I learned from this reading in many of my projects.

When and how should I increase my distance? Running about 20 miles a week. 5 miles 4 days a week. I'd like to keep increasing my distance and run further.

Also any books you recommend? I currently I have the jack daniels formula but it may not be the best book for beginners as there's a lot more running science than I probably need as a beginner.

There's a book my mom recommended by Bob Glover called The Competitive Runner's Handbook: The Bestselling Guide to Running 5Ks through Marathons

Try this: Graphic Guide to Frame Construction

Sure. It's a muddy subject where the judge/jury has the discretion to decide if the amount of force was necessary. I tried to find a snippet from this article to copy and paste but I can't find anything succinct enough. It's very well written and researched, and it covers Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground too.


http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/precaution-the-legal-concept-you-must-understand


He references this book by Massad Ayoob, who is an expert on the subject.


> "After forty years as a practicing criminal defense attorney, I know that what Mas says, teaches, and writes is the best, state-of-the-art knowledge you can get." ~Jeff Weiner, Former President, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Graphic Guide to Frame Construction: Fourth Edition, Revised and Updated (For Pros by Pros) https://www.amazon.com/dp/163186372X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ss0PybXCJ47XE

For Pros by Pros: Graphic Guide to Interior Details https://www.amazon.com/dp/1561583243/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ht0PybMDW6TPZ

All the basics

https://www.corneredcat.com/contents/

A bit more advanced (in the armed self-defender context)

https://www.integratedskillsgroup.com/blog/guns-of-isg-handgun
Straight Talk on Armed Defense: What the Experts Want You to Know


Know the Law
The Law of Self Defense, 3rd Edition

Deadly Force - Understanding Your Right To Self Defense

It is very common for a do-it-yourself homebuilder, or a general contractor, to field out certain things to specialist tradesmen subcontractors. Plumbing and electrical are two of the top ones. The consequences for getting something wrong are ugly. Some learning experiences in electrical & plumbing will kill you, some will destroy the house. Mostly they'll just fail you inspections and cause expensive delays.

With that said:

https://www.amazon.com/Wiring-1-2-3-Home-Depot/dp/069621184X

https://www.amazon.com/Plumbing-1-2-3-Home-Depot/dp/0696211866

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Installations-Step-Step/dp/1580117872/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V2VSFZ9JMRW52TBPSD7H

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Step-Step-Date/dp/1580117880/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CK25R1N4EEQA5ANMTZ5Y

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Complete-Wiring-Updated/dp/0760353573/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V2VSFZ9JMRW52TBPSD7H

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Complete-Guide-Plumbing/dp/1591866367/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1542590935&sr=1-1&keywords=black+decker+plumbing

Amazon Link

It's Mazda Miata MX-5 Performance Projects by Keith Tanner, who works for Flyin' Miata. He's one of the most knowledgeable people out there when it comes to Miatae. If you're looking for a good time waster his website has lots of good photos and documentation of all of his projects: Slow Car Fast

I will say that the book has a good amount of general information, but because it is written to cover multiple revisions of the car it can be a bit difficult to follow at times.

Skills? Brazing (with nitro trickle), flaring, bending pipe(which you should know already) reading a pressure temp chart, using a four hose manifold. How to recover refer, pull a vacuum, purge with nitro, use a fill scale.

Those are some basic mechanical skills. There’s sooo much more to know. Hopefully you’re familiar with the vapor compression cycle.

I’d pick up this text book . My instructor’s instructor helped write it.

These are good:

https://www.amazon.com/Wiring-House-Completely-Revised-Updated/dp/162710674X

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Installations-Step-Step/dp/1580117872

https://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-DIY-Guide-Electrical-Wiring/dp/0071844759

Actually, Home Depot has a decent book Wiring 1-2-3. It’s a good place to start and it explains the concepts and why you have to do a lot of required things.

As far as YouTube goes, my favourite channel is HouseImprovements. The dude on there is Canadian, but he has great videos, showing things like how to wire a switch, how to pull cable etc. Being Canadian, they have a slightly different code than the NEC. But it’s good for learning technique and tips.

Those would be my suggestions for learning about house wiring.

The best tip is to make buddies with sparky that likes to drink beer. That’s what I do. I do all the grunt work, running cables, terminations, switches and outlets and then I bring my sparky buddy over to do QC for me. He looks when I’ve finished rough wiring, and again before drywall. And sometimes he will do the pane tie ins for me. I bring him over before I call the inspectors and it works great. Never had an issue with inspections, I get to learn how to do the work better and he gets free beer. Everyone wins.

