What I've Been Reading: Early March 2022

 A couple books to welcome the month of March

The Comic Book Guide to Growing Food: Step-by-Step Vegetable Gardening for Everyone by Joseph Tychonievich and Liz Anna Kozik

If you are thinking about growing food, I 100% recommend this book! It's hands-down the best beginners' gardening book I've ever read: accessible, fun to read, thorough, and specifically designed to help you have the best first-time gardening experience ever.

All the information is presented through a story about two neighbors: Mia (the novice) and her older neighbor George (the gardening expert). George helps Mia pick a site for her garden, choose what to grow, learn about timing, test the soil for lead and nutrients, build raised beds, mulch and plant, troubleshoot pests, water correctly, harvest, and even throw a garden party to share what she's grown. (Mia in turn teaches him how to use a smartphone. They're adorable.)

The illustrations are beautiful, the story is fun, and it's jam-packed with useful information without feeling overwhelming. If you have any interest in growing veggies, please check it out!

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker

I've always absolutely loved parties, not only for the high-energy vibes but especially for the connections that can spark when people from different backgrounds meet and interact. But as I look back through a lot of the gatherings I've organized, they fall flat or didn't live up to my expectations. What went wrong— what makes some gatherings unforgettable and others just blah? 

This book is a down-to-earth, practical guide for how to practice meaningfully gathering groups of people together, whether that's for a barbecue, work conference, performance, brainstorming session, birthday party, summer camp, casual dinner, or international diplomatic gatherings— all of which the author has facilitated as part of her personal and professional life. Parker discusses various mental, emotional, and physical logistics that encourage people to come into the gathering with a purpose, reflect and connect during the experience, and leave feeling that they shared something special with other people.

The book is certainly not just for extroverts or partiers: the principles apply to intimate gatherings of friends, professional meetings, family events, and social occasions of all kinds. As we reenter social life after the pandemic, this book might be particularly helpful for learning how to exist with other people in person again, too.

I devoured the book in just two days, but will be mulling over it for quite a while. It's a fun, thought-provoking read. 

Previously on What I've Been Reading:

Late February

Early February

Late January

Early January

All What I've Been Reading posts

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