The most recommended farm books

Who picked these books? Meet our 115 experts.

115 authors created a book list connected to farms, and here are their favorite farm books.
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Book cover of My Ɓntonia

Russell Rowland Author Of In Open Spaces

From my list on by women writers in the west.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have published seven books, all set in the West, including an anthology, West of 98: Living and Writing the New American West, that features writers from every state west of the Mississippi. For four years now, I have been doing a podcast called Breakfast in Montana, where my partner Aaron Parrett and I discuss Montana books. I also published a book in 2016 called 56 Counties, where I traveled to every county in Montana and interviewed people about what it means to live in this state. So I have a good feel for the people of this region and for the books they love. 

Russell's book list on by women writers in the west

Russell Rowland Why did Russell love this book?

Every discussion about the evolution of writing in ā€˜the Westā€™ has to start with Willa Cather, who was the first writer from the west to be awarded a major literary award when she won the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, which isnā€™t even one of her five best novels. Cather wrote openly about alcoholism, domestic violence, and other painful topics, transforming western writing from cardboard cutout characters to real people. My Ɓntonia has become an American classic, not just in western literature but in all literature. My Ɓntonia is told from the point of view of a young farm boy who falls in love with the enchanting Ćntonia, and itā€™s beautifully written, taking us into the emotional heart of youth and idealism in the West.

By Willa Cather,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked My Ɓntonia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Set in rural Nebraska, Willa Cather's My Antonia is both the intricate story of a powerful friendship and a brilliant portrayal of the lives of rural pioneers in the late-nineteenth century.

Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library, a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has an afterword by Bridget Bennett and original illustrations by W. T. Benda.

Antonia and her family are from Bohemia and they must endure real hardship and loss to establish a new home in America.ā€¦


Book cover of How I Live Now

Catherine Austen Author Of All Good Children

From my list on understated siblings.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m the youngest of five, and my siblings are what shaped me and my world. Growing up, I never felt alone, except climbing the stairs to bed half an hour before anyone else (such an injustice!). We played cards and games and had noisy discussions throughout my childhood and youth, and we still do. I wouldnā€™t be me without siblings. Itā€™s the relationship that most fascinates me. There are siblings in all the books Iā€™ve written and probably in all the books Iā€™ll ever write. Itā€™s not a theme I look for when I read, but I recognize the feeling when I encounter it and it feels like home.

Catherine's book list on understated siblings

Catherine Austen Why did Catherine love this book?

I just read this bookā€”itā€™s been in my TBR pile since 2004ā€”and itā€™s why I chose the theme of siblings. I loved the voice of this novel, the narratorā€™s young outsider perspective, her humour and heartā€”Daisy is such an unexpected character to tell a war story through. But what I loved most about the book is the sibling vibe in the house of her cousins. Edmond, Piper, Osbert, and Isaacā€”each of them is who she/he is because of their siblings. You could remove one from the plot (well, not Edmond!) but the others wouldnā€™t be themselves anymore. We feel that through Daisyā€™s thin bones: these people belong to each other, and maybe she could belong there too. 

By Meg Rosoff,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked How I Live Now as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

How I Live Now is an original and poignant book by Meg Rosoff

How I Live Now is the powerful and engaging story of Daisy, the precocious New Yorker and her English cousin Edmond, torn apart as war breaks out in London, from the multi award-winning Meg Rosoff. How I Live Now has been adapted for the big screen by Kevin Macdonald, starring Saoirse Ronan as Daisy and releases in 2013.

Fifteen-year-old Daisy thinks she knows all about love. Her mother died giving birth to her, and now her dad has sent her away for the summer, to live inā€¦


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Book cover of The Good Woman's Guide to Making Better Choices

The Good Woman's Guide to Making Better Choices by Liz Foster,

A heart-warming and hilarious novel about the highs and lows of marriage, fraud, and goatā€™s cheese.

Libby Popovic is a country girl whoā€™s now living a golden life in Bondi with her confident financier husband Ludo, and their two children. When Ludo is jailed for financial fraud, and Libbyā€™s friendsā€¦

Book cover of Prodigal Summer

Rachael Treasure Author Of Milking Time

From my list on Earth lovers and rural regeneration.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on the wild island of Tasmania. I saw the Vietnam War on TV, then went to a farm my father was ā€˜developing.ā€™ It felt like war. The natural beauty that Iā€™d once played in was destroyed by machines, poisons, and fire. During agricultural college in mainland Australia, I recognized an absence of reverence for Mother Nature. Women were missing from the rural narrative that increasingly held an economics-only mindset when it came to food. Iā€™m a co-founder of Ripple Farm Landscape Healing Hubā€“a 100-acre farm weā€™re restoring to natural beauty and producing loved meat and eggs for customers. And Iā€™m a devoted mum, shepherd, and working dog trainer.

