Books read in September

I didn't get as much reading accomplished as I would have liked in September.  As we finally had cooler weather, I had to get a few gotta do's... gotta done.

I'm finding the same to be true of early October.  Yesterday I spent a couple of hours cleaning our porch.

Nevertheless... I did get some reading accomplished.  :)

I poured over Frugal Luxuries and Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons by Tracey McBride.  As I have mentioned before, these are among my all time favorite books (even before she became a friend).

I have a shelf of books in my bedroom which I reach for not only to find inspiration but just give myself a mental vacation... these two are definitely among them.  Both are full of stories and ideas about living a frugal life with elegance.

Food Security for the Faint of Heart (subtitled "Keeping Your Larder Full in Lean Times) by Robin Wheeler.  I bought this paperback with Amazon credit... which I could never do without YOU!  Wheeler is a Canadian writer about herbs, sustainable gardening, and "deepening the pantry".  I'm still reading through the book as it has so much wisdom to offer.

She writes about serious subjects with such humor.  For instance, two titles are "Men Will Come with Guns and Take Your Food" followed by "Women Will Come with Food and Take Your Guns".  This little book is a gem for experienced pantry deepeners as well as to give to someone to help them realize why deepening the pantry is a good idea.

The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett.  This is one of my Victoria books... those titles which I first read about in the old Victoria Magazine.  You may have noticed it is also on my October list of books to be read as I'm only a third of the way into it.  It's hard to believe this was written over a hundred years ago.

It is about village life on the seacoast in Maine... long ago... a true classic.  Like many older books, it moves a little slow and I've found it reads best when I can concentrate on it... but it weaves beautiful stories of a long forgotten New England way of living.

Nigella Bites... what can I say... I love to read any cookbooks by Nigella Lawson.  I was thrilled to find this at the used book room of the local library for just a few dollars.  I think I'm going through a British cook phase as I also love to watch Nigella and Jamie Oliver at Home on the new Cooking Channel.

Autumn by Susan Branch... Love, love, love this little cookbook.  Did I mention how much I love this book?  While I also enjoyed her Summer cookbook, this one has so many of her illustrations and good recipes from my favorite time of the year... what is there to not enjoy?  I read through all of her books throughout the year just for fun and inspiration (and great recipes).

I am still working on the Recommendations list (which was over thirty pages of printouts).  Hubby has been working on the desktop computer continuously but I see a chance coming soon to kick him off have him do some outside work.

I love having book recommendations for those times when I am at the library sale or used book room.  For instance, I have read recommendations of Gilead by Marilynne Robinson so when I found it for a dollar... I immediately bought it and placed it on my "to be read" shelf.

A wonderful place for recommendations (one of the best on the web) is Sherry's Semicolon blog... here.  Especially her Saturday Review of Books.  Of course, many of you know that already.  :)

By the way, all of my "Books Read" through the year are listed on the Books Read in 2010 page on the sideboard... without reviews.

Picture:  Art & Literature; allposters.com