Gardener's Group discussion
Overall Reading Goals&Book Chats
>
What Did You Just Finish, What Are You Reading Now & What Books Have You Brought Home Recently? (Spoilers Possible)
date
newest »
newest »
The silver lining in being forced to be immobilized today is that I can devote some time to starting to read some new books . I have a stack to choose from. Two I want to get through are " Fallscaping your Garden" and a book on " Stone Mosaics". Yesterday I went to one of my favorite nurseries and they were putting out huge baskets of colorful Mums , pots of large ornamental peppers, containers of ornamental Kale, and other Fall decorations. I did not buy any Mums yet. They are gorgeous but these plants were already in full bloom so they would only be at their best for a few days. I decided to check other places for ones with more buds than blooms. I always have mixed feelings about Mums anyway. After they are done blooming I usually just end up throwing them out and that is a waste. I have tried planting them in the ground but they rarely survive the Winter. I have also tried wintering them over in my sunroom but that was minimally successful too. The nursery had all its tropical/ annual plants on sale for 75 percent off. I ended up buying a jasmine plant, a fancy pink geranium and a red Penta. All of them should winter over nicely. I was longing to cart home a huge green and white unidentified tropical vine and a large tropical " Bleeding Heart" ( It has pretty purple flowers all over it and looks to be a sort of shrub) however I knew my husband was at home waiting on me and would be scolding me for buying such large plants, so I held off. I planned to go back today and get them ( he won't be home most of the day :-) but now it looks like that is not going to happen..., unless I have some sort of miraculous recovery. As far as the book on " Stone Mosaics" goes: I have been collecting fossils, crystals , and just pretty stones for the last couple of years to make a mosaic in my garden. I hope this book will teach me how to go about doing it.
I too have a misc collection of "stuff" (rocks, shells, whatever) -- the Stone Mosaic book sounds like just the thing to give me an idea of what to do with all this stuff!! Thanks for mentioning it. I have a rock fetish apparently and this might help with it.
Viki wrote: "The silver lining in being forced to be immobilized today is that I can devote some time to starting to read some new books . I have a stack to choose from. Two I want to get through are " Fallscap..."Your idea for a mosaic sounds really interesting. Sounds like something my garden club would enjoy doing. I'll have to keep that idea in mind.
Spent way too much time trying to slog through "Peter The Great His Life and World" by Robert K. Massie.
Made it over half way of the 855 page book and just couldn't make myself finish. I was really disappointed as "Catherine the Great" by the same author was so good.Then I read a couple of Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano detective series books, "The Track of Sand"
and "The Wings of the Sphinx"
. Quick, lite, fun reads.Now I'm reading "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter"
which was lent to me by a friend. The friend's reading group found it on BookLust which is a site I didn't know about before. BookLust is run by a librarian who promotes books from the past she feels didn't get the recognition they deserve. In the case of this book I would agree as I'm enjoying it very much.
I recently finished Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury for Thursday evening bookclub and loved it! Big Ray Bradbury fan, had never read it in high school like many others had, so I was looking forward to it. Also recently finished The Book Thief which I had a hard time with initially because of the style, but the last 60 pages are worth the whole read!
Recent reading has included "The Telling Room"
our Memoir Book Club choice for Sept was very annoying to me as it's full of footnotes, "Light Between the Oceans"
my regular book club's choice for Sept which I would give between 3 and 4 stars, "The Garden Angel"
would be a 3 star, "Winter in Madrid"
which had such a cold depressing tone I didn't finish it and "I Dreamed of Africa"
which is one of the best books I've read this year. I can't remember the last time I cried several times while reading a book. It's a memoir and I was delighted to learn the author, Kuki Gallmann, has written two more books about her fascinating life. I already have the second one on order from PaperBackSwap.
For anyone interested in WWII history I just read and enjoyed "The Women Who Wrote the War"
. the story of women correspondents during the war.
Just read two very different books with teenage boys as the protags. "The Schooling of Claybird Catts"
and "The Round House"
. I will be recommending both of them at my next book club meeting. Both are mysteries with endearing characters and some humor.
Recent reads include: "The Rope Walk"
which I enjoyed a great deal, "The House of Mirth"
the old classic which I had never read and "Night of Many Dreams"
tale of young sisters in China during and after WWII.
I just finished Neptune's Brood.It was an excellent book in my fragile human opinion.
Charles Stross over time has gotten better and better in my opinion. The futuristic concepts he presents in his books are most interesting. I would like to think of this book as hard science fiction that obeys the laws of physics to some degree. Laws of biology, those are very interesting concepts also.
My next read is another new book The Beautiful Land.
Both books are science fiction, next week will be Green Thoughts.
Jo wrote: "Just finished 
The Perfume Collector
Loved it! Did not want to put it down. 5 of 5 goodreads stars."
Marked this one to read--sounds really good!
I was looking forward to it and it exceeded my expectations!
Jo wrote: "I was looking forward to it and it exceeded my expectations!"Good to know!
My memoir book club just read "Beyond Belief"
and it was fascinating and sickening. The other members of my club and I have all been curious about Scientology and this book was an eye opener. We all agreed the author probably has a bias as she is the niece of the leader of the church and probably had more expectations placed on her than other members. However, how she and other children in the Sea Organization were treated was pretty horrifying.
Had read a few books in a row that were nothing special but just finished "Deep End of the Ocean"
which has been around for a while but I had never read it. I think it's a book I'll think about in the future as it brought up many interpersonal issues.