Rachael's book list on Earth lovers and rural regeneration

Rachael Treasure Why did Rachael love this book?

Divine, divine, divine! This novel taught me so much about the landscape in Appalachia. The female characters were rich and deep. Running throughout the story was the thread of women standing for farming systems that partner with nature versus male characters who want to dominate or decimate.

It was musical and mystical, and I just adored being transported to the cabin in the woods and the rich gardens of the women who knew how Mama Earth rolls. There was also a wonderful exploration of female desire. It was lush and leafy, and Iā€™m so grateful to Barbara for writing this book

By Barbara Kingsolver,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Prodigal Summer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It is summer in the Appalachian mountains and love, desire and attraction are in the air. Nature, too, it seems, is not immune. From her outpost in an isolated mountain cabin, Deanna Wolfe, a reclusive wildlife biologist, watches a den of coyotes that have recently migrated into the region. She is caught off guard by a young hunter who invades her most private spaces and interrupts her self-assured, solitary life. On a farm several miles down the mountain, Lusa Maluf Landowski, a bookish city girl turned farmer's wife, finds herself marooned in a strange place where she must declare orā€¦


Book cover of Dairy Queen

Barbara Carroll Roberts Author Of Nikki on the Line

From my list on girls who love sports.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a very active kid ā€“ the kind of kid who was constantly told to sit still and be quiet. Growing up in the 1960s, I had few opportunities to engage in athletics, other than neighborhood games of tag and kick-the-can. But when I got to high school, our school district had just begun offering competitive sports for girls. Finally, my energy and athletic ability were appreciated (at least by my coaches and teammates). So I guess it was inevitable that when I began writing books for young readers, I would start with a book about a girl who loves sports.

Barbara's book list on girls who love sports

Barbara Carroll Roberts Why did Barbara love this book?

Youā€™d have a hard time finding a funnier, more captivating first-person narrator than D.J. Swank. Growing up on her familyā€™s farm, hoisting hay bales, and playing pick-up football with her brothers, itā€™s no wonder D.J. has the strength, ability, and desire to play on her high schoolā€™s football team. The two things I love most about this book are D.J.ā€™s sheer joy in physical movement and Murdockā€™s depiction of how the hard work required to master sports skills can build self-confidence and a sense of achievement in young people. The characters are a bit older than those in most middle-grade books, but with nothing more controversial than the drinking of a beer, this is a book kids in the upper range of middle grade will love.

By Catherine Gilbert Murdock,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dairy Queen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

When you donā€™t talk, thereā€™s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.
Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. canā€™t help admitting, maybe heā€™s right.

When you donā€™t talk, thereā€™s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.
Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isnā€™t so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers wonā€™t even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the highā€¦


Book cover of Far from the Madding Crowd

Kate Wells Author Of Murder on the Farm

From my list on taking you into the world of farming.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have loved the Malvern Hills my whole life, first living on a sheep farm at their foot and then in my great-grandparentsā€™ old house at the very top. As a teenager I fell for a farmerā€™s son (now my husband) and spent all my time on his Herefordshire farm. My upbringing firmly engrained a deep love of rural life into me, so it was natural it became integral to my writing. To write with authenticity about a way of life I am so passionate about, I immerse myself in farming research and keep my hand in on a local farm when it comes to busy times such as lambing.

Kate's book list on taking you into the world of farming

Kate Wells Why did Kate love this book?

I first read this classic story in my teens and was instantly besotted by Hardyā€™s farming world and the characters he filled it with. It is still the one I would take with me to my desert island if I was only allowed a single book to keep me company.

And what company Iā€™d be in. Bathsheba Everdene is the ultimate in strong female protagonists and she was carving her path as a farmer in a manā€™s world long before she inspired me to write about my own feisty heroine, Jude Gray. 

As a student I fell in love with Bathshebaā€™s steady shepherd, Gabriel Oak, and their pitted, frustrating but ultimately wonderful relationship is still one of the best love stories Iā€™ve lost myself in.

By Thomas Hardy,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Far from the Madding Crowd as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. Here is one of Thomas Hardy's most popular novels, soon to be released as a major motion picture in May 2015.

'I shall do one thing in this life - one thing certain - that is, love you, and long for you, and keep wanting you till I die'

Independent and spirited, Bathsheba Everdene owns the hearts of three men. Striving to win her love in different ways, their relationships with Bathsheba complicate her life in bucolic Wessex - and cast shadows over their own. With the moralsā€¦


Book cover of My Ɓntonia
Book cover of How I Live Now
Book cover of Prodigal Summer

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