Help Needed for Book Summaries

I really would like to get some help with writing book summaries like this one and DVD summary like this one.

What I ask though is that you send it to me and I post it, so if we need to change it later, I can just edit it.

Right now I made "ghost" summaries for some books and I would really like it if someone could add meat to them: Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier, Edible Forest Gardens Volume 1 and 2 by Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier, Weekend Homesteader eBook Series by Anna Hess, The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency by Anna Hess,

For the upcoming promotions and past podcasts there should be a thread. Right now I can think of the following books and DVD that would need a summary:

Hands On Agronomy DVD

Creating a Life Together by Diana Leafe Christian

Restoration Agriculture by Mark Shepard

The Secret of Soil by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird

And that is only what I can think of in the moment. I mean, there are all the DVDs and books that Paul has reviewed (minus Gaia's Garden on which Cassie Rauk is currently working) or talked about in his podcast. The list is huge, I don't own all of those books/DVDs and I simply don't have enough time in one day to do them all. So some help would definitely be appreciated.

This is something that I feel like I could help out with but... I'm broke as a joke and can't afford the books/dvds at this time. One other thought I had was to perhaps try and summarize some of the more lengthy threads so that it's not such a chore for people to search through.

For example, the Hugelkulture section has a LOT of repeat info. How many times do we need to ask "can I use _______ wood for hugelkulture?" The answer is always "Yes, with some caveat." A well written, post or FAQ that is pinned to the top of that thread might help to clean up some of the clutter and provide a launching pad for perhaps a deeper discussion below.

Paul has the Article and the videos which are great, but if the same questions keep coming up, either people aren't reading/watching OR they aren't getting the info they need. The result is some 30 pages of often repetitive discussion on something that should be a very simple concept. Is it possible to do something like that or am I off my rocker?

Does anyone want to send me books? New or used. I'd return them to the owner once I'm done.

i second the above comment. i am curious about the wiki page at permies. is this going to be opened?

i too volunteer for writing some book reviews, though i would need a copy of the books.

Hi, I was sent an email some time back that I won a copy of The Weekend Homesteader, but after providing my home address, no further contact.

I would be happy to summarize the book once I get my hands on it! What you've got so far looks very good--I suppose you're looking for a block of text describing the book for those who are not on high-speed internet? I think I could do that.

Hopefully it will go faster than Gaia's Garden--I've been working on that for over a month. I can read a 200 page novel in 2 hours (fluffy bestseller, not anything complex) but pondering all the charts and illustrations, and figuring how it my apply to my own land, has slowed me down with Toby's book.

These DVD/books are the most urgent ones. You can do summaries on any permaculture/homesteading books you own. For instance, Cassie Rauk did one on the Beekeepers Bible that she owned.

We don't really have the resources (time or money) to send books around for summaries at this time. I need something that people will say: "I'll do this one", they do it and I can post it. Very little work on my part and I can concentrate on other pressing matters for the Empire (insert The Empire Strikes Back theme here).

Dale Bunger just volunteered to do the summary for Restoration Agriculture by Mark Shepard.

I will do the weekend homesteader: a twelve month guide to self sufficiency by Anna Hess. Give me two weeks if you would.
Tom reeve.

Thanks Tom,

let me know when you are done.

This is a great topic. Normally this is something I would do, but at the moment, I am indisposed.
However, I will definitely keep it in mind for the future.
My frugal source for books: why, the library, of course! (one of my very best friends!)
Cheers,
Fran
ummm... what is the link to the posted summaries, btw?

I'll be traveling next week, and sitting in a hotel room is really boring. I'll read Creating a Life Together... by Diana Leafe Christian, if you will send me a "ghost summary" for that one. I haven't summarized many books, but I write technical documentation for work, so I think I'm up to the task.

Brian,

here is the ghost summary. Thanks for volunteering.