• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Garden Bloggers’ Book Club November Newsletter

November 20, 2006 By Carol Michel 14 Comments

Greetings, and welcome to the November Edition of the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club Newsletter.

A gentle reminder of the November “meeting”.

I’d like to get all your blog posts about The Essential Earthman by Henry Mitchell rounded up by this Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving in the United States), so I can publish a post on Friday, November 24th with links to all of them. As noted by Annie in Austin, November 24th was Henry’s birthday, so it seems like the right day to “meet” via posting a blog entry with links to everyone’s posts. I’ve heard from Kathy of Cold Climate Gardening, The Good Earth, Genie the Inadvertent Gardener, and The Transportable Rose, Annie in Austin that their posts are published and ready. I think there are a few other postings about Henry and his book around about on the blogosphere, including my own. If you’ve posted and I didn’t list you here, send me a comment to let me know.

(Noted added… Okay, we are a club with relaxed rules. If Thanksgiving break was when you had planned to read the book, that’s okay. You can post your thoughts later, and we will do another big post again at the end of the month so everyone is included. I wouldn’t want anyone to not read this great book because of some deadline that is totally made up!)

December Selection

Most clubs take it kind of easy in December, don’t they? So much going on, it is a good month to just visit and exchange Christmas goodies and share memories of past meetings. But how do you do that with a fairly new “virtual” online club that doesn’t even meet via a chat but communicates through posts and occasional questions on the gardening group forum at LibraryThing, set up by Kathy of Cold Climate Gardening?

Well, we’ll just make it a more relaxed month via our book selection and “post assignment”.

So, without further fanfare or build up, the December book selection is “My Favorite Plant” edited by Jamaica Kincaid. The subtitle tells all about what we can expect inside. “Writers and Gardeners on the Plants They Love”. Many garden writers and writers who just love gardening have contributed. I recognized some of the contributors, others I didn’t, so I am looking forward to reading this book because it may also lead me to find other writers that I might enjoy reading more of, who might not otherwise have crossed my garden path.

But maybe you are concerned that you will just have no time to read during all the holidays, or didn’t have time to read The Essential Earthman and feel you missed out on November? Or maybe you can’t get this book, or are just looking for an excuse to not post for the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club in December? If so, you will be delighted that I’ve worked it out so there is really no excuse for not participating! You can still participate in the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club by just writing a post about your favorite plant sometime during the month of December and sending me a link for the round up posting at the end of the month. We all have our favorite plants, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to write about yours, should it?

January Selection

Once December is behind us and we have nothing to do but browse through seed catalogs and make resolutions about how much better we will be at tending our gardens if spring will just hurry up, it is time to read a more serious book, one that will help us all become better gardeners, no matter where we live and garden. We’ll start with the very foundation of our gardens, the soil. With that in mind, the January selection is Teaming with Microbes, A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis.

And we are all about flexibility in this virtual garden book club, so if you can’t find a copy of that book at your local library or don’t want to actually buy it because it just isn’t your kind of gardening book, you may choose any book or article about soil, composting, or related topics to read and write a post about it in January. Won’t that be fun? Once you read a good book on soil, it will never be just “dirt” to you again.

February Selection

We are on a roll here with advance information for all the winter reading, so I’ll continue on. Our February selection is “nearly selected” but I’d like your input. I would like to read another garden essayist and have narrowed the choice down to Katherine White or Elizabeth Lawrence. Does anyone have an opinion on one or the other? Or should it just be the book of letters between them? Send me your thoughts and I will try to finalize this one soon, so you can put it on your Christmas wish list if you don’t already have it.

March Selection

March is still a bit open and up in the air, so there is plenty of time to provide more input. What book(s) have you put on your wish list? What topics do you think we should explore? All ideas are welcome; send them via comments!

That’s it for the November Newsletter of the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: books, garden bloggers book club

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    November 20, 2006 at 7:31 pm

    Well, there go my “you can finish Earthman over Thanksgiving” plans!