Recent reads include: "Code Talker"
a YA book but enjoyable nonetheless, "City of Thieves"
which in some respects is very hard to read but is saved by humor and well drawn characters, and "The Death of Santini"
by Pat Conroy. I've been a huge fan of Conroy since I read his very first book many years ago and this memoir does not disappoint. It's vintage Conroy, humorous and heartbreaking.
Memoir book club tomorrow night. I'm almost finished with "The Art of Intelligence"
written by Henry Crumpton who spent 24 years in the CIA. It's a little bit text booky but very interesting nonetheless. I'll be ready to move onto something lighter when I'm done with this one.
I'm reading "The Husband's Secret"
which is my Book Club's selection for Dec. It's more of a chic lit book than we usually read but it's holding my interest so far.
I just finished I Am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage which was interesting but not fascinating!
Finished Telling the Bees, 3 of 5 stars, for Wednesday evening bookclub (tonight). I liked this book and then again I didn't. For me, there's way too much detail of bees and bee keeping, and while I think it's to help illustrate the main characters personality type, it's a bit much and I ended up skimming. Instead of enhancing the overall story, all the detail overwhelmed and detracted from it. But, if you are interested in bee keeping, this is a great resource!
To get in the mood for spring I bought myself a new gardening book. Grow More With Less: Sustainable Garden Methods: Less Water - Less Work - Less Money
Hello from sunny southern Vancouver Island, BC. Came in from planting geraniums and thought I'd announce the publication of HEARTSONG, the debut of my new inspirational series with a gardening theme called the Sisterhood of Shepherds. A couple of early reviewers said:
“The story will reach right in and take hold of your heart, seizing it until the very last page.”
“An uplifting reading experience of love, caring, family, friends, healing, & resolving.”
Some families have hope. Others have faith. The Shepherds of rural Oregon have Faith, Hope and Charly, three quirky sisters whose ongoing struggle to keep the family plant nursery blooming will have you laughing and crying.
Then, tragedy strikes. When the three sisters reluctantly delve into family secrets to help their ailing father fulfill a promise, their lives change forever as they pursue a new inspirational path of discovery, heartache, humor and redemption.
Love to hear what you think. It's already a bestseller in Amazon's gardening category. Now, gotta go pot up succulents!
http://www.nicolafurlong.com/books-2/...
Hey All,Hope your summer's blooming. My fictional ebook, Heartsong, is on sale at Amazon for the next three days for just 99 cents. It features the antics and angst of a fun Oregon family struggling to survive as a plant nursery biz.
Love Family, Food & Flowers? Come join Faith, Hope & Charly Shepherd for laughs, tears & great treats!
Cheers! Heartsong: Sisterhood of Shepherds
I am only reading two at the moment....The Cossacks by Tolstoy and Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The Cossacks is a great story and much more readable than I expected it to be. I like best the character Eroshka, a Cossack hunter with a very sensible view of the world and great respect for Nature.
About the last book I brought home...I haul a few down from Arizona every six months when I go up to visit my mom for a week, but the latest book that I actually bought here is called Teotihuacan City Of The Gods. It is an English language guidebook that I bought when we visited Teotihuacan
the first week of August.
I also recently bought a book in Spanish about the life-changing earthquake of 1985; written by Elena Poniatowska and titled Nada,nadie: Las voces del temblor (Nothing, No One: Voices Of The Earthquake. My husband was still Living in Mexico City at the time of that quake, and he helped dig people out during the first days afterwards.
reading:The Origin of Species
Orchids of Britain and Ireland: A Field and Site Guide
魔界王子: devils and realist 4
Frogs
A Man Against Insanity
listening to:
Rogues
Unhinged
The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm
Philip wrote: "I'm going to an exhibition about (in part) The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss, so I need to get on and read that quickly.Just finished [book:Moby-Dick; or..."
Congrats on making it through "Moby" I've tried twice and just couldn't do it.
Reading "The Boys in the Boat" for one of my book club selections. Lots of technical info about rowing that kind of bogs down the story but am enjoying it nevertheless.
I meant to post about this last night but fell asleep before I could. I read a lovely little book called Queen Summer - Or the Tourney of the Lily and the Rose yesterday and thought anyone who loves flowers would enjoy it. Here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And the link to the Gutenberg copy of the book:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24449/...
I've just finished A Garden with House Attached
Here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Recent reads I have enjoyed:"The Girls of Atomic City" WW2 about Oak Ridge, Tennessee. history
"Requiem" WW2 Japanese citizens of Canada interned in camps during the war fiction
"Pray for us Sinners" Ireland fictional perspective from both sides of "the troubles" fiction
I´m reading White Beech: The Rainforest Years and Orchids of Britain and Ireland: A Field and Site Guide
Came across this short story retelling of Cinderella that should appeal to gardenershttp://www.fantasy-magazine.com/new/n...
Very cute
Well, this is cheating cuz I haven't finished it yet but I LOVE it so far - I'm kind of a dirt-nerd. The Hidden Half of Nature: [bookcover:The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health
The Microbial Roots of Life and Health|25239276]
Philip wrote: "I'm going to an exhibition about (in part) The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss, so I need to get on and read that quickly.Just finished [book:Moby-Dick; or..."
I loved Moby Dick... it was a different book each time I read it. :)
Gardener's Group
Books mentioned in this topic
The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss (other topics)The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health (other topics)
White Beech: The Rainforest Years (other topics)
Orchids of Britain and Ireland (other topics)
A Garden with House Attached (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
D.E. Stevenson (other topics)Margaret George (other topics)
Bernd Heinrich (other topics)
Adriana Trigiani (other topics)
Konrad Lorenz (other topics)
More...
Thanks for this review. This sounds like an author I would enjoy and I'll be looking for her books.