Brave Old World, by Tom Hodgkinson

For those who still believe The Idler is about laziness, it may come as a surprise to learn that Idler editor and Ecologist columnist Tom Hodgkinson has written a book about his experiences of running a smallholding. All that digging, mucking out animals and chopping wood sounds suspiciously like hard work. But since the Idler philosophy isn’t about avoiding work per se – rather dodging meaningless toil – it makes sense of a sort. It’s about freedom rather than wage-slavery, creative thrift instead of mindless drudgery, and self-reliance instead of helpless consumerism.