Literature for the New Depression

Yeah, I know, the economy is fundamentally sound. And only the doom-and-gloomers among us are publicly declaring this to be even a recession, let alone the dreaded "D" word, but it still can't hurt to be prepared, right? So here are a few books to enjoy by candle light (after your power's been shut off) or by the fire in your hobo camp:

• The Grapes of Wrath. Duh. (By the way, we're having a reading circle event hosted by our fabulous buyer Sherri tomorrow night. Come talk about the Dust Bowl and California and banning books.)
• How to Cook a Wolf. MFK Fisher is the godmother of foodie literature, and this is her classic treatise on cooking during wartime shortages. It should still work during the depression, too. And imagine how easy it will be to cook that wolf after you've shot it from an airplane.
• The Worst Hard Time. Timothy Egan won the 2006 National Book Award for this history of the Dust Bowl years.
• Don't Throw It Out and Homemade. In the new economy, you'll have no money to buy anything new. These two books will help you make your own everything - from cleaning products to pet food to lotion - and reuse the stuff you've already got. This is one of the hidden benefits of complete economic apocalypse: Not an environmentalist before? You are one now.
• The 99¢ Only Stores Cookbook. This is your Whole Foods now.
• Apocalypse How: Turning the End of Times into the Best of Times. This book contains handy "to-hoard" lists, a guide to dating if you discover you are the last man on earth, and much more.

Now you have something to do while waiting in the breadline or recovering from a recent rock fight with the roving gangs of looters.