The Call by Michael Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I won this book from the publisher through a GoodReads giveaway.

The Call is the first book in a series about Mack and the Magnificent Twelve. Mack is twelve years old, and the first of the Magnificent Twelve.

He’s an ordinary kid with an extraordinary number of phobias. His life changes when he meets a three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk who tells him that he must find the 11 other members of the Magnificent Twelve and save the world from the Pale Queen and her daughter Ereskigal, or Risky.

Grimluk was one of the first Magnificent Twelve: a group of twelve-year-olds who fought the Pale Queen and managed to imprison her. He was given the task of preparing for when the Pale Queen returns.

While I wouldn’t call this book one of my favorites, it has an entertainingly breezy style. The book is full of references to pop culture and the here and now: cell phones, iPhones, Yoda, Wal-Mart, Iron Man… The list goes on, and at first, it was a bit disconcerting. That said, I must admit that I particularly enjoyed the references to the Lord of the Rings. Stefan, for example, is the “one bully to rule them all….” I also wonder if the Pale Queen is a nod to C.S. Lewis.

The book alternates between narrating what happens to Mack and Stefan, a bully whose life Mac saves, and the flashbacks to when Grimluk’s was twelve. The Grimluk chapters are amusing, but I felt like they interrupted the story too much.

Also sprinkled throughout the book are notes from the Golem that is sent to replace Mack. (Remarkably, most people don’t seem to notice that Mack has been replaced, but they seemed to barely notice when the real Mack was there anyway.) The Golem’s notes are one of the best parts of the book, in my opinion.

All in all, this was an entertaining book, but I probably won’t read the sequel.

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Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wouldn’t say this book was unpleasant to read, but it wasn’t that hard to put down, either. I was disappointed that the main character, a vampire slayer named Anita Blake, didn’t figure things out faster. It seemed like there were certain clues that she should have put together more quickly. I also am not crazy about the style of narration: first person told by a “tough-as-nails” vampire slayer.

Book source: Free Library of Philadelphia

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All the Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve long been a fan of the Dragonriders of Pern series. This installment was a satisfying read. It fits in well with the rest of the series and provided a nice cap to the struggle against Thread, the menace that threatens the planet and the reason there are dragonriders in the first place. I also liked that this particular book focused on two of my favorite characters in the series: Jaxom and Masterharper Robinton.

If you’ve never read any of the Pern books, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one, since it does assume you have a good understanding of the world of Pern.

Book source: Free Library of Philadelphia

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James Herriot’s Cat Stories by James Herriot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a nice, quick read. I always like James Herriot’s stories. I was already familiar with most of these, as I think all of them were published in other books. However, it was nice to see them collected together, and the illustrations are nice. I just wish he had more cat stories.

Book source: Free Library of Philadelphia

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Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I received this book as a gift. I have to say, I didn’t like the main character, Flora Poste, for most of the book. She’s an interfering busybody who is convinced of her own superiority. Eventually, either she grew on me, or the other characters were so much worse that I got to like her in comparison. Despite that, the book is quite entertaining and well written.

Book source: Gift from my friend Eleanor.

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Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Oh, ce livre est tellement triste. Je suis heureuse que je l’aie lu, mais je ne sais pas si je peux le relire.

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McGee & Stuckey’s Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers by Rose Marie Nichols McGee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I actually skimmed this, rather than reading it outright. I suspect, however, that I will want this book in my permanent reference library. There’s a lot of detailed information about exactly what sort of requirements these plants need for proper container growth. I just wish it spent a bit more time talking about container soil.

Book source: Montgomery County, PA, public library system

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The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants by Peter D’Amato

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Savage Garden is a fascinating and comprehensive treatment of the world of carnivorous plants. D’Amato is the owner of the California Carnivores nursery, and he clearly conveys his passion and extensive knowledge to the reader. Throughout the book, one gets the feeling that he wants nothing more than for you to share his wonder and to be successful.

