Happier At Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life, Gretchen Rubin
I love Rubin’s first book and her eponymous blog, The Happiness Project, and enjoyed hearing and meeting her recently at the Booksmith. Her second happiness project examines ways to boost her happiness (and her family’s) at home. Since I’ve read a lot of her work (see above), this book was less surprising than her first one. But I still found it charming, and many of her resolutions (“Go shelf by shelf,” “Abandon a project,” “Now is now,” a la Laura Ingalls Wilder) are practical and applicable.
Taste, Memory: Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors, and Why They Matter, David Buchanan
Buchanan examines the history and the present state of biodiversity in the U.S., visiting farms, markets and research centers to learn about forgotten varieties of fruits and vegetables. He argues for preserving a wide variety of produce, rather than always focusing on uniformity and predictability (prized by supermarkets and commercial growers). The details of government regulations drag sometimes, but there’s a lot of fascinating information, even if you’re not a grower or gardener. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Oct. 25).
O Pioneers!, Willa Cather
A classic story of European immigrant farmers in the Midwest, particularly Alexandra Bergson and her deep attachment to the land. The plot moved slowly, though I found it interesting enough to keep reading. Some beautiful descriptive sentences, but the characters seemed a bit shadowy. This was the first Cather novel I’ve read, and I was ambivalent; perhaps I’ll try My Antonia next.
The Mother-Daughter Book Club series, Heather Vogel Frederick
I love this fun teen series set in Concord, MA (close to where I live). I reread them in preparation for the sixth book, Wish You Were Eyre (releasing next month). Look for a separate post about these books soon.
A Monstrous Regiment of Women, Laurie R. King
Mary Russell (of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice) and Sherlock Holmes pair up again, to investigate a charitable organization helping women in London, and its mysterious leader. Mary is newly possessed of a sizable fortune, and deep into her studies at Oxford; she is more mature, but no less stubborn and brilliant. I love her spirit, especially as she clashes with Holmes. Their interaction is the best thing about this book, which is also well plotted and historically fascinating. (Several of its sequels are waiting on my shelf.)
You Come Too: Favorite Poems for Readers of All Ages, Robert Frost
Frost is the perfect poet for a New England fall, and I’d been hankering for his words. I wanted them simple and unadorned: no annotations, no numbered lines, no Complete Works. This slim edition contains nearly all my favorites (except “Nothing Gold Can Stay”) and many poems I hadn’t read in years. I particularly loved “Acquainted With the Night” and “The Freedom of the Moon.” “After Apple-Picking” suits the season perfectly, and, as ever, “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” is sheer loveliness.
Emma, Jane Austen
I’ve seen both the Gwyneth Paltrow film and its 1990s update, Clueless, so I was familiar with the plot of Emma, but I’d never read it. (I bought the gorgeous Penguin Threads edition, with embroidered/embossed cover and flaps.) Austen’s minor characters are a delight – Miss Bates and Mr. Woodhouse are particularly entertaining. Emma can be exasperating, but I love watching her gradually come to know herself, and as ever, Austen’s wit and insight into the human soul are amusing, incisive and brilliant.
The City of Poetry, Gregory Orr
I heard Orr read this summer, and found this slim chapbook at the tiny Grolier Poetry Bookshop in Cambridge. He imagines poetry as a city, inhabited by both joy and deep grief, and peopled by poets both famous and unknown. His poems are brief, lucid and often stunning, and this extended metaphor reminded me of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. Lovely.
What are you reading lately?
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cakes, tea and dreams 
Yay, I love a new book list! I especially love, for some odd reason, a book list that includes several books I’ve already read. Maybe I just want to feel like with all the books out there that the books I have already read made it on to someone’s list or maybe I need to know that what I’ve already finished somehow ‘counts’ and I can say, “I know that book. We have something in common.” I also love new ideas too, of course.
With that said, I liked hearing about the new Gretchen Rubin book since I also enjoyed The Happiness Project. I read O Pioneers! and My Antonia twice. I loved some of the beautiful, lyrical descriptions, but I agree that the characters were vague sometimes and I felt myself thinking that I should like the story because I was supposed to instead of because I really did like it.
I’ve read all of Laurie King’s Mary Russell books. Love ’em. I love the perspective of Sherlock through her eyes and watching her grow up throughout the series. True to the Holmes canon but fresh.
Love Emma, but have to admit I’ve never read the entire book. Shame on me. I must return.
I am currently reading Alexander McCall Smith’s The Importance of Being Seven #6 in the 44 Scotland Street series, and just finished Making Piece by Beth Howard. I will add the others on your list to my list too! Thanks!
I LOVED “O Pioneers!”… it was also my first Willa Cather book, bought on a whim from the bargain table at Barnes and Noble. I also love “Emma” – spunky and fun and wickedly clever, as all Austenites are.
Hi! I’m a new reader who stumbled upon this blog from another blog, but I can’t remember which one. (It was a slow day at work so I blog-binged). Anyway, my name is Mallory, and I’m from Mississippi. I am enjoying your writing, and fall in New England sounds so picturesque.
I am currently reading: Madame Bovary, Celebration of Discipline, The Problem of Pain, and Hamlet’s Blackberry. I have been disappointed with Hamlet’s Blackberry. I really expected to like it a lot more, but I’m trudging through it. I usually have a few books going but nothing near the amount you do. I was excited to see you like mysteries. I’ve recently gotten into Agatha Christie so I’m excited to see the other mysteries you read and gain some recommendations.
Also, the Robert Frost poetry book sounds great!
I love EMMA – one of my favorite Austen novels! So glad you enjoyed it. For my part, I’m still slowly making my way through FREDDY AND FREDERICKA, by Mark Helprin, and really enjoying it so far. My first by this author, and he’s quite funny!
Aww… I really wanted to see Ms. Rubin there too but wasn’t able too. What was she like?
I’m a new reader, too! (I found you via your Art House essay.) I’m loving your mini book reviews – so fun! Because of you, I have picked up all of the Betsy books that I didn’t own. (I owned, read and re-read the first four books when I was younger.) I had never even heard of Emily of Deep Valley, but read it last month and loved it so much! Since I live near “Deep Valley,” I took a lovely fall drive and wandered around Maud’s neighborhood and imagined what life would be like for her (Betsy, Tacy and company) at the turn of the century.
I’m in the middle of My Antonia right now. It’s my first Willa Cather book, and I’m enjoying it!
PS: You didn’t mention the BBC version of Emma that came out in 2009. If you haven’t seen it, I’d highly recommend it! 🙂 I hope to finally read the book one of these days.