About Me

My name is Stefanie Hollmichel and I live in beautiful Minneapolis, a city built on Dakota land, in the state of Minnesota, U.S.A.

I am an avid reader, cyclist, and gardener. I also follow a whole food plant based diet and a vegan lifestyle. My alter ego is librarian at a university law library.

I’ve been blogging about books since October 2003. I was listed among the Guardian Unlimited Books’ Top 10 Literary Blogs (article no longer available online) and mentioned by Cynthia Crossen in the Wall Street Journal. One of my blog posts has also made it into a writing textbook where I am now happily torturing college freshman (How Writing Works. Oxford University Press, 2014). In addition I review for Library Journal.

While I remain a voracious reader, my interest in writing about everything I read has changed and so has the blog name though the URL is still the same. Weeds came about in early 2018 as a catch-all way to write about whatever is on my mind from books to gardening, cycling to chicken keeping, zero waste to the climate emergency, and everything in between.

Monarch caterpillar

My entire backyard is a garden where I grow mainly fruits, vegetables, and herbs. I try to incorporate permaculture ideas in my yard farm and grow 100% organic. My flock of four chickens, collectively known as The Dashwoods, are part of the garden ecosystem. In my front yard I grow apples and native perennials. I am by no means an expert gardener. Most of what I know I have learned through books and trial and error.

I have been cycling with gusto since 2015. I ride road and gravel. I tried crit racing for the first time in 2018 and was happy to survive. My favorite riding is long distance, 100+ miles in a single ride. I do training workouts and racing on Zwift, a virtual cycling platform. This especially helps keep me sane and in shape during long Minnesota winters.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. I encourage respectful disagreement and discussion but reserve the right to edit or delete inappropriate, rude and flame war inciting comments without notice.

Thanks for visiting!

Still smiling after 200 miles

(Last updated: August 25, 2020)