Books, Books, and More Books: Introducing the Cold Climate Gardening virtual bookstore

– Posted in: About this site, Book reviews
5 comments

A selection of my gardening books
You may have noticed I have been writing a lot of book reviews lately. There is a good reason for that. I have been spiffing up my Amazon store. For those of you who don’t keep up on these things (and why should you?), Amazon has given its associates the opportunity to create virtual stores stocked with products of the associate’s choosing. When visitors to an associate’s aStore click on something they find there, and purchase something in the same visit, the associate (in this case, me) gets a commission.

All well and good, except hardly anyone buys anything. That’s okay, because the real appeal of this for me is making people aware of all the good books out there. Let’s face it, the choices are overwhelming, so I whittle down the options to make browsing easier for you. Even I didn’t realize how many regional gardening books are out there, for example. That’s right, I haven’t read all the books in my “store.” I do usually start out with books I have read, and then search for similar books to round out the collection. And as I’ve been going through Amazon’s extensive collection, I decided to write reviews of some of the best cold climate books, the ones I deemed worthy of the front page, to add some copy to the store and flesh out the pages of my website as well.

Did you ever notice how garden magazines and newspapers everywhere run “great gifts for gardeners” type articles at this time of the year? But who’s reading them? Generally, there’s only one fanatical gardener in the family, and that’s who’s reading the what-to-get article. Not the one shopping for the gardener. No, the clueless shopper is standing in the aisle of a big box store, scratching his or her head. That’s why the smart gardener drops big hints, or better yet, writes a wish list. That’s what I think my little virtual store is best at–helping you write that list for the shopper in your life.

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

In the end, this may be the most important thing about frost: Frost slows us down. In spring, it tempers our eagerness. In fall, it brings closure and rest. In our gotta-go world–where every nanosecond seems to count–slowness can be a great gift. So rather than see Jack Frost as an adversary, you could choose to greet him as a friend.

~Philip Harnden in A Gardener’s Guide to Frost: Outwit the Weather and Extend the Spring and Fall Seasons

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Kathy Purdy December 5, 2006, 2:17 pm

Thank you, firefly, it’s a work in progress. I have more categories to add, and I’m open to suggestions.

firefly December 5, 2006, 2:12 pm

Wow. What an impressive list, especially the native plants and naturalistic planting sublists. I’ve bookmarked the store and the next time I purchase garden books (some of the titles are on my existing list) I’ll be sure to do it here.

I’m grateful that you took the time to compile this list of titles — as a beginner, I find pointers like these a big help!

M Sinclair Stevens (Texas) December 5, 2006, 10:32 am

I have toyed with the Amazon idea for years, especially since I have two speciality book genres (gardening and Japan) in which I’ve collected and read hundreds of books. And the accountants know that I buy a great deal of books from Amazon so it seems fair that I share a bit in the wealth I generate for them.

I’m always getting bored with my old blogs and wanting to start new ones–or at least incorporate new writing projects. The one I’ve been thinking of lately is 365 days of book reviews. Could I write a book review a day? I hate to commit myself to any project because I’m so easily diverted. Maybe I’ll just investigate the Amazon angle again.

Kathy Purdy December 5, 2006, 7:17 am

Yes. Anything that is ordered in the same session as the original click-through generates a commission for me. Since Amazon is promoting the aStore concept, they have increased the commission when items are ordered by clicking through the store, as opposed to a link to a book (such as are in the book reviews).

Carol December 4, 2006, 10:55 pm

My family certainly waits for me to provide a list. They might want to buy me a new hoe, but wouldn’t know if it was one I already had.

What happens if I go to your Amazon store, but end up ordering something you haven’t selected? Do you still get a commission?