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Bezig met laden... Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden (Modern Library Gardening) (origineel 1982; editie 2002)door Eleanor Perényi (Auteur), Michael Pollan (Redacteur), Allen Lacy (Introductie)
Informatie over het werkGreen Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden door Eleanor Perényi (1982)
Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. I need to prepare you. There is a lot of foreplay leading up to the main event that is Green Thoughts. There are 24 pages of other "stuff" to get through before you even see the first chapter, "Annuals": first you need to read the title page, the "Introduction to the modern library gardening series by Michael Pollan", the "Introductions to the text by Allen Lacy", table of contents, the forward, and last but not least, a note on references. But! (dramatic pause...) But, once you get into Green Thoughts it is a delight to finally be there. Each chapter (in alphabetical order) is it's own separate essays so feel free to jump around to the topics that best interest you. To be fair, some of the gardening instruction is a little labor intensive for the plant it and forget it, barely green-thumbed among us. Perényi wrote enough short essays on various garden topics that they were collected into a book and organized alphabetically, seeming to form an encyclopedia. But these are not fact filled articles; they are primarily opinion pieces, though not counter to the truth. For instance, she defies the given wisdom of autumn clipping of rose canes. And I have to agree with her, both of us coming from experiential stands. So, if I had limitless time, I would hang out with her and nod my head from time to time. But I'm much too busy in the gardens... This is simply a delightful book written for the readers enjoyment rather than enlightenment. It consists of fifty, sixty or more essays on various subjects all having to do with some aspect of gardening. The chapters are all titled according to subject matter and in addition there is an excellent index. The book is written for sheer pleasure and enjoyment. No chapter is longer than a few pages and the book lends itself to short bursts of reading that can be extended as time permits. The author is sure to bring smiles to the readers face with shared reminiscenses of experiences that have failed her. Many will be in common with the average gardener. The book includes many personal experiences, a touch of history here and there and the inclusion of scientific nomenclature where useful. Since there are so many short essays in this book and since it lends itself to skipping around so well, it is difficult to know when you have really finished the book. I personally didn't mind reading many chapters a second time. (This review was originally written for The Garden Bloggers' Book Club) I was very happy when “Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden” by Eleanor Perenyi was chosen for the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club. I checked this book out of my local library about four years ago and liked it so much that I added it to my Wishlist on Amazon.com for purchase so that I could re-read it at my leisure. This was the perfect opportunity to finally buy the book and read it again. The author and I are kindred spirits. We garden organically, prefer heirlooms, abhor lawns and lawnmowers, and adore compost. I have to keep reminding myself that she was writing in 1981, long before any of these things were “fashionable”. Her writing is lighthearted and very readable. Even the essays on vegetables, which I don’t grow, are enjoyable. I especially like her exasperation at unclear directions. It’s nice to know that other gardeners have the same difficulties with unclear instructions that I do. Each essay is complete in itself, so the book can be read right through or you can skip around. I’m so glad that I finally have my own copy. It’s one of those books that I will read over and over.
It is a delight to find someone who gracefully combines the qualities of gardener and writer and can say about herself, ''I am no horticultural expert and wouldn't want to pass myself off as one. All I can claim is some thirty years of amateur experience, which is to say I know something about a lot of things and not enough to call myself a specialist in any. I grow herbs, but I am not an herbalist, roses but am not a rosarian.'' All this may, perhaps, be true, but Eleanor Perenyi is much more than a gardener. Her last book,''Liszt: The Artist as Romantic Hero,'' was nominated for a National Book Award. Her career as a journalist was varied, and before retiring to her garden in Stonington, Conn., the garden she writes about in her new book, ''Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden,'' she was managing editor of Mademoiselle magazine. Onderdeel van de uitgeversreeks(en)
A classic in the literature of the garden, "Green Thoughts" is a beautifully written and highly original collection of seventy-two essays, alphabetically arranged, on topics ranging from "Annuals" and "Artichokes" to "Weeds" and "Wildflowers." An amateur gardener for over thirty years, Eleanor Perenyi draws upon her wide-ranging knowledge of gardening lore to create a delightful, witty blend of how-to advice, informed opinion, historical insight, and philosophical musing. There are entries in praise of earthworms and in protest of rock gardens, a treatise on the sexual politics of tending plants, and a paean to the salubrious effect of gardening (see "Longevity"). Twenty years after its initial publication, "Green Thoughts" remains as much a joy to read as ever. This Modern Library edition is published with a new Introduction by Allen Lacy, former gardening columnist for "The Wall Street Journal" and "The New York Times" and the author of numerous gardening books. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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