Just wanted to share...
1. A Well-Kept Home: Household Traditions and Simple Secrets from a French Grandmother, by Laura Fronty. Sea-glass curtains, scenting clothes naturally, preserving herbs, and the art of the wood fire, among other things. I love reading this book in winter, too.
2. The Lady in the Palazzo, by Marlena de Blasi. Number 3 in the lovely trilogy (beginning with A Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected Romance) of her life in Italy, after she moved there to marry a Venetian she had just met...a great story of her clear-headed yet very romantic decision. Very inspiring ~ always makes me journal more.
3. Simplify Your Life, by Elaine St. James. A very simple and small book with great ideas (but of course, why didn't I think of that? kind of ideas) on reducing clutter, daily habits, making room for the stuff you really want ~ mentally or physically, and being true to yourself in the process of it all.
4. The Tao Te Ching, by Lao-Tzu and Stephen Mitchell. So thoughtful and inspiring. I breathe deeper when I read something from these writings.
5. Miss Rumphius, story and pictures by Barbara Cooney. A children's book, but great for adults too. There's a cottage by the sea, and lots of travel, flowers...I love this story.
These are all books I read when I want to be inspired, refreshed, enlighted, and/or brought back to my purpose.
What are you reading these days?
11 comments:
such lovely selections. i am currently re-reading 'to kill a mockingbird'. never fails to hit the spot.
Nice post and perfect image!
These days I'm reading
- a book about the video art scene during the '60 and '70.
- American Acropolis, by William Gibson (the most inspiring contemporary writer I know)
- A collection of essays about the videogames aesthetics
- All the Sarah Kane's dramas. She has written so intense things digging into the veins of our society.
Have a good day! Greeting from Rome =)
Thanks for the recomendations! I found you over at Alfie's blog Coffee & Stilettos. I'm a new follower :)
Alfie ~ I have never read that one, perhaps one day! :)
Lisergic ~ Grazie per le raccomandazioni. :) Ho abitato una volta a Roma. What are your favorite spots? I used to love to wander through the city, but missed going barefoot on grass...
Sea glass curtains? Sounds intriguing! I'm currently reading a book called Wildwood by Roger Deakin who travels around England and talks about the relationship between people and trees. It's a quiet book though, so it's taken me a while to get through it... I took a break and read Last Chance to See by Mark Carwardine, who traveled around the world with Stephen Fry to see very endangered animals. It's quite sad, but humorous as well in spots.
Happy reading!
Hi britni ~ you're welcome. glad you found me!
Victoria ~ yes, the sea glass curtains are amazing: two layers of muslin with the sea glass embroidered in-between.
Your two book recommmendations sound great! Thanks. I'll look for them in the library system. Have you read "My Family and Other Animals," by Gerald Durrell? He became a famous naturalist and saved a bunch of animals from extinction through breeding and releasing them ~ but the book tells the tale of his childhood on Corfu, and is so, so funny. :)
Nice list. I'm a fan of Stephen Mitchell's books, I loved his version of the Tao, and I'm intrigued by that technique for making a sea glass curtain. I'll be checking into that one. (and that makes me think of Lemmikkiapina's works...and the stone garden that i had noticed that you bought...her work is so amazingly heartbreaking -in a good way)
I love good children's books. My all time favorite is The Maggie B. I found it used when my kids were little, and I fell in love with it. The Maggie B. is an imaginary ship with a farm on the poop deck. i think you'll love it. Every page is sweet and comforting.
http://www.amazon.com/MAGGIE-B-Irene-Haas/dp/0689500211/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278902402&sr=1-1
My next favorite is Goldie the Dollmaker.
Goldie makes little dolls from tree branches, even though people don't seem to understand why she doesn't just buy wood blocks...
http://www.amazon.com/Goldie-Dollmaker-M-B-Goffstein/dp/0374427402/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278903363&sr=1-7
I could go on with the list, but those two really stand out for me.
Nice! Thanks, Cindy, I'll check those two out for sure. :) Another favorite kids book of mine, is Danny the Champion of the World, by Roald Dahl. I just love that book. A bunch of his stuff is too weird for me, but not this book ~ Or the WOnderfu Story of Henry Sugar, for that matter. :)
They both look good. I never got into his books, but I will read those two now. Thanks!
After loving your first recommendations I am going to have to check some of these out.
I love "Miss Rumphius" so much and have since I was little. I can't wait to share it with my daughter. Once she stops trying to eat books, perhaps :)
Cindy ~ Let me know what you think! I just love Danny, and am "making" Tim read it right now. :)
Angela ~ I forget how I found Miss Rumphius, but such a great story, so gentle, no? I love the lupines everywhere, and the cottage by the sea! Sigh. :)
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