    For February, I’ll vote for Two Gardeners, the letters, only because I’ve bought the book and haven’t read it yet. But, if there is more interest in something else, then I’ll read that, too.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    November 20, 2006 at 7:33 pm

    February: I vote for Two Gardeners, only because I’ve bought the book but haven’t read it yet. But, if others want something else, I’ll gladly read it.

    Reply
  3. Kathy says

    November 20, 2006 at 7:47 pm

    I just sent an email to my local library, requesting they purchase a copy of Teaming with Microbes. By the way, I thought you had “teaming” misspelled until I looked it up on Amazon.

    It probably has something to do with who’s using the new Blogger and who’s using the old, but on your blog it wants to sign me in as Kathleen. I’m still Kathy to everyone but my mother–and Blogger, apparently!

    Reply
  4. Colleen Vanderlinden says

    November 21, 2006 at 2:42 am

    For February, I vote for Two Gardeners. I’m already doing some checking for the December book, and so far it’s not looking good. My library system stinks. I may have to go for the “write about your fave plant” option.

    Reply
  5. Carol Michel says

    November 21, 2006 at 3:14 am

    All, I wanted to bring to your attention the following comment from one of the authors of “Teaming with Microbes”… He posted it over on the Garden Bloggers Book Club blog entry which is a link back to here.

    “Hi Carol and others. Glad you are reading “Teaming with Microbes.” There is a major mistake on page 41 where the definition of pH is incorrect. The proper definition is if you have lots of hydrogen ions, you have a low pH or acid…and fewer, higher pH and basic.

    Sorry about that. Big goof-up. Now corrected!

    Let me know if you have questions!

    Jeff Lowenfels, author Teaming With Microbes: A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web….”

    Mark your books with the correction if you already have the book. Thanks for the update, Jeff.

    Reply
  6. Gloria says

    November 21, 2006 at 7:42 am

    Carol, all choices sound good.
    I tried to get the book Two Gardeners once before and instead received the delightful ‘Dear Friend and Gardener’ by Chatto and Lloyd.

    For March have you considered a novel in a garden.
    ‘The Lost Garden’
    by Helen Humphreys is quite moving.Although it might be considered a chick book.
    Here’s my November contribution.
    ‘Essential Earthman’

    Reply
  7. Colleen Vanderlinden says

    November 21, 2006 at 12:08 pm

    Carol,

    I did a couple of Essential Earthman posts over at ITGO. Here are the links to them:
    Mitchell’s Reflections on the Cycle of Life
    Henry Mitchell–My New Gardening Hero

    Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  8. Carol Michel says

    November 21, 2006 at 12:15 pm

    Colleen, Gloria, I’ve added your posts to the list… Carol

    Reply
  9. Anonymous says

    November 21, 2006 at 4:42 pm

    Carol,

    I’d vote for Katherine White – is it Onward and Upward in the Garden??? I have this on my shelf.
    Elizabeth Lawrence I don’t have but my mother in law has several volumes which I skimmed through last week while in the US on an early Thanksgiving trip. Too much on bulbs for my interests and also geographically distant!

    Happy Thanksgiving
    John

    Reply
  10. Kasmira says

    November 21, 2006 at 6:04 pm

    Here’s my Earthman post. I’ve more mentioned him in passing, than devoted an entire post to him. I’m not so good at following directions! http://cinticapecod.blogspot.com/2006/10/such-thing-as-too-much-red.html
    It was a great book, though. Thanks for the reco. I’ll try to do a better job next month.

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says

    November 21, 2006 at 8:05 pm

    Hi Carol,

    I posted my comment about this month’s selection at LibraryThing.

    I would like to suggest for March “Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening” by Vigen Guroian.

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    November 23, 2006 at 2:54 pm

    Carol: Here’s my Earthman post. Thanks for doing this, and have a great Thanksgiving!

    http://timberglade.typepad.com/outside/2006/11/henry_mitchell_.html

    Reply
  13. Kathy says

    November 30, 2006 at 12:15 am

    FYI, I set up a category in my Amazon store for the Garden Bloggers Book Club.I doubt more books will be sold this way, but it makes it all look so official!

    Reply
  14. Carol Michel says

    November 30, 2006 at 3:35 am

    Kathy, that’s great, it does seem more official. Thanks!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT