On My Nightstand: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The Victorian language of flowers was used to express emotions: honeysuckle for devotion, azaleas for passion, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it has been more useful in communicating feelings like grief, mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.

 Now eighteen, Victoria has nowhere to go, and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. When her talent is discovered by a local florist, she discovers her gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But it takes meeting a mysterious vendor at the flower market for her to realise what's been missing in her own life, and as she starts to fall for him, she's forced to confront a painful secret from her past, and decide whether it's worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.

"The Language of Flowers" is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about the meaning of flowers, the meaning of family, and the meaning of love.

Goodreads

 

This book looks like it will be a great read! Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an advanced copy.

Winner: Laura's Handmade Life Giveaway

The winner is:

Vilde!

Holy Cupcakes Batman! It's Blog Hop!

Yes, I know. It's a giant cupcake. What a great way to start the weekend, right? Thinking about cupcakes is the best way I know, other than reading a great book that is...So have a great blog hop and let me know what awesome book you are reading. Don't forget to check out the current contest a few posts in. Just a few more days until the giveaway closes!

  

Question of the week:

What do I do when I am not reading?

Hmmm. I read so much, but filling in the blanks...I write alot. Blogging takes up some of my time. So do my puppies and my husband. I review music, so when I am not listening to it, I am usually writing a review about it. When time permits, I try to make my Thursday knitting class, but lately that has been quite the challenge with my full time job demanding more of my time than normal. So, I crochet a bit here and there, watch a sitcom with my husband over dinner and then I am usually back on the computer writing, blogging or reviewing something. Typically, this means I am surrounded by my furry kids, trying to either write a bit on the book, toss some laundry in the machine and run the vacuum all while running plot lines in my head and trying to squeeze as much into my time off as I can. Life is never boring at my house.

   

Question of the week:

Where do you get your books?

Answer: Most of the time I buy my books, both on my Nook and in physical form. I get some from publishers and authors who are interested in having me review them, and I find some at the e-branch of my public library. I love that you can use the e-branch Overdrive system with the iPad and the Nookcolor. It is super cool. I also use Netgalley. For any of you bloggers out there who have not investigated Netgalley, you really need to check it out. It is like an extended library check out system that you can use on your e-reader or iPad.

Follow Friday and Blogger Hop

Greetings fellow blog hoppers! Welcome to another amazing blog hopping weekend. I hope this finds you well and staying out of the summer heat! Thanks for joining me here at Bookgirl Knitting. This is an eclectic blog, dedicated to a love of all kinds of books. Thanks for taking a minute to visit!


 

Q. Let's step away from besties...What is the worst book that you've ever read and actually finished?

A. Oh wow. That is a hard question. The worst book that I actually finished. That is so hard. There have been a lot of books I have read over the years that don't get finished. I think I would have to say the one I hated the most was:

I mean, really. A story about a guy that turns into a giant roach? Oh the horror. It was the worst. Wait. No that might actually go to:

I hated every second of this book. It was awful. It's funny, I don't remember why I hated it, but the very thought of reading it again makes me shudder.

This week, instead of a question, we are promoting other blogs giveaways. I am listing two:



http://gardenofbooks.blogspot.com/

http://danasyabookpile.blogspot.com/

The second blog is my sister site for YA readers. Check them both out and enjoy the hop!

On My Nightstand: Wicked Plants

A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. In Wicked Plants, Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature’s most appalling creations. It’s an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. You’ll learn which plants to avoid (like exploding shrubs), which plants make themselves exceedingly unwelcome (like the vine that ate the South), and which ones have been killing for centuries (like the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother).

Menacing botanical illustrations and splendidly ghastly drawings create a fascinating portrait of the evildoers that may be lurking in your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, alarm, and enlighten even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.

(Goodreads)

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review, and so far it looks like an interesting read! I will also be reviewing Wicked Bugs. This book will make you think about the plants we think are so harmless, just sitting in our back yard. Stay tuned for my up and coming review!