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Summary: An enlightenment for the soul.
Review: "Chicken Soup for the Gardner" is a must read book for those needing to know that life's rewards go far beyond the events of the day to day living of this world. Gardens are more than plants in the ground tended by that person with the green thumb. The gardens we plant in our hearts and tended by friendship are the ones that grow to nourish our spiritual well being. One of the stories, "Keeping the Harvest" by Carol McAdoo Rehme, touched me deeply. She shows us what range real love can attain. As a contributing author I am proud to be placed among so many who want to share their heartfelt and sometimes comical stories. "I'll Plant Anything" gives us the lighter side of gardening. Valerie Wilcox proves that true friends will do anything for true friends. Read "Chicken Soup for the Gardner" and enjoy.
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Summary: Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul
Review: A MUST read for gardeners and non-gardeners alike! This has been my absolute favorite of all the Chicken Soup books so far. I think it will outsell all of the other books because gardeners and Chicken Soup fans tend to be of like spirit. Every story made me cry but yet left me feeling good, in true Chicken Soup style!!! Erma Bombeck and Nelson Mandela were a real treat.
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Summary: Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul
Review: A MUST read for gardeners and non-gardeners alike! This has been my absolute favorite of all the Chicken Soup books so far. I think it will outsell all of the other books because gardeners and Chicken Soup fans tend to be of like spirit. Every story made me cry but yet left me feeling good, in true Chicken Soup style!!! Erma Bombeck and Nelson Mandela were a real treat.
Rating: 
Summary: Chicken Soup For The Gardener's Soul
Review: A thoroughly charming read. Was sold on this one by Marcia Brown's "Strings Attached" story on the sneak preview. She must have a colorful family indeed! Also enjoyed the Mandela piece. Great fun, even if you're not a gardener!
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Summary: Chicken Soup For The Gardener's Soul
Review: A thoroughly charming read. Was sold on this one by Marcia Brown's "Strings Attached" story on the sneak preview. She must have a colorful family indeed! Also enjoyed the Mandela piece. Great fun, even if you're not a gardener!
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Summary: Warm & Fuzzy
Review: A truly good book evokes cozy images and sensations from the past. And this is a very good book, one that teaches us to stop and consider how wisely we spend on this earth.Among my personal favorites was Nona's Garden by Paul Silici. I could almost smell the delectably heavy garlic, beef and tomatoes slowly steaming in my grandmother's kitchen, and felt a tug on my heartstrings when she shared the story of her grandmother's lessions in life. Planting Day filled me with hope for the younger generation when I saw that sixteen-year-old Beth Pollack had written such an insightful essay. It was good to learn in Pat Stone's A Bedside Story that I'm not the only person who talks to their plants. There's something for everyone in CS for the Gardener's Soul.
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Summary: ...it took gardening to bring me home.
Review: Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul is a collection of 101 short stories and vignettes. Each piece is about three pages long, a format that is convenient for those of us who's free-time comes in little snippets. The stories share a common theme: Despair + a Garden + God's Grace = Wisdom and Peace. Chicken Soup books seem to really polarize readers. A reader either really likes them and buy copies for all their friends, or dislikes them and would not buy one on a bet. Let me assure the first type of reader that Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul is just as good the other Chicken Soup books. One of my concerns was that the quality of the writing would be inferior to the earlier books, that all the good material had already been skimmed. That concern was baseless. Evil is newsworthy because it is rare. Dignity, humanity, honesty and sacrifice ARE the human condition. There is no shortage of inspirational stories, just a shortage of publishers who think they are worthy of the readers' attention. Chicken Soup is still skimming the cream. Book reviews are supposed to help the reader decide "Do I buy this book?" That is not much of an issue with this book. Chicken Soup addicts will buy this book. The question on the table is: "Do I buy this book for the cynical friend who thinks they are 'sappy', or 'maudlin'?" I think the answer is a qualified "Yes." These stories do not strike a quick resonance with cynics. It is not because cynics have never felt despair. Rather, it is because cynics are afraid of the pain of revisiting those times. Cynics need to ease into these stories the way you might ease into a hot-tub. So buy them a copy and highlight a few stories like: *A Veteran's Garden, page 25 "The Marines sent me overseas. But it took gardening to bring me home." *Girls like Roses, page 109, "...twenty-four bucks! That's a lot of money. Even for a girl named Michelle." *Brian, page 192, "Brian is seven. He's a dreamer and drives his teacher crazy. She is as stiff as taffy in December."
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Summary: A feel-good experience
Review: Gardener's Soul is my first read in the Chicken Soup series. Had I an inkling that the series could evoke that cozy-fuzzy feeling, like a purring kitten warming your lap, I would have been reading them all. Paula Silici's Nona's Garden stands as a fine example. I could smell the beef, garlic and tomatoes simmering in the kitchens of my childhood as I read of the life's lessions learned from her grandmother. I have more hope for the future after reading Beth Pollack's Planting Day,especially considering that such words of wisdom came from a 16-year-old. Good job,young lady! And A Bedside Story by Pat Stone reassured me that I'm not the only gardener who talks to plants. No wonder the publisher has the name Health Communications. When the mind is calm, the body is better able to heal. This book is a fabulous choice for anyone feeling blue or for just anyone!
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Summary: Excellent Chicken Soup Book -- Especially for the Gardener!
Review: I am a great fan of the Chicken Soup Books. They are a wonderful way for me to start my morning. Being an avid gardener, this one was truely special. Although many of the stories left me teary-eyed, the messages relayed were always positive and uplifting. -- Highly Recommend
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Summary: You posted both of my reviews!!
Review: I wrote my review a second time because I thought I'd done something wrong and you weren't going to post it. Please delete the review dated October 23 and leave the later version. Thank you.
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