The Dirty Life, By Kristin Kimball

In a former existence, freelance writer Kristin Kimball lived the life of a Manhattan singleton: dating, drinking, using her oven to store her cashmere. Then she was sent on an assignment to interview a young organic farmer called Mark.

By the end of the first day on the farm, this committed vegetarian was helping to slaughter a pig, and by the next morning, tucking into sausages. A few months later she'd moved in with Mark and relocated to the Adirondacks.

The story of a city person moving to the country is nothing new, but this memoir combines the histories of two love affairs: one with the land, and one with Mark. In one rare moment of smuggery, Kimball wishes every woman could have as a lover a man with muscles that "don't come from the gym".