Welcome to our annual winter reading poll! Tell us about a great book to curl up with on a frosty winter night, and what fragrance we should wear while reading it. (Or, do what I do and record here everything you have read since the last reading poll. And if you want more recommendations, scrolling through the literature tag will bring up all the older reading polls.)
My recent reading:
I finished Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light, which I started in the summer of 2020 and then set aside for a very long time.
Kevin urged me to read Hermione Lee's biography Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life. So I did, and it inspired me to re-read Fitzgerald's work, and to pick up the few I had never read. So over the past few months I've gone through The Bookshop, Offshore, Human Voices, At Freddie's, Innocence, The Beginning of Spring, The Gate of Angels and The Golden Child (they are all relatively short), plus her short story collection Means of Escape. I had read many of these books when they first appeared in the US, but reading them all at once made me agree with authors like Julian Barnes and AS Byatt, who thought she was one of the finest British authors of modern times. She was just brilliant. The Beginning of Spring in particular is like a perfectly polished jewel,* and that is the one I will assign a fragrance: The Different Company De Bachmakov might as well have been made for it. Next on my list is to re-read what was probably her best loved book, The Blue Flower, and then I will try to find a copy of The Knox Brothers.
Otherwise in fiction, I started Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree and read about half before it was due back to the library. I read about a third of James Purdy's collected short stories, then that had to be returned as well. I also started Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms and gave up about halfway through (I was reading too many books at once to follow the shifting time frames). After that, I read her Half Life of Valery K and enjoyed it greatly.
On the mystery front, I read the last of the books in the Hercule Poirot series, and I also finished Elly Griffiths Bleeding Heart Yard.
On the non-fiction front, I re-read (really, skimmed through) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil before our quick trip to Savannah back in November. I also read Ron Chernow's Grant (I had to renew it 4 times to get through it), Anthony Doerr's Four Seasons in Rome, EB White's Here is New York (a long essay reprinted in book form). I started Upper Bohemia: A Memoir by Hayden Herrera but I did not get very far (I seem to have given up on lots of books this quarter?) and I'm currently reading A Childhood: a Biography of a Place by Harry Crews, which has been languishing on my reading list for years and years.
Note: with apologies to those of you who are quite done with Yayoi Kusama, thank you very much, top image shows an interior page from her 2012 illustrated version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which you can find on Amazon for $37.
*The Beginning of Spring deserved a Booker, and she was shortlisted but she lost that year (1988) to Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda, which was also a wonderful book although I have not read it since it came out. Fitzgerald did win a Booker in 1979 for Offshore. She was also shortlisted for The Bookshop and The Gate of Angels, and was a Booker prize judge in 1991 and 1999. She died in 2000, at 83.
SOTD Shalimar Tonka flanker
The feels like is -2F, -19C
Good day for books 📚 and something warm to drink.
I am currently reading Papyrus by Irene Vallejo, my first nonfiction read. As a person who loves books and libraries, it’s helping me have a deeper understanding and connection.
At the same time I am reading Snow Country by Kawabata, a doomed romance between a man and a geisha.
For perfume pairings, I usually go with my “S” perfumes, Shalimar or Songes
Books I have finished: 📕 ✅
The Three Arched Bridge is a 1978 novel by Albanian author Ismail Kadare. The story concerns a very old Albanian legend surrounding a building of a bridge.
The Sound of Waves is a 1954 novel by the Japanese author Yukio Mishima. It is a coming-of-age story of the protagonist Shinji and his romance.
Another novel I can recommend by him is Spring Snow.
I wore Ninfeo Mio and drank cups of vanilla tea from Mauritius
Winter in Sokcho is the first novel by French-Korean writer Elisa Shua Dusapin. The translation came out 2021. The story follows the interactions of the narrator and a French comic writer.
I wore Rose Prick and drank Dirty Chai tea
If anyone has any recommendations based on my list please let me know.
I love Snow Country! Though I think my favorite Kawabata us Master of Go, or his Palm of the Hand story collection.
Thanks! I will add that to my list
I think the only Mishima I ever read was After the Banquet, and the only Kawabata I ever read was House of the Sleeping Beauties, both many many years ago. I liked both but neither made my last book cull so I must not have thought I would ever pick them up again.
I have kindle credits on Amazon so just bought Snow Country.
It will fit nicely maybe with my current binging of The Makanai on Netflix, ha.
Oh House of Sleeping Beauties is so weird. I really enjoyed it though. My copy also had a novella about a woman who detaches her arm to give to her lover? They made good sense being paired.
