The Useful Book

April 4, 2016
Married couple Sharon Bowers (Candy Construction) and David Bowers (Dad’s Own Housekeeping Book) serve as mom-and-pop guides through the never-ending task of housekeeping in this handy book of how-tos. Organized as a reference guide, the book is divided into two sections, “Home Ec” and “Shop.” The 201 projects start with, of course, how to boil water. “Home Ec” includes all things lemon (zesting, juicing, wedging, and making ade), and “Shop” covers constructing doghouses and birdhouses. Projects in the first section register as much simpler than the ones in the second section; vacuuming does not offer the same challenge as replacing a windowpane. Sometimes the Bowerses recommend a gadget or a professional, but generally they encourage doing the project oneself. Their energetic, confident tone, softened with humor, supports specific directions and detailed illustrations, augmented with histories, hints (credit cards scrape ketchup off of white shirts), recipes, and facts (toilets flush in the key of E flat). Readers learning to live on their own will want to have this book on hand.

June 1, 2016

Did you miss taking home economics or shop during school? This husband and wife team, authors of several cooking books, here offer a wide selection of basic how-tos. The Home Ec section runs through cooking, sewing, laundry and cleaning, and a bit of etiquette. The Shop segment covers home repairs, simple woodworking and metalworking, plumbing, electrical, and vehicle repairs. The coverage of topics is not exhaustive and is sometimes quite random. While cooking is well represented, other topics appear more cursory. There are better options for basics of sewing, such as Tasia St. Germaine's The Sewtionary. For home maintenance and repair, the standard still is the Reader's Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual, which has superior instruction and illustrations. Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything: The Basics is a fantastic resource for beginning chefs. VERDICT This collection of life skills offers one-stop shopping for getting projects or tasks done for young adults launching out on their own. An optional acquisition.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
This bookbilled as an encyclopedia of DIYis for readers who ever wished they knew how to hem pants properly, clean a coffeemaker, or do a simple plumbing repair. The information is organized into sections, including Cooking, Domestic Arts, Woodworking & Metalworking, and Mechanical. All kinds of tasks are covered, from projects, such as hanging a light fixture and rotating tires, to life skills, such as packing a suitcase and polishing shoes. The layout is attractive and features simple illustrations. Most public libraries will want this for circulating collections as well as ready reference.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)