This is an excellent book, it's periodically updated and reissued but my version from college is still valid, so you could probably find a used copy: https://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Guide-Frame-Construction-Revised/dp/163186372X/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Ignore the advice from that poster. This is incorrect. Black and Decker has an extremely good book for reference. Goes into detail for how to do common electrical jobs and the reasoning behind choices.

My husband just let me know that the same author wrote The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year. This may be more of what you are looking for. While Expectant Father is awesome it's more about pregnancy and labor from what I understand while this one is obviously about your baby's first year. Sorry if you unnecessarily bought the first one!

This might have some good resources.

Can't vouch for it as I haven't read it, but Dr. Sears' book

http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Aircraft-Design-Homebuilders-Daniel/dp/0972239707/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311921232&sr=8-2

Goodluck with the recovery

I found a fantastic book a few years back in a second-hand store titled How to Design and Build Your Own House. If this is what you're interested then I highly recommend that you find a copy. It takes you through every part of the process, from finding a piece of land to laying out floorplans, to physically assembling the structure. It provides standard builder's formulas and explains how to look up local building codes, gives advice on how to take the best advantage of your location, and even contains some of the best descriptions of basic structural analysis I've ever read. It was written in the seventies, so you do have to keep that in mind, but the important stuff hasn't changed.

The book on Amazon.

I love this book: Tage Frid Woodworking Book I: Joinery

He really goes start to finish and step by step for all different types of joints. $5 used on Amazon

You may find this helpful: How to Design and Build Your Own House

Will Prowse is a youtuber who has written a book about solar for vehicles. HERE is the link to his book.

A link to another Reddit thread is not exactly authoritative. This smells like the kind of FUD electricians sometimes use to drum up extra business from unsuspecting homeowners. Link directly to a manufacturers data sheet or some other very authoritative source and I might believe it, but I have learned a long time ago that a lot of electricians are either dishonest or incompetent (I have seen "licensed electricians" do some really boneheaded things, like not hooking up the ground wires inside a secondary breaker box. In that particular case, his excuse was he meant to do it, but forgot!).

So if your source is some electrician's site or some electrician's trade group, I will give those sources about zero credibility, half the time all they want to do is sell homeowners stuff they don't need. Not that a breaker can't go bad after two or three uses, in fact they can be bad when brand new, but that is certainly not a normal thing. Electrical inspectors sometimes test breakers using a device that momentarily shorts the line, are they reducing the breaker life by a third when doing that? I don't think so.

P.S. Every homeowner in the USA would do themselves a big favor if they got the book "Wiring Simplified: Based on the 2017 National Electrical Code®" - it's been around for over 80 years but is updated with each revision of the NEC. I bought a copy of a much earllier version at W.T. Grant's when I was about 10 years old and read the whole thing cover to cover, and was fascinated by it (yeah, I was a strange kid). It explains electrical wiring in a way that any handy person can understand. Even if you don't feel confident enough to do some of your own wiring (or your local codes don't allow it), at least you will have some idea of what an electrician is doing and whether they have done the job right. Most booksellers should have it, Amazon's link is at https://www.amazon.com/Wiring-Simplified-Based-National-Electrical/dp/099790531X/

This is great! Good job! I also am doing the same thing, I have taken out about 2square meters of stuff ( donated, gave and trash.) I am reading The Joy of Less and reading this sub's content as much as I can. I love how I am getting more streamlined. One thing I like about that book is she talks about getting quality. One in One out. So you slowly have less but better things. Less books, but better books, less shirts but better shirts. I enjoy that a whole lot!

All my planes are Stanleys picked up off ebay. I think I learned the most from this book by chris Schwarz and the books by Tage Frid. I just went to a Lie-Nielsen handtool event, and only tried one plane - I quickly put it down and went to something else. They're wonderful, but I really can't afford them right now.

Check out all Will Prowse's vids on YouTube.
He is a bit of a guru on this stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/user/errolprowse

He also has a book on Amazon ->
"Mobile Solar Power made easy"

https://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Solar-Power-Made-yourself-ebook/dp/B0716WGW59/ref=sr_1_1

Does he have a toolkit that's in working order? Does he collect honey?

