[Cob] cob books

[Jilly]

Alison, 

Try this link for a bookstore that deals with natural / alternative building. The Dirt Cheap Bookstore

http://store.yahoo.com/dirtcheapbuilderbooks/adandearbuil.html

There is also some "cob history" online. Do you want a list of cob links? 

I actually found Barnes & Noble to be my favorite spot. I can read the books all day long, in a big comfy chair, sipping coffee. I can even order books they don't have in stock, and still don't have to buy until I want to. 

The best books are probably from the leaders of cob (in the US anyway):  Ivanto Evans, Michael Smith, Linda Smiley and Becky Bee. Two books of which are at my local library. 
I would suggest starting with "The Hand Sculpted House" and "The Cob Handbook". 

Once I began to "eat up" all that information, I began to explore all different sources. I have a copy of "Places of the Soul" which talks about making spaces to live in, rather than "the storage of people". I got that book for like, $4. used, from Amazon.com

http://www.webcom.com/penina/spirit-and-place/

I also have books like, "French Farmhouses and Cottages" since many are cob built - and VERY old, which are still inhabited. 

I also had the wonderful opportunity to go see a cob house. It is for sale, and very well done. Walls are where I wouldn't think they would be, or in shapes I hadn't considered. It helped me to start thinking out of the box. 

jill