The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn (1993, Book, Illustrated)

Tightwad Gazette By Amy Dacyczyn (pronounced Decision) Published in 1993.
I LOVED this book when I read it the first time. I have enjoyed re-reading it a number of times since. I have loaned it to friends and given it as a gift more than once. I remember when it came out and I got a copy same day it arrived at my local book store. I sat and read almost the whole book that first evening. Funny, smart, entertaining, educational, and a great read too.

Amy writes with rich, contagious humor that makes you feel like you could go into her home anytime of day and be welcomed with the familiar smile of an old friend. I found her style made me feel like I knew her, and knew her well.

She also seemed to me to approach life with the skill of an engineer. For example, she took the time figure out what the basic recipes were for things like plain muffins. So she would compile these painstaking, detailed charts on dozens of muffin or oatmeal cookie recipes, (or whatever she wanted to break down to the most basic ingredients). Then she compared all of them until she arrived at the common tread that made up the basic formula. I don't think it would have occurred to me to think there was a basic way to make a plain muffin. I mean, who would think that there might actually be, not simply A way, but The Way to make a basic muffin? And yet, it was so logical when she pointed it out that I used her muffin model to find "basic" for a number of things over the years after that.

I suppose I have always had the heart of a tightwad. It was just the way my family was. We grew up hearing "waste not, want not" and I guess believed that to be the true basis for a life without want. So it was just such a nice feeling to find out about someone who was so totally, 100% into being a tightwad and was a success at it.

If you have even one tiny cell of tightwad in you, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Tightwad Gazette. You'll be glad you did.

Oh and by the way, she followed the first book with others. If you are like me, you will want to own the whole series. Enjoy!