Like many other people I have appreciated books more than ever in the past two years. I have wishlists on paper and saved in social media, purchases waiting in checkouts, holds placed with my local library and ‘to read’ books lined up in an orderly queue on my shelves.
You may think that I have enough to get on with but actually it has made me want to find more great texts to read. And what better way than a book club?!
The idea of this book club though is that it will be nature / botanically themed in some way. Books may be fiction or non-fiction, text books, poetry, biographies, novels, old, new – anything! They don’t have to be about gardening, they could be about art, crafts, cooking or whatever we like as long as its related to plants and nature.
I’m hoping we can all discover great titles from each other. Who’s in?
Suggestions for the first two are Anna Greenland’s Grow Easy, published in September 2021 and Allan Jenkins’ Plot 29, published in May 2018.
Anna is an organic vegetable gardener and cook. She has vast experience and knowledge and in fact was one of my big influences in growing edible flowers and setting up The Flower Deli. This book is described as being for beginners but I think that when it comes to Anna everyone – no matter where they are on their gardening journey – can learn something from her. Another thing that especially appeals to me about this book is that it is about growing in pots and small spaces, which is the reality for most of us.
Allan’s book was recommended to me by Eleanor from Hope Springs Gardening who suggested this after seeing my ‘wellbeing and nature’ book list last month.
Plot 29 is a memoir of how Allan found healing from tending to an allotment plot. I have to admit, I hadn’t come across it before but Eleanor described it is a life changing read, so how could I resist?!
Both books can be found at various online retailers. Also, they are stocked in many libraries here in Nottingham, so I’m guessing they will be available to loan in libraries UK wide too.
I’ll run this book club on Instagram under the hashtag #GCJBookClub . Please do chip in with your suggestions for more books we can read together. We could start with one per month and switch to one every other month once the season gets busier and we all want to spend more time in the garden. Feel free to dip in and out with whatever suits you best. At the end of each month (or two) I’ll write a little something about each title here on the website.
I’ve posted a little video about the GCJ Book Club on Instagram so please comment there or send me a DM, or drop me a line here.
Looking forward to reading with you!
Vic x