If you would be squeamish to read how pigs or turkeys are slaughtered, this may not be the book for you. But Farm City is a fascinating account of how a woman in an Oakland, CA ghetto turned a vacant lot next door into an urban garden.

Novella Carpenter ordered ducks, chicks and turkeys by catalogue, bought pigs at auction, and planted every fruit and vegetable imaginable in this plot of what started as a sea of weeds.  She used all parts of each vegetable and every section of her farm animals to make incredible meals for herself and neighbors. One month she vowed to live off what she produced or could barter for: she lost 20 lbs and gained profound insight into the cycle of life and the true meaning of the “farm to table” concept.

Carpenter’s mission was all-consuming, but along the way she built unlikely relationships and did unimaginable things (i.e. foraging for food in dumpsters to feed her livestock) in order to live off the land.

Tired of the typical beach read or Grisham thriller? This book may be an educational alternative.