A collection of inspiring and humorous stories from outdoorsman/hunter/gatherer, Vic Berg.  Vic gives you a good look into the daily life of a waterfowl hunter in a surprisingly entertaining way.

Vic has a perfect outlook on life (well, from my perspective at least!).  He runs a guide service that is in tune to the environment around it, never harvesting what they won't use and helping out when he can. 

He shares his "life pile" stories in a down-to-earth way that makes you feel like you are swapping stories with a friend.  I especially liked the stories of "Dolly Would," that shows just how great dogs can be; "Merganser Jerky," apparently Merganser tastes awful and "A Marry-Able Development," sedges are nasty.

Beautiful photographs and watercolors also fill the book.  There are even some bonus recipes, even one for Merganser jerky.

This book was received as an Advanced Reading Copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

An inclusive how-to guide on gardening with nature. As the introduction states "...this book invites you to expand your relationship with nature."   

This book delves into making your home a productive animal habitat while providing food crops for yourself.  With tried and true methods and advice for everything from preparing your soil to attracting pollinators and welcoming larger animals into your outdoor space.  I already employ a lot of the methods discussed in the book, but I found many new things to try also, including placing strawberries and asparagus together, building a home for mason bees, the idea of decoy plants and using herbs to attract or repel certain insects. 

The added design ideas at the end were a great bonus.

I very much enjoyed the wonderful drawings throughout the book that would make great stand-alone artwork. 

This Uncorrected Proof was provided through NetGalley as an Advanced Reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

When hiking or on a nature walk, seeing and hearing birds is a gift that I always look forward to.  

Seeing or hearing a rare bird is an amazing treat.  For this book 'rare' is defined as "...species for which, on average, only 5 or fewer individuals have been found annually in North America since around 1950...". 

Species accounts are organized logically, give detailed comments and specifics for field identification.  The artistry is very well done and shows different angles and identifying features. 

I was most interested in the songbirds and of course most of the birds featured were no where near me; however, it was interesting to read about the Redwing which might make an appearance in a habitat near me.  

Overall, it was very interesting to read about and see these rare birds, some of which there is only one account of in North America!

This book was received as an Advanced Reading Copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting cookbook with recipes featuring beans, chickpeas and lentils.  This is a very refreshing focus for a cookbook and has many healthy recipes for vegetarians and meat lovers. Great information on the history of beans, health benefits, how to prepare and even how to reduce gas! 

I can't wait to try such recipes as: butternut squash and mint felafel, black bean quesadillas, squash, black bean and sweet corn soup, drunken beans and Moroccan chickpeas and lentils!
Some great and different ideas for meals with beans!

This book was received as a free ARC from Net Galley in return for an honest review.
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An all inclusive guide to everything you would want to know about propagating and saving your own seeds.  

From the beginning, the  introduction is packed with knowledge and passion as to why you should propagate your own seeds.  I definitely learned a thing a two!

Instructions for seed saving are grouped by family of plant.  Most plants (at least, most plants that I would be interested in propagating) are included; for each plant a brief introduction is given along with how the plant is pollinated, what tools you will need to collect the seeds and how to grow for seed and harvest the seed.

A lot of information to take in, but a useful book for any gardener who would like to collect their own seeds or propagate their own varieties.  

This book was provided for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A well organized and all inclusive guide that leads you through the history of forestry in the Eastern U.S. forests as well as modern case studies in several forests.  

The first part of the book is a detailed history of the foundations of forestry in the Eastern U.S. ranging from complete destruction of the forests and habitats to the establishment of the national forests.  Important figures, organizations and guidelines are all introduced making this a great textbook to pull from for my Forestry class.

The case studies pull you into present issues facing the forests.  The study in Allegheny National Forest is extremely pertinent to me and will be put to use in classes, as I live on the Marcellus Shale.

A great text for anyone teaching forestry, or interested in the history of these forests.

This book was received as an Advanced Reading Copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.