D’Amato begins with a discussion of the basic concept of what is a carnivorous plant, which is more complicated than one might at first assume. D’Amato points out that even petunias, which are not considered carnivorous and thus are brought up only in passing, trap insects that might otherwise do them harm. This book concentrates, however, on semi-carnivorous plants, which digest prey by enlisting the help of bacteria or insects such as assassin bugs, and true carnivores that produce their own digestive enzymes.

The care of carnivorous plants is somewhat specialized—but the basics are easy enough to master. Although they are found throughout the world, most have rather specific growing environments: they like sun and acidic soil that is wet, low in nutrients, and through which slow moving water flows. If grown in culture, the water should be highly purified water obtained through reverse osmosis—perhaps the biggest barrier towards growing carnivorous plants. Growing media seems more easily obtained from suppliers of orchid media. Several species require terrariums or other protected spaces, but many can be grown on windowsills or in bog gardens. D’Amato covers any specialized needs under the listing for each individual plant.

The book is organized by genus, beginning with the venus flytraps. Remarkably, there is only one species within this genus, which is native to only a small portion of —believe it or not—the Carolinas. Likewise, cobra plants (a variety of pitcher plant) are native only to Northern California and Southern Oregon. North America features prominently in The Savage Garden, and D’Amato points out that North America probably has the widest variety of carnivorous plants in the world.

In addition to venus flytraps and cobra plants, D’Amato discusses pitcher plants from all corners of the globe, dewy pines, rainbow plants, sundews (perhaps my favorite of all the varieties discussed), butterworts (or pings, which are also quite lovely), bladderworts (a primarily aquatic genus that preys upon small water animals such as daphnia), and a few plants that simply don’t fit elsewhere, but are fascinating nonetheless.

Eventually the individual descriptions of varieties and cultivars does become tedious, but once in a while there are gems, such as his description of the flowers of the bladderwort Utricularia sandersonii: “Miniature orchid-like flowers with faces of angry little bunny rabbits….” This particular variety is accompanied by a photograph, and the flowers are just as D’Amato describes.

The book is full of color photographs of numerous carnivorous plant varieties. This fact is all the more impressive since all of the plants have been grown either by D’Amato himself or by his nursery.

Finally, I would encourage you to take the time to read the appendices. Many species of carnivorous plants are endangered due to habitat destruction or over-exploitation by enthusiasts and collectors. In many sections, D’Amato writes about the plight faced by carnivorous plants in the wild, but I think he does so most poignantly in a brief anecdote tucked into the appendices.

Whether you intend to grow carnivorous plants or not, I highly recommend reading The Savage Garden.

And yes, the title is a reference to one of Anne Rice’s novels.

Book source: Montgomery County, PA, public library system

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My review

From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden by Amy Stewart

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. Stewart takes us through the first year of her first garden—every mistake and every triumph—in a voice that is engaging and entertaining. There are a lot of moments that made me laugh here, and one or two that made me tear up.

I highly recommend this to anyone interested in gardening or who just wants a good read. It’s especially good if you’re having trouble with your garden. It’s reassuring to see that other gardeners started out the same way you did: by making mistakes.

Book source: Montgomery County, PA, public library system

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My review

The Edible Herb Garden by Rosalind Creasy
rating: 3 of 5 stars
I skimmed this and got some good ideas for things to do with herbs. I’m eager to try the herb butters. I also finally understand the difference between regular chives (a.k.a. onion chives) and garlic chives (a.k.a. Asian chives). I happen to have seeds for the latter, and now have some ideas on what to do with them when I regrow them.

As with all of Creasy’s books, the photography is beautiful—and as an added bonus, I found I can now identify Nasturtium leaves by sight, although they are rather distinctive.

Book source: Montgomery County, PA, public library system

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The Bugs

The chives mentioned above had a bug problem. I doubt the bugs were beneficial, and they were creepy, so out they all went. I plan on trying to replant them sometime.

I do wish I had more space for bigger pots, or an outdoor area that wasn’t so high up.