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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell

I've been reading a lot of teen and adult titles that were weighing me down a bit.  Nothing too dark or deep, but just stories that I feel like I've been reading over and over again for the past few months.  So, a friend loaned me a copy of The Bucolic Plague and I decided to take a break from my usual reading and dive headfirst into this.

I am so glad I did.  I loved this book!  Two men from Manhattan, Josh and his partner Brent, get lost driving through the New York countryside and end up in the small town of Sharon Springs.  Outside of Sharon Springs, they see the Beekman House, a beautiful 200 year old mansion that's for sale.  It's set on 60 acres of land, has a barn, and needs some loving owners.

Josh and Brent decide to buy the mansion as a weekend getaway.  They've been carefully saving money and living below their means, working very good jobs:  Brent at Martha Stewart Omnimedia, and Josh as an Ad executive.  This is their chance to get away and enjoy being gentlemen farmers.

Soon enough, Josh and Brent find the Beekman House taking over their lives.  An ever increasing to do list,  a barn full of goats, and a budding business selling goat milk soap--all the while living and working in New York City during the week-- starts to strain their relationship and their desire to live a simple life at The Beekman House.

If you have Discovery Network's Planet Green Channel, you can see their antics on their show, The Beekman Boys.  They also have a website:  Beekman1802 that is everything Beekman.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, about two people who try to have it all, and are overwhelmed.  Sometimes the journey is better than the destination, and that is true for Josh and Brent.  It's funny, touching, and full of great stories about the people of Sharon Springs, attempts at becoming goat farmers, and growing a ginormous garden of heritage vegetables.  Pick it up, and you will soon begin looking at your yard, and plotting out a garden for yourself.

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