Well here I am in New York City...my second day and already have had awesome Italian food and eaten the best Reuben ever at the famous Carnegie Deli. Dude, the potato pancakes rocked, too!
Thought I would send a short video post to tell you what we are working on...and, if you get a chance, go to the new book selling website they are creating and give me some feedback about it. It is called GardenBookStore.net . They want it to be more interactive, more engaging...if you leave a comment on my blog in response, you will get a chance to win one of my Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners books! I will put everyone's name in my orange garden hat and draw.
Here's the video:
**Update: we have a winner folks! K Youell, come on down! Thanks for all of your comments...Cool Springs Press has given us a special discount as a thank you. From now until June 7, when you purchase something from http://www.gardenbookstore.net you will get 20% off. Use JA09 as the discount code.
Interesting site especially with the books being local. Wish my area had more garden related books, oh yeah I could write one...lol!
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Kiva, Farmstead Lady | May 28, 2009 at 02:29 PM
Looks good over all. One thing I caught is in Texas section is not all the books shown matched with the titles given underneath them. But overall a very cool site.
Posted by: Paula | May 28, 2009 at 02:36 PM
The site could include blogs for authors that are published by the press as a way to help encourage the readers to interact with the writers.
Posted by: Michael Nolan | May 28, 2009 at 02:38 PM
Cool site! I just purchased "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" and it makes me a lot more confident to know I can put all of this information into practice without having to worry about whether it really pertains to this wet climate.
Posted by: Emily | May 28, 2009 at 02:40 PM
ooo, I like Michael's blog idea!
Posted by: Emily | May 28, 2009 at 02:41 PM
I can't hear the video (need to reboot again, totally my prob not yours), but I'll forget to come back if I do that! I wanted to say that I love the inspiration you give to help newbies like me willing to even try to grow food. I've always had a black thumb, but now I have hope!
Posted by: KYouell | May 28, 2009 at 02:44 PM
Right before you posted this blog, I had followed your Facebook suggestion to check out the GardenBookStore site. I happen to be in the market for some vegetable gardening books, but don't know what I want so this timing is perfect!
I love the front page of the site... it had everything that has piqued my interest lately (Squarefoot Gardening feature, all the best gardening books on slideshow, gardening tips). But the thing that really drew me in was the "books for where I live" feature at the top.
Since I'm a new gardener, I'm easily overwhelmed by all there is to know, try, and discover. Filtering first by where I live is a great start. I'm also a condo dweller with a 5x7 balcony on which to "garden" so am particularly interested in container vegetable gardening, as well as seed germination, vermicomposting and uber-creative space utilization.
If I had to come up with a suggestion for the site, it might be to expand the selection beyond books published by traditional publishing houses (i.e. Lulu, websites, forums, blogs, podcasts). Perhaps that would be beyond the scope of a traditional "bookstore" but then that's what happened with Amazon, no?
Hope this helps. Thanks for you do, Jean Ann, for we fledgling gardeners!
Posted by: DeDe | May 28, 2009 at 03:01 PM
Great idea for a site. Love that it's broken down by state! Really helpful. My state only had a handful of books, but it's a good beginning. I love the idea about having blogs by gardening authors or adding some kind of feature where a newbie like me can connect with/get advice/more info from the experts would be helpful too.
Posted by: Alicia Ghio | May 28, 2009 at 03:06 PM
Good job! That new site looks cool. Florida dirt needs all the help it can get!
Posted by: electric_goldfish | May 28, 2009 at 03:16 PM
Oh snap, sorry for the double post (pretend it's 1)but in addition to your social networking idea, I'd really be interested in a link list of gardening clubs and/or public (or shared) gardens in each area. I am having a heck of a time finding local ones!
Posted by: electric_goldfish | May 28, 2009 at 03:21 PM
I was unable to find "Can't Miss Container Gardening" by Felder Rushing. Even after clicking its icon on the Home page. It took me to the "Garden Shed" page. I entered "Can't Miss Container Gardening" in the search box and it brought up "Small Space Gardening." A completely different book. So, for now, I'm giving the site a D-. All it takes is one frustrating experience trying to find a particular item, and I do my shopping elsewhere.
Posted by: TC | May 28, 2009 at 05:05 PM
Cool website!
Posted by: Brandi Alexander | May 28, 2009 at 07:25 PM
I know quite a bit about gardening but still found info here that was a learning experience.
I really like the site. Good for you!!
Posted by: Donna Meinze | May 28, 2009 at 07:31 PM
It would be great to see the option to buy the book in an email or more instant format. Also to have a psot for reviews for each book.
Posted by: Jessica | May 28, 2009 at 07:31 PM
Great site! Loved the books for Texas all in one place. The clay in which we garden needs lots of help and instruction for us newbies. The thumbnails didn't always match the titles listed and probably need to be proofed.
Posted by: gdert9 | May 28, 2009 at 07:39 PM
Love this idea! I will sign up for the tip of the week for sure. I would take out the movement of changing pictures in the center of the front page, any movement makes me want to get out of the page asap. great work!
Posted by: Julia | May 28, 2009 at 07:46 PM
What a colorful book site, I was immediately drawn in by the bright colors and the changing pictures.
I am not a new gardener, with 25 years or so under my belt, so I have several of the books and have read many more, and you present them invitingly.
I think one of the trends of the future, is the concept of edible landscaping, and there are a few good books about that. With Michelle Obama doing her organic vegetable garden in view of the street, I think this will become a little more popular. Rosalind Creasy has a few books about it, which are Really beautiful.
Being in zone 10B, I am in a tiny subsection of the country, so I appreciate your dividing the books into where we live. There are always books on cold zones, but here we deal with heat, rain, humidity and hurricanes, so need specialized advice.
Good luck with the blog and the garden bookstore.
Posted by: Christina Avati | May 28, 2009 at 07:47 PM
I do like the site but the prices for Texas books are a little high I think, (anywhere from about $5 to over $100.00)but that's just me. Will be interesting to visit back and see how it develops.
Hilda >^..^<
Posted by: Hilda | May 28, 2009 at 07:47 PM
I think the site looks pretty good - the biggest piece missing is a space for reader reviews. I know that I rely heavily on readers feedback when I'm buying any book, and gardening books are no exception. Perhaps I missed the ability to rate/review a book?
Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Metroknow | May 28, 2009 at 08:07 PM
I think interactive is the way to go. Example, show video of a beautiful garden, focus on one aspect per video and then break it down so it could be duplicated using video segments with the individuals own tastes added in to personalize the end results. Show viewers/beginners the fun is in the trying and if they truly are beginners, to not to let fear stop them from the experience. Especially in these times, it would also benifit all to get back to the lost art of growing your own.
Posted by: D Koch | May 28, 2009 at 08:35 PM