Plant Parenting: Easy Ways to Make More Houseplants, Vegetables, and Flowers by Leslie F. Halleck Review

Full of beautiful plant pictures, this book has everything you need to know if you’re thinking about starting, multiplying, and keeping a garden as healthy as it can possibly be. The pictures in this book are not only crystal clear, but also vibrant and very green, making my plant look a little sad in comparison. If you’re thinking about growing your plant collection/family, you need to pick up this book.

 

5/5 Stars 264 pages
Published June 11th 2019 by Timber Press

Obviously if you love having plants, you’re going to love this book. It’s all about the different ways to multiply your plants, keep them disease free, and the different tools and materials you can use to create your seedling garden inside and out. The author talks about plants in a very personal way, and tells the story about the exact age when they decided to get into growing plants, which was seven years old. I think that this book is good for newbies and long time growers alike, with everyone learning something interesting from this book. It also helps you plan out your plants whether you have a balcony garden, or an entire backyard.

 

 

I learned a lot from this book, including the fact that typically plants multiply in two different ways; seeds and clones. Clones are created by taking a cutting and growing it into a separate plant, and you can even grow plants with tissue extractions in Petri dishes. This book also includes lists of the plants you can grow, and how they can reproduce, also how much light they need. It has everything! I’ll definitely need to pick up a paper copy for myself, and if this is something you’re interested in, so will you.

 

The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to keep up with them.

Thanks for reading!

Survival Handbook: An Essential Companion to the Great Outdoors by Marc Sumerak Review

Survival Handbook: An Essential Companion to the Great Outdoors by Marc Sumerak 5/5 Stars 140 pages
Published February 26th 2019 by becker&mayer! kids (quarto group)

If you’re someone like me, someone who is kind of a little obsessed with the apocalypse, than you’re going to snatch this book up as soon as you see it. And then you’re going to buy a paper copy, because you want to see if the tools that it says are in the book, are actually in the book, and because it seems like a really handy thing to have. And believe me, it is.

 

Inside this book are tips and lists, as well as little kind of learning sessions about everything you would need to know to survive in the wilderness, including; what to pack, how to pack it, how to make shelter in every kind of climate, how to tie various knots and their uses, different kinds of tents, fire safety, how to gather the right firewood as well as how to build a fire, how to find and purify water, and even what plants are edible and which ones to avoid, as well as many, and when I say many believe that there’s tons more things to learn in this book.

 

It’s everything I wanted and more, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of my own. It’s a must have for anyone of any age, and a need for your bookshelf, and even maybe another one for your bug out bag. I’m really glad that this exists, and that it’s simple and easy to follow. I definitely recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

 

The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to keep up with them.

Thanks for reading!

Forest Talk: How Trees Communicate by Melissa Koch Review

Forest Talk: How Trees Communicate by Melissa Koch 5/5 Stars 96 pages
Published January 1st 2019 by Twenty-First Century Books (Tm)

If you’re like me, you’ll pick up this book because you care about the environment, and you want to learn everything you can about it, so that you can do your share to help out. The description of this book is something that jumped out to me actually more than the cover, because it just sounded really interesting and I love short non fiction books. This book was everything I wanted it to be and more.

 

Trees really do make a lot of things in the world, and I think that we take advantage of that. Every single year, over fifteen billion trees are cut down world wide, and every year that number grows, and the demand for products and the world’s population grows. What most people don’t know, including me until I read this book, is that trees are so much more than just big plants that produce air for us, as well as many of our every day products. Trees actually communicate with each other, mostly through their roots, and they can share nutrients if they feel like a nearby tree is lacking in any.

 

Trees make everything from food, clothes, and shelter, to medicine and warmth. It’s scientifically proven that people really do feel physical and mental benefits from being around trees, and like people, there are mother and baby trees that take care of each other. Stumps can still reproduce asexually and grow buds that can turn into new trees, and when some specific kinds of trees can live to be over four thousand years old, cutting down the trees at the age they are now, or seeing tree farms, just makes me feel sad.

 

Overall, I learned all these things and more from this short book. It’s full of beautiful pictures and charts to teach you kind of a refresher course about how plants live and change the environment around them, and I really feel like I know a lot more about them because of this book. I want to be more conscious of the products I buy, and I think that together, we really might be able to make a change in the world. I recommend this book to everyone, fiction and non fiction lovers everywhere.

 

The book is available here.

Thanks for reading!

Hashtag Authentic: Be Your Best Creative Self via Your Instagram Online Presence by Sara Tasker Review

Hashtag Authentic: Be Your Best Creative Self via Your Instagram Online Presence by Sara Tasker 4/5 Stars 192 pages
Published February 19th 2019 by White Lion Publishing

Ever wonder why your Instagram fails to thrive when everyone else’s grows? Than this book could help you. “Hashtag Authentic” can teach you exactly what you’re doing wrong with your pictures, and exactly what you need to do to make them better. From photography tips, to caption and hashtag help, and even layout for your page, it really has everything you could ever need.

 

With beautiful pictures, the book shows you what to strive for, and positively reinforces not only lessons, but also your future career, or hobby, of photography. I feel like I just took a high school class about it, but I really just read a short book. I’m refreshed, and ready to start taking the pictures that I want to take.

 

If you need an easy to follow book that points you in the right direction, than this is the book for you. Its a fast read, but it’s packed full of information, and it doesn’t read like a textbook.

 

The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to keep up with her.

Thanks for reading!

Trouble picking what to read next?

I feel like I have this problem all the time. With all the books I have on my currently reading list, I always feel lost at where to pick up the next one, when I’m looking to read something that isn’t coming out right away. My ARC website lists? My entire shelf of paper copies I haven’t read? My ereaders and reading apps? It’s a little overwhelming at times.

Here’s what I’ve been trying to do lately.

Read one book from one list, and try to work through one at a time. For instance, I might be trying to do my email list, alternating between that and my ARC website lists, and if I have time, maybe a paperback or two a week.

Now, my reading goal isn’t as ambitious as it was a few months ago, when I was reading 5 books a week. I have stuff to do that isn’t books, and although I would like to read that much right now, it’s just not really an option, but that will change. I’m just glad I’m not falling behind on my posts as bad as I did previous weeks.

Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that if you’re feeling overwhelmed because of your lists and books and workload you set yourself, it’s okay because it’ll change.

Thanks for reading.

Starting & Saving Seeds: Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers for Your Garden by Julie Thompson-Adolf Review

Starting & Saving Seeds: Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers for Your Garden by Julie Thompson-Adolf 4/5 Stars 160 pages
Published October 2nd 2018 by Cool Springs Press

This book is exactly what it sounds like. A gardening book on how to plant, grow, harvest, and save seeds year round, for people who want more out of their plants. What I didn’t expect, however, was for it to tell me scientific terms, how to mix your soil properly, what tools are best, and what set up is the cheapest for what you need.

This book is honestly really great for someone who wants to learn more about gardening, like me. The pictures are beautiful and crystal clear, and the instructions are really easy to follow. I also really like that the author added real stories about their own life into it, I felt like I was talking to someone who really knows what they’re doing. I also loved that there was a part of the book dedicated to not only starting your seeds, but also what kind of plants you can grow, how to grow them, and what to expect from them.

Overall I don’t have much to say about this book, other than it definitely doesn’t read like a textbook, it’s super short and straight to the point, just how I like these kind of books, and I really enjoyed reading it. The only problem I had with it, is that the ebook copy I had kept glitching and half of the page would disappear as I was really getting into it. For that reason, I would say I definitely need to get a paper copy. The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter.

 

Thanks for reading!