The Cottage Book: A Collection of Practical Advice

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

The subjects covered in this collection of essays are wide-ranging:
identifying poison ivy, scraping paint, selecting a sunscreen lotion,
cooking with blueberries, and building a boat are only a sampling. If it
has to do with cottage life, chances are it’s mentioned here. Repair,
maintenance, recreation, and safety are covered.

The work is intended as a one-source reference for cottage owners.
Think of it as the combined wisdom of the local general-cum-hardware
store owner and your Uncle Harry captured in a book, and you get the
idea. It will see you through such diverse challenges as choosing
treated lumber for a deck, surviving blackfly season, understanding
board games, interpreting a loon’s call, preventing frozen pipes,
learning to love bats, starting an outboard motor . . . the list of over
60 topics is all-encompassing.

The essays, although from a variety of sources, have enough similarity
in style and approach to give the work cohesiveness. A generous
sprinkling of full-color photos make it attractive and assure it a place
on the winter reading list for all those folks waiting impatiently for
the annual ritual of opening the cottage.