L&T Book Club
Meetings are held at the Bedford Central Library in the town of Bedford on the 1st Thursday of each month (6:30-8:00pm). All are welcome, even if you did not read that month’s book.
The Land & Table book club is a way to engage with the core ideas and topics that are motivating a new generation to create a more resilient food system and vibrant local community life. We’ll be reading books about: eating local, self-reliant living, agrarian culture, growing food, culinary history, community resilience, going back-to-the-land, and more. This is not a book club that will be technical in nature. And if you don’t have a green thumb, you’ll still feel at home.
You don’t have to grow your own food or be a homesteader or farmer to enjoy these books. But…you do have to be curious about reviving your connection with the land, with other people, and with the food you eat. And the reality is: tending to those connections is important for all of us.
We meet on the first Thursday of each month and welcome anyone to our meetings – even if you have not read the book we will be discussing.
L&T Book Club: All Creatures Great and Small | Bedford (4/4)
We will be discussing the book All Creatures Great and Small at the Bedford Public Library on Thursday, April 4 (6:30-8:00 pm) in the Bedford community room. Join us! All are welcome.
Off-Grid & Low-Tech Book Discussion (3/7)
February’s theme is ‘Off-Grid & Low-Tech Living’. Read with us! Check out the Bedford Public Library System’s suggested titles (non-fiction and fiction) that you can read for FREE – or choose your own.
L&T Book Club: Planning Meeting (Feb. 1)
This month we will be discussing: planning and suggestions for the forthcoming year! Please join us this month for a planning session where we’ll be discussing potential monthly topics, book suggestions, remote vs. in-person meetings, time of meeting and more.
Discussion: Forgotten Heirloom Foods (Jan. 4)
Join us (Thurs. 1/4, 6:30-8:00pm) for a discussion about the author David Buchanan’s book ‘Taste, Memory: Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors, and Why They Matter’. This conversation will revolve around preserving heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables and why these historical breeds matter to the local food movement.
Discussion: History of Back-To-The Land Movement (Dec. 7)
Join us Thursday, Dec. 7 (6:30-8:00pm) at the Bedford Central Library for an open forum looking at the national popular interest in homesteading and a return to country life from the early 1900’s to the 1960’s and 70’s.
Blessing the Hands That Feed Us (Nov. 2)
Join the Land & Table book club on November 2 (6:30-8:00pm) for a discussion on the book ‘Blessing the Hands That Feed Us: Lessons from a 10-mile diet’* by acclaimed author Vicki Robin (Your Money or Your Life).
L&T Book Club: Defending Beef (10/5)
In Defending Beef, environmental lawyer turned rancher, Nicolette Hahn Niman, argues that cattle are not inherently bad for the earth.
Book Discussion: Small Farm Future (9/7/23)
Join us on Thursday, September 7 (6:30-8:00pm) at the Bedford Central Library for the monthly Land & Table Book Club discussion. We will be discussing August’s book by English farmer and intellectual Chris Smaje: ‘A Small Farm Future: Making the Case for a Society Built Around Local Economies Self-provisioning Agricultural Diversity and a Shared Earth’
L&T Book Club: Our Wilding Farming Life (8/3/23)
We will be discussing the book ‘Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures On A Scottish Highland Croft’ on Thursday, August 3 (6:30-8:00pm) at the Bedford Library. The authors stumble headlong into a life of farming, with one question: “What does farming in harmony with nature look like?”
L&T Book Club: Hannah Coulter (7/6)
Hannah Coulter is a profound classic in the Port William agrarian fiction saga by Wendell Berry. Hannah, the now-elderly farmwife, recounts the love she has for the land and for her community. She walks through the places and relationships that have given her life substance – and all that challenges it’s unbroken endurance.
L&T Book Club: Restoration Agriculture (6/1)
Join us June 1st for our discussion of Mark Shepard’s visionary book ‘Restoration Agriculture: Real-World Permaculture for Farmers. But make no mistake, this book isn’t just for farmers!
L&T Book Club: In Defense of Food – Discussion (5/4)
Throughout the month of April the L&T Book Club is reading award winning author Michael Pollan’s book: In Defense of Food. Join us as we discuss this thought-provoking book and it’s examination of our modern American diet on Thursday, April 6 (6:30-8:00pm).
L&T Book Club: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – Discussion (4/6)
Throughout the month of March the L&T Book Club is reading celebrated author Barbara Kingsolver’s book: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: One Year of Seasonal Eating. Join us as we discuss this memoir on Thursday, April 6 (6:30-8:00pm) in the large Bedford Room of the Bedford Central Library in the town of Bedford.
L&T Book Club: The Unsettling of America – Discussion: 3/2
Join us Thursday evening, March 2 at the Bedford Central Library, for the L&T Book Club. We will be hosting a discussion on one of the most important books of our time: The Unsettling of America, by agrarian author, philosopher, and farmer Wendell Berry.