Perhaps something along the DIY/building theme. There are some good books like this that could be useful

> I am having a very tough time getting a reputable website with good information

Michigan Penal Code: MCL Act 328 of 1931

> hold it in my hand pointed at the ground, in hopes they will decide it's not worth it and leave me be?

> so I am open carrying as a deterrent?

Can you articulate how these acts represent "self-defense" and is not displaying in a threatening manner, nor intended to induce fear in another person??



> MCL 750.234e: (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person shall not willfully and knowingly brandish a firearm in public.


> (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to either of the following:

>>(a) A peace officer lawfully performing his or her duties as a peace officer.

>>(b) A person lawfully acting in self-defense or defense of another under the self-defense act, 2006 PA 309, MCL 780.971 to 780.974.



> MCL 750.222(c): (c) "Brandish" means to point, wave about, or display in a threatening manner with the intent to induce fear in another person.

Can you articulate how the situations you describe (beating a shovel on the ground, or you being a smaller person picked on by somebody wanting to fight) represents "self defense" as described by the MI Self-Defense Act?

> MCL 780.972: (1) An individual who has not or is not engaged in the commission of a crime at the time he or she uses deadly force may use deadly force against another individual anywhere he or she has the legal right to be with no duty to retreat if either of the following applies:

>>(a) The individual honestly and reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent the imminent death of or imminent great bodily harm to himself or herself or to another individual.

>>(b) The individual honestly and reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent the imminent sexual assault of himself or herself or of another individual.

I highly recommend reading Andrew Branca's Law of Self-Defense book ($10 for Kindle version!) or/and Massad Ayoob's Deadly Force book ($11 Kindle) for an more in-depth exploration of the principles. Branca also does a state-by-state statute breakdown.

Here are some of the books that I learned a lot from:

General Knowledge

Plumbing

Electrical

Additions (I don’t like this book as much as the rest as far as individual tasks go, but it’s value comes from teaching more about project management than anything else)

Framing

There’s a couple more that I can’t remember the names of right now, I’ll see if I can find them this weekend and make a post for other diyers

These aren’t really books for pros (except for The Very Efficient Carpenter), but I’ve found they’re very good guides for diyers. They’re what got me started, and I think I’ve reached a pretty high skill level with their help

Tage Frid Teaches woodworking Book I: Joinery

Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking, Books 1,2,3: Joinery; Shaping, Veneering, Finishing; Furniture making

The Joy of Less. Its not a very good book i think. But its a good introduction to minimalist living.

A really great "all around" book is by Charlie Wing called The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling

https://www.amazon.com/Wiring-1-2-3-Home-Depot/dp/069621184X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501101558&sr=8-1&keywords=wiring+1-2-3

This is a decent start.

Seconded, and I also enjoyed The New Father - A Dad's Guide to the First Year. I liked the timeline approach and particularly the tips about what's going on with Mom along the way.

miata book 1

miata book 2

i really dont think you should get him any mods/parts

The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton

In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki

The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard

http://www.amazon.com/How-Live-In-Car-Van/dp/1479215899

Good quick book.

I bought [The Baby Book] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Baby-Book-Revised-Edition/dp/0316198269) before I even started trying to conceive with my first, just on a whim, having never heard of Attachement Parenting and everything clicked. It's a great resource on babies in general, but from a gentle, AP perspective. I'd recommend this book for ANY expecting parents, honestly.

[The Attachment Parenting Book] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Attachment-Parenting-Book-Understanding/dp/0316778095/ref=pd_sim_b_9?ie=UTF8&refRID=0WC7WNX0VS1BQNCQTK5F) contains a lot of the same information, but with some additional resources, and if I recall it goes into slightly more detail.

I'd also highly recommend [Attached at the Heart] (http://www.amazon.com/Attached-Heart-Parenting-Principles-Compassionate/dp/0757317456/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JWRN280KQTRGGP6NH0M) as an excellent resource for new moms who want to practice AP.

As for other resources, I belong to a lot of AP and gentle parenting groups on facebook which, while sometimes overly preachy or cloying, often offer great blog posts or affirmations to mull over. Even when I'm super busy with kids and life, I can usually spend five minutes to read a facebook post and often that's all I need to recenter myself and keep myself focused on my parenting goals.

How would it differ from the books that have already covered this topic? a good solid example: https://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Car-Van-RV/dp/1479215899/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500865229&sr=1-1&keywords=Bob+Wells