A good prepper never stops learning. Today, you may be able to rely on online resources such as websites and videos where you can quickly refresh your knowledge on certain topics such as gardening and home maintenance. However, when SHTF, the power grid and the internet itself will be at risk of going down, and these valuable resources will most likely not be accessible to you. This is why it’s important to maintain a survival library filled with books that teach prepping and survival skills.

Preppers, more than most people, need to know how to do a lot of things, from quickly and efficiently packing your bug-out bag to knowing how to preserve the deer you just hunted down with your firearm. A lot of the things you need to learn require a lot of reading. Here are some books you will need in your survival library. (h/t to TheSurvivalMom.com)

Cookbooks

There are tons of recipes you can look up on the internet. Entire websites are dedicated to laying out precisely what you need to do to make a delicious and healthy dish. But if the internet went down, your kitchen would need physical cookbooks, unless you would be willing to eat plain fried or baked foods until after the disaster. (Related: 10 Ugly truths about long-term power outages and how to deal with them.)

Gardening books

You can never have enough gardening books because there’s just so much you can learn. There will be books for everything, including books on which veggies you can grow in your apartment balcony, how different seeds need to be planted and how to grow food during hard times, to name just a few topics. If you aren’t a master gardener, keeping several gardening reference books in your library can be helpful for maintaining your garden.

Atlases

If you can’t look up online recipes while the power grid is down, the same goes for digital maps. Knowing how to get to and from different areas will be difficult, especially if you don’t have a firsthand knowledge of any given area. This is why you need a proper atlas. Consider getting a road atlas that includes your immediate area, to help you should you ever need to bug out.

First aid reference books

In a grid down scenario, there’s a chance that the emergency services network that people rely on for crime- and health-related emergencies also won’t be reliable. So, it’s up to you have basic knowledge of first aid skills. Survival medicine guidebooks can help you out on dealing with minor injuries and non-life threatening conditions.

Local plant, fish and wildlife reference books

A reference book of the plants in your area will tell you which ones are edible, which ones have medicinal properties and which ones will make you sick. A reference book that covers the local wildlife will help you live off the land and know where to fish and where to hunt.

Personal journals

Your mental health can deteriorate rapidly. One great way to avert a possible mental health crisis is to keep a journal where you can jot down what you did for that day and how you’re feeling. Journals can help you manage anxiety, reduce stress and even cope with depressive episodes.

Novels, comic books and poetry books

Living during a SHTF scenario is very stressful, and you will need items in your library that can help you unwind. A journal can help you manage your mental health, but novels, comics, poetry books and other books that you can read for leisure can help you relax and decompress during tough times. A few good novels and comic books can help keep you and family members of all ages entertained for long periods of time, especially if you read and enjoy your books together.

For more articles on how to prepare for disaster, head over to Disaster.news.

Sources include:

SurvivalBlog.com

TheSurvivalMom.com

UMC.Rochester.edu