This winter I read an eclectic group, some pertaining to fruits, or to the self-sufficient environmentally conscious outlook shared by some fruit growers.
Speaking of self-sufficiency, that is what the Nearings' sought and found. Helen Nearing had an extensive library and collected quotes from some of her favorites in Wise Words For the Good Life-A Homesteader's Personal Collection. Originally published in 1980, Chelsea Green reissued it in paperback in 1999. Nearing organized the material by topic like gardening, soil, and the like, some of which refer to fruits. One passage says, "In fact, the fruits and vegetables of a garden are the life of a family." This delightful volume includes quotes from poetry, and essays.
Fiction doesn't often deal with fruits. The Family Orchard, a novel by Nomi Eve (published by Vintage International (a division of Random House) is an exception. This most unusual book even includes historic photos of fruit trees and tools used for pruning and grafting as well as a manual of orchard terms and fruit varieties. Eve spins an engrossing multigenerational love story of a Jewish family in Palestine in the 1800's. Her writing has a magical quality that sweeps the reader along.
These days we hear a lot about genetic engineering. There are genetically modified papaya trees. In case you're wondering, gene swapping occurs in nature between various organisms, including ones from bacteria into human genes. I've always found genetics fascinating. That's explains why two books on genes were on my winter list. The Monk In The Garden by Robin Marantz Henig is the story of the lost and found genius of Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics. Available from Mariner Books (a division of Houghton Mifflin), this paperback was a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist. Most everyone has heard about Mendel's experiments with peas, but few know he studied hawkweeds and other plants as well. This is science writing at its best.
No doubt about it, modern genetics is revolutionary. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Impact Of The Gene, a survey of genetics that extends from Mendel's era to our own. Written by Colin Tudge, this very readable account was published by Hill and Wang (a division of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux). Thoughtfully written, this book is easily understood by the average reader. Tudge presents the stories of various scientists engaged in plant breeding, including some about fruits.
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