Yes, in addition to all those historical novels that you see reviewed on this blog, I do read some nonfiction, especially on the topics of gardening, society, and cooking. Here are three titles that I recommend.

The Complete Gardener     Monty Don       (2021)  This revised and updated second edition of Monty Don’s popular 2003 guidebook is a delight. I’ve streamed many episodes of Don’s long-running BBC television program, Gardeners’ World, and I find that his written text mirrors his television voice—wise, friendly, sensible. Although Don has had no formal training in horticulture, he’s been a gardener since his youth, and his knowledge base is extraordinary. He championed organic gardening and pollinator protections long before these approaches became widely accepted. In The Complete Gardener, he takes the reader through all the basics, from garden design and soil enrichment to the management of wildlife and pests. Then there are chapters on each of the eighteen sections of Don’s own extensive garden, which is located in Herefordshire, England: The Spring Garden, The Damp Garden, The Orchard Beds, The Herb Garden, The Vegetable Garden, and so forth. The book continues with advice on specific perennials, annuals, bulbs, climbers, shrubs, wildflowers, vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees. The entire text is accompanied by evocative photos. The British are blessed with a mild, moist climate, so most of that island has conditions similar to USDA zone 8—kind of like the coast of Washington and Oregon. I sometimes fall in love with a plant recommended by Monty Don only to find, upon digging (ahem) further, that the plant will not grow in my own gardens in southeast Michigan, which are USDA zone 5b, approaching 6a. Thanks to Paul Schwankl for finding this book and giving it to me as a gift!

Graceland, At Last:  Notes on Hope and Heartache from the American South     Margaret Renkl     (2021)  Once I discovered Margaret Renkl’s column in the New York Times, I’ve never missed it. But I did miss her pre-2020 essays, so this collection of 60 of them, published from 2017 to 2020, is a gift. Renkl has organized the pieces by topic: Flora & Fauna, Politics & Religion, Social Justice, Environment, Family & Community, and Arts & Culture. There are occasional digs at former president Trump, but my favorite pieces are about Renkl’s pollinator-friendly, wildlife-friendly yard in suburban Nashville. The wise, sharp-witted, insightful, and wide-ranging commentary has opened my eyes to many issues in the southern United States, especially in Tennessee, that I would never have thought about. One summative quote: “Maybe being a Southern writer is only a matter of loving a damaged and damaging place, of loving its flawed and beautiful people, so much that you have to stay there, observing and recording and believing, against all odds, that one day it will finally live up to the promise of its own good heart.” (282)

Smitten Kitchen Keepers:  New Classics for Your Forever Files     Deb Perelman     (2022)  In this third printed cookbook from Deb Perelman, you’ll find 100 of her favorite recipes, some of which also appear on her hugely successful cooking blog, smittenkitchen.com. Perelman cooks in a tiny NYC home kitchen, so she’s obsessive about minimizing steps and dishwashing while maintaining high culinary standards. In addition to recipes with unusual combinations of ingredients, Smitten Kitchen Keepers presents a number of very ordinary dishes that Perelman has amped up to gustatory heaven—French toast, potato salad, meatloaf, chocolate chip cookies, and many more. Sometimes it’s the condiments she chooses, sometimes it’s the order of cooking operations, but her recipes (which are always very clear) make these dishes sing. Since there’s a strong emphasis on recipes for vegetables, beans, and lentils, vegetarians will find much to love here, and Perelman sometimes offers vegan options in her notes. Speaking of notes, don’t skip the entertaining headnote that introduces each recipe.