Can we use apostrophe s ('s) to show Possession of Non-living Things? (Possessive Nouns)

We should use apostrophe s ('s) when writing posssive nouns (for singular nouns not ending in s).
E.g.: The boy's ball. (which means; the ball of the boy)

but is it right to use 'the book's size' or 'the car's front'?

As books and cars are non-living things. It's more appropriate to write;
- The cover of the book.
- The front of the car.

However, we use apostrophes to show possession of periods of time such as "today's date" and "in two weeks' time".
We also use apostrophes to show possession of organizations, the earth, ships and countries, for example, "the university's rules", "the ship's bells", "the city's parks" and "Malaysia's land")

Remember, always use 'of (the)' to show possession of non-living things (especially in formal writing) and use apostrophes for living things.

*How about plants? Should we say "the plant's roots" or "the roots of the plant"?

My answer: We can indicate it as "the roots of the plant" or simply "the plant root". 
*Please take note that when the possessor and the thing possessed are both concrete objects, the possesion can also be indicated without any apostrophe for example, "the car radio", "the hotel room" and "the room door".