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Shorter days and cooler temperatures are perfect for curling up in a warm, comfortable place with a new book. Here are some suggestions for books, in a variety of styles, that make me think of Fall: apples, families, comfort food, and home.
Room by Emma Donoghue
Like The Color Purple and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, this novel shocks the reader with a truly unique voice. It is told from the perspective of a 5-year-old boy named Jack. We come to realize very quickly in the opening pages that Jack and his mother are being held captive in a “room,” and the boy has never left it before. Thought provoking in the extreme – how much of what we think about the world, our home, our parents – is a product of our experience. A challenging, mesmerizing read, though not for the faint of heart.
One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly
A mystery with a local flavor – set in a fictional western Massachusetts town. Boston banker Meg Corey has come to the quaint New England town of Granford, Massachusetts, to sell her mother’s old colonial home and apple orchard. Instead, she becomes embroiled in development plans that include her land—and her former flame from Boston. When he’s found dead in the new septic tank on her property, the police immediately suspect Meg, whose only ally in town is the plumber Seth Chapin. Together, they’ll have to peel back the layers of secrecy that surround the deal in order to find the real murderer— and save the orchard. Includes recipes mentioned in the story, and has a few sequels for readers who cannot get enough.
The Orchard: A Memoir by Adelle Crockett Robinson
The manuscript of this memoir of a young woman's losing battle to save her family farm during the Depression was discovered by her daughter after her death. Robertson, a Radcliffe graduate, left a satisfying job and a comfortable life in Boston during the Depression to grow apples in the family orchard near Ipswich, Massachusetts, from 1932 to 1934. This remarkable woman survived near poverty; cold winters; faulty plumbing; frozen pipes; the prospect of unsold, spoiled apples; and harassment from the local bank. She describes her experiences learning how to operate and repair a tractor, digging a well, packing and storing apples, restoring the house to a livable condition and other tasks involved in running a successful orchard. The loyal workers who helped her run the farm and the university purchasing agent who bought her apples and introduced her to new clients helped make her lot bearable. An interesting tale about growing apples, running a farm, a woman living alone and running a farm at a time when that was rarely done, and when the small kindness of strangers can make the difference between success and failure.
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
Food writer Pollan focuses on the relationship between humans and four specific plants: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. He uses the history of John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) to illustrate how both the apple's sweetness and its role in the production of alcoholic cider made it appealing to settlers moving west, thus greatly expanding the plant's range. He also explains how human manipulation of the plant has weakened it, so that "modern apples require more pesticide than any other food crop." The tulip-mania of 17th-century Holland is a backdrop for his examination of the role the tulip's beauty played in wildly influencing human behavior to both the benefit and detriment of the plant (the markings that made the tulip so attractive to the Dutch were actually caused by a virus). His excellent discussion of the potato combines a history of the plant with a prime example of how biotechnology is changing our relationship to nature. As an example, he explains how a global desire for consistently perfect French fries contributes to both damaging monoculture and the genetic engineering necessary to support it. Pollan, as a writer, has the gift of making non-fiction interesting, and of being able to tell a tale full of facts as a narrative -- making it as interesting and compelling as fiction. He is rarely, if ever, didactic. You’ll never look at your dinner plate the same way after reading any of his food-based books.
See You in a Hundred Years by Logan Ward
Logan Ward and his wife Heather, and their toddler son left New York City in 2000 for a year of living life on a farm in Virginia. That in itself would be an interesting story, but the Wards take it one step further – a Virginia farm as it would have been in 1900 – no electricity, no car, and only the food they could grow themselves. The writer strikes a compelling balance between humor and hardship, reminding us that the ‘good old days’ were good, but not always simple or easy. Publishers Weekly said in its review, “This lyrical account of keeping the 21st century at bay is more real, and more rewarding, than any survival TV show.”
Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr
Simon, who's 15 and newly graduated from the third grade, may not be too bright, but he figures he can make his fortune when his overhears his turkey-farmer neighbor complain that his turkeys are worth a quarter a piece in Missouri, but are worth $5 each in turkey-starved boomtown Denver, Colorado. With is former teacher as investor, he buys 1000 turkeys – how hard can it be to herd them 900 miles? Colorful secondary characters, a charming and likeable main character, good humor, a little history, and familiar quest-style events, this story begs to be read aloud, or at least shared. Don’t miss this fun adventure. Suitable for independent reading for grades 4-8, younger (and older!) for reading aloud and sharing.
Don’t know what to read next? Ask for these books, or books on any topic you might find interesting, at your local library.
