Dream of Spring with the SAS Book Club on March 19th
Each spring the idle thoughts of Audubon members begin to focus on the spring migration and restarting gardens. With these dual passions in mind, the SAS Book Club will be discussing The $64 Tomato by William Alexander (2006) on March 19th.
This memoir is an entertaining and enlightening story. When William Alexander and his wife purchase an old home set on 3 acres, they have a vision of creating productive vegetable gardens, beautiful flower gardens and a diverse orchard. Alexander dreams of living in a historical home while being a gentleman farmer who feeds his family with home-grown organic produce.
Alexander’s wry sense of humor makes the reader laugh out loud as he describes the trials and tribulations of building the gardens while restoring the 100-year-old home. His story includes encounters with critters in the garden, such as a groundhog who defies his electric fence, a squirrel who raids his apple trees and deer who demolish the flower gardens.
At the same time, the book takes on a more philosophical tone as Alexander identifies such issues as drought, lack of bees, wildfires, climate change and use of pesticides.
An IT director by day and a prolific writer the rest of the time, William Alexander’s other nonfiction books include 52 Loaves: One Man’s Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning and a Perfect Crust (2011), Flirting with French (2014), and Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World (2022).
Our discussion of The $64 Tomato was purposely selected to occur in March when readers are tired of winter and are vicariously perusing seed catalogues and looking forward to spring.
This spirited discussion of the SAS Book Club will be held on March 19th from 6:30 to 7:45 pm at Hope Lutheran Church, Room 123. A decadent dessert will be provided. If you would like to join this month’s meeting remotely, please contact Elisabeth Swanson (406-570-8325; elsswa@gmail.com) to request a link.
