Reading group

October reading group: 'The Soil Ledger'

Mara Ellison Author

Started Oct 1, 2026

This month we're reading the first four chapters of The Soil Ledger, Ana Brightwater's history of how farms learned to measure what they couldn't see.

Post questions and notes here as you go. Our call is on Friday the 30th at 7 p.m.; members will get the link by email that morning.

17 replies

Oldest first

Agnes ThorneMemberOct 8
Chapter two, on the first soil surveys, is extraordinary. I didn't know they used to taste the soil.
Reply
Oskar BrandtMemberOct 11
Question for the call: is the ledger in the title a metaphor, or did she find an actual one?
Reply
Mara EllisonAuthorOct 12
Replying to Oskar Brandt
Both! Don't skip the footnotes in chapter four.
Reply

October reading group: 'The Soil Ledger'

17 replies

Add a reply