Stepping outside of your comfort zone - part 2

I did exactly what I recommended a few weeks ago. I closed my eyes and pulled out a book at random to read. Now I will be honest, I was really really relieved that it wasn't science fiction, but who knows what will happen next time!

The book was The Virgin of Small Plains, by Nancy Pickard. I have to say, the cover was uninspiring, no hint of anything suspenseful, just a pretty, bland cover. The book is described as a novel of suspence and involves an unsolved death in a small Kansas town from 17 years ago. While you could consider it a mystery, it really tips over into a hint of Alice Hoffman, a touch of Jodi Picoult as we explore the effects of the death on a variety of townspeople. I listened to the audiobook of this and was really drawn in by the plot and the characters. As some reviewers have said, there is a little of something for everyone - a nice romance, an interesting mystery and a thread of how justice is ultimately served in unexpected ways. Is it the greatest book ever? No. Great literature? Probably not. Was it a good read? I thought so and recommend it to anyone willing to take a chance.

Another title I tried, I really tried thinking it would be an entirely different kind of book. This book was City of Masks, by Daniel Hecht. I had read briefly about it and it was referred to as a new mystery series featuring Cree Black as the investigator. I had just come off a period of reading mysteries featuring American Indian detectives. With that background I jumped to the conclusion that this was a new series to try. While I was treated to a great book that forced you to wrap your mind around some bizarre things, there was no American Indian detective - Cree being short for her real name, and she turned out to be a paranormal investigator. This is a good book if you are into ghosts, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, X-files and are prepared to take a leap into the paranormal. Not my usual area of interest, but I couldn't wait for the next in the series.

What it all comes down to is that there are so many possible new books to try - who knows what you will end up discovering. The next time you read another book by your favorite author and think that it was ok, but a little disappointing, take a risk and try something entirely new. It can lead to some great reads, and just maybe, a new author to watch for.

Books: Land of Echoes, by Daniel Hecht

Small change, by Belinda Yandell

Spring revealed

We finally have enjoyed a bit of lovely warm weather and suddenly all the early flowers are blooming all around us. It is a time that reenergizes us gardeners, a siren call demanding us to come out of winter hibernation and get to work. We gardeners come in all sorts from those of us who plant some annuals to brighten up our patch of yard to those of us who have the kind of Martha Stewart garden that is the envy of all privileged to see it.

I got into gardening late, having lived all my life with serious gardeners (my mother is a member of the Herb Society) and never saw the reason to get down in dirt and mess around. Then about 10 years ago, my husband and I moved into a house with not a scrap of a flower to be seen. For some reason, a passion - some would say drive - to garden was born. We are not good gardeners, our philosophy is to plant it and if it lives great, if it doesn't, we will plant something different. We don't prepare the soil like you are supposed to. In fact we use a posthole digger to plant everything. We stop at every place that sells plants and we have tried a little of everything, expanding the planted area each year to the point that we have very little grass left. We have no plan other than always choosing perennials. We are oddballs in the neighborhood and not too many understand what we do, but everyone admits we have a riot of color and flowers from spring through fall.

You can see, our neighbors don't embrace our gardening style - and this is just the beginning of the season and a few years ago. There is way more planted there now. We take time each day to see what has just blossomed, or what has finally started to regrow. We watch the migration of our daisies around the property. My aunt sent me seeds years ago and they continue to reseed each year - coming up somewhere new and unexpected. I am out weeding all the time - I love it! It takes care of all my stress, gives me a chance to vent in a constructive way and I get such a sense of accomplishment. It is so much a part of me now that I itch to weed where ever I go.

But that is the gift of gardens. They come in all shapes and sizes and are there to give pleasure and satisfaction in life. They really are a lot like books. Follow me on this for a moment. What are Martha Stewart gardens like? Those gorgeous coffee table books, gorgeous feasts for the eyes that are there for everyone to enjoy. Then there are those little hidden gems, a few blooms where you least expect them. These are like those occasional books you come across that aren't big bestsellers, but affect you quietly but profoundly. There are standard, well groomed gardens that are like those dependable authors that always give you a reliably interesting book, without much of a wow. The act of gardening is similar to self-help and diet/healthy lifestyles books. Working in your garden can be relaxing, be good exercise, can allow you to explore your creative side and in the case of vegetable gardening, feed you as well as your soul.

And when the love of gardens and gardening intersect, we have books about gardening. Lovely photo-laden books that make you open them up and browse through looking for new plants and fresh ideas. Fascinating little books that talk about the passion for gardening that suddenly grips you without warning. Helpful books that tell you how to get started, how to solve whatever is going wrong in your garden and challenge the most skilled gardeners. It is an endless journey working in a garden, so like our endless journey through the ever fresh, ever changing variety of things to read waiting on a library shelf.

Books: Invisible garden, by Dorothy Sucher
From the ground up: the story of a first garden, by Amy Stewart
Night Gardening, by E. L. Swann
DVD: Rosemary and Thyme ( an English series about 2 women gardeners that get involved
with solving crimes)