The majority of the books I’ve had my nose in lately haven’t been fiction. Instead, I’ve been studying some non-fiction books about gardening, something I’ve really come to enjoy in the last few years since we bought our house and have been doing all the landscaping from scratch. Now that we’ve built the garage and put up the fences and laid down the pavers and put down some sod, I can turn my attention to the fun stuff… making it look really pretty :)

I have some big plans. Last year I only put in a few plants because a) I hadn’t researched what would work for the conditions in my yards, and b) we spent a lot of money on all that landscaping and building we did and I thought I might take it easy on the pocket book for a year. So this year, I’ve started drawing up plans for vegetables, herbs and annuals to plant in my tiered retaining wall gardens, perennials and annuals to plant in my flower beds, bushes and trees to plant in the yard, and (at least) 4 containers to fill with bright annuals. Oh, and I can’t forget the container water garden I’m putting together, complete with fountain, plants and fish. And I’m thinking about getting some hanging baskets and/or some planters to go on the railings on my front porch. Yep, I’ve got big plans. It could get a little expensive, but I’ve (luckily and happily) got a few transplants coming my way from family members, and I started up a bunch of plants from seed weeks ago that should be ready to plant out in another couple of weeks. Now, if only the weather would cooperate. The snow has only just melted away up here and it’s looking like we might (finally!) be done with the snow and rain storms.

Anyway… what I’m getting at is that I’ve put the fiction aside for now in favor of these books:

All of these books are published by a local publisher called Lone Pine Publishing. They’re all excellent. In addition to these local gardening books, they also publish gardening books for many other regions, including those in the USA, as well as many non-gardening books. I own most of these books, which just goes to show how much I like and use them as reference materials, as I rarely buy books anymore and get everything from the library.

I started this book blog so I could have a record of the books I’ve been reading and so that if I ever forget what a book was about, or the names of its characters, I could reread my review to trigger the memories. I am that unfortunate sort of person who tends to forget those kinds of details and mix up the plots of books if it’s been a while since I read them.

But every once in a while, a book comes along that is in no danger of my forgetting the characters or the plot because it makes such a strong impression on me, rendering it impossible to forget. This is one of those books. Such a sad, sad book. I can’t remember the last time I bawled my eyes out so much over a book. (more…)

… and excuse the mess. I’ve just moved and there’s still a few things to unpack and rearrange until I’m completely at home here. So come on it, read a bit, but don’t go getting attached to the colors or the layout or the graphics or… anything, really. It’s all likely to change! :)

Sigh… this is the final installment in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy and the one that truly gets your swoon on. All the best scenes are played out in here: Darcy and Elizabeth’s reunion at Rosings Park when he thought he’d never see her again, her rejection of his first horrible proposal ( “I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry”), his transformation into the sort of gentleman she deserved ( “You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner”), their chance meeting at Pemberley, his rescuing of Lydia Bennet and the Bennet family name, and Darcy and Elizabeth finally understanding each other so they can be together. I think I sighed already, didn’t I? (more…)

This second installment of the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy deviates most from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, as there is little to no cross-referencing between the two save for a few characters and some background information. This is the novel where Aidan allowed herself the most creative control, as it is set during the “silent” time in Pride and Prejudice in which Darcy and Elizabeth are separated after their first meeting in Herfordshire up until their second meeting at Darcy’s aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s estate. While Pride and Prejudice followed Elizabeth’s thoughts and experiences during this time, there is no trace of Elizabeth in Duty and Desire except for Darcy’s memories of her. (more…)