True, spring finds me spending lots of time at nurseries which, in turn, results in planting projects in the garden. But in the evenings I like to sit by the fire and read.

A Beautiful Blue Death, by Charles Finch, is the first of this murder mystery series set in Victorian England. The hero, Charles Lenox, is a sort-of combination of Lord Peter Wimsey (my favorite amateur sleuth created by Dorothy L. Sayers) and Professor Henry Higgins (of Pygmalian and My Fair Lady fame who spent much time in his library with Colonel Pickering). Lenox has a Bunter-type butler named Graham and likes "to sit in front of a warm fire, reading the newspaper with a cup of tea in his hand." While a very enjoyable read, Lenox isn't nearly as cool as either Wimsey or Higgins.

The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. Somehow I missed much of the Dr. Seuss phenomenon as a child. My favorite bedtime books were Winnie-the-Pooh stories and A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. This book intrigued me, though, after learning it was David de Rothschild's favorite environmental book. de Rothschild is a rich, dashing, handsome member of the English banking family who has become an adventurer/environmental activist. He is now sailing his boat, Plastiki, which is made from 12,000 plastic bottles, on a public awareness expedition around the Pacific Ocean. How could I not love a book "where the Grickle-grass grows," and there are "Truffula Trees" and the Lorax speaks "for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues."?

Mary Engelbreit's Outdoor Campion, by Charlotte Lyons. I'm not normally a big fan of Mary Engelbreit's artwork–a little too juvenile and cutesy for me–but this book includes photographs of some very nice outdoor spaces and I can always find some good ideas to borrow.

Ad Hoc at Home, by Thomas Keller with Dave Cruz. Thomas Keller is the chef/proprietor of two very high-brow restaurants, French Laundry in Napa Valley and per se in New York, and a more casual place, Ad Hoc, in Yountville, California. While some of his dishes might require 25 ingredients and take three days to prepare, his simple roast chicken recipe remains our house favorite. I bought the cookbook for the salad section alone–full of easy recipes such as Iceberg Lettuce Slices, Fall Salad and a composed tuna salad. Keller's personal tips are everywhere and can't be missed due to the clever light bulb graphic. It is comprehensive at 359 pages, many of which of are covered with photos of gorgeous food.

This also appears in the Askov American, Askov, Minnesota.