The Useful Book

"Master everyday tasks and take on a variety of projects and repairs around the house [with] this DIY encyclopedia" (The Buffalo News).

A modern and energetically designed reference with everything you need to know to roll up your sleeves and cook it, build it, sew it, clean it, or repair it yourself. In other words, everything you would have learned from your shop and home ec teachers, if you'd had them.

The Useful Book features 138 practical projects and how-tos, with step-by-step instructions and illustrations, relevant charts, sidebars, lists, and handy toolboxes. There's a kitchen crash course, including the must-haves for a well-stocked pantry; how to boil an egg (and peel it frustration-free); how to grill, steam, sauté, and roast vegetables. There's Sewing 101, plus how to fold a fitted sheet, tie a tie, mop a floor, make a bed, and set the table for a formal dinner.


Next up: a twenty-first-century shop class. The tools that everyone should have, and dozens of cool projects that teach fundamental techniques. Practice measuring, cutting, and nailing by building a birdhouse. Make a bookshelf or a riveted metal picture frame. Plus: do-it-yourself plumbing; car repair basics; and home maintenance, from priming and painting to refinishing wood floors.


"Married couple Sharon Bowers and David Bowers serve as mom-and-pop guides through the never-ending task of housekeeping in this handy book of how-tos . . . Readers learning to live on their own will want to have this book on hand." —Publishers Weekly

"Anyone who studiously read the book cover to cover would become the paragon jack of all trades."—Arkansas Democrat Gazette