I loved House of Sleeping Beauties
https://giramondopublishing.com/books/jessica-au-cold-enough-for-snow/
I think you might really like Jessica Au, Cold Enough for Snow. A Chinese/ Australian author ( won all the prizes) about a daughter/ mother trip to Japan , roaming galleries and restaurants, and the disconnect/ reconnect of lives and stories. It’s very short, nothing happens and it’s good.
Also the Japanese classic, Woman of the Dunes, Kobo Abe. It’s about an entomologist who is looking for insects in the sand, and gets ‘ caught’ in a house in the dunes, and spends his days digging out sand…it’s very claustrophobic and sensory.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/oct/07/featuresreviews.guardianreview26?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Kanuka, you are filling my book lists. I usually like love stories or doomed romances , these seem different than what I usually go for. Thank you!
Also, if you liked Three Arch Bridge another good Kadare is Spring Flowers, Spring Frost. Also from that part of the world, is Orhan Pamuk and I am pretty sure you would like his novel Snow…same atmospheric, shifting , stylish , simple writing
https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/mar/06/reading-group-snow-by-orhan-pamuk-is-marchs-book?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
I am a huge Orhan Pamuk fan, and was thrilled to get his autograph when he came here and did a reading for one of his novels. My favorite of his is My Name is Red. LTSG, you might like it; it’s both a murder mystery and a love story, though encased in a complex and sometimes confusing tale of a group of artists who do paintings for the Sultan.
He’s great isn’t he. My Name is Red is wonderful. I love his essays too. Other Colours is really worth reading if you haven’t read it yet.
I love Orhan Pamuk’s novels, my favourite is the museum of Innocence.
There is also a museum in Istanbul created for this specific novel . I highly recommend.
That’s the one he read from and that I got him to sign when he came here for a lecture! Unfortunately I had already been to Istanbul and haven’t been back so have not had the opportunity to visit that museum.
I love the film Woman in the Dunes. It sounds like I should read the book too.
Kobo Abe is such a gifted writer, isn’t he?? I’ve thoroughly enjoyed several of his novels.
Hey ltsg! Related to your papyrus book is one I’m reading now, “Index, A History of” by Dennis Duncan. I just started so I can’t vouch for it, but it sounds like it might be up your alley.
Thank you! I am going to look it up
I had to read the Sound of Waves for my 10th grade English class. I remember thinking it was an odd choice for us back then, but maybe I’d appreciate it more now. I only remember the sex scenes! 😂
One scene is violent !
I don’t remember that part, haha!
I’ve had a hard time finishing books recently, but when I was staying with friends recently, I devoured a book called “Running through Beijing” by Xu Zechen. I finished it in one night! It’s about a young man getting out of jail and making a career selling bootleg DVDs on the street. Humorous and anxious, it really felt like viewing a month or two of a real person’s life.
I’m in the Mythiques version of L’Interdit. Creamy aldehydes and mature strawberry. One of the first perfumes I tried in my perfumista awakening. I still love it, even if it feels about a moderns as Dior’s New Look.
Have a great weekend all!
I am surprised by how many books I never get past halfway anymore! I do not have the reading stamina I had when I was young.
Just just aren’t good enough to spend precious time on?
I often just don’t care what happens next, but I don’t think that’s always a good barometer of whether or not the work is “good”, if you know what I mean.
Happy Weekend!
No emergencies so far!
SOTD!
Rasasi Orchid Prairie,probably one of the strangest and most captivating fragrances in my collection.Not a desert island sniff at all,but still has me really intrigued!(the only note I can identify is liquorice,the rest is a mystery!)
No contribution to the reading poll,I’m yet to start with “Spare”(I can hear a lot of you yawn…lol)
I CAN however suggest a cp for sometime:wear your strangest perfume!Lol!
XO’s
Yay for no emergencies!
It is hard to see what can be left in Spare that wasn’t already in the news, honestly, I am shocked by how much I know just from seeing headlines.
We have done your weirdest/strangest, but we can do it again.
This is true!
And yay for another “strangest/weirdest”-cp!🙌🏻🙌🏻
I’m waiting for my mother to finish Spare so I can skim it….probably won’t sit down and read the whole thing.
Yes,it was an impulsive purchase!🤭
My lemming is running around reading other reviews of Orchid Prairie – a fragrance that an NST’er finds capitivating and intriguing must be worth a sniff. Thanks for mentioning it. Did you try it in a store, or ???
Haha,no,it was a “love-at-first-sniff-but-OMG-WHAT IS THIS!!”purchase!
Let me know should you try it!
Think Cacharel Eden,but different.✌🏻🤗
The fragrantica reviews on this one is REALLY something!🤭🤣🤣🤣
Yes indeed!
I am not yawning, but waiting with bated breath to hear what you think of Spare before I pull the plug and purchase it.
I’m really good with opinions on perfume and music,books/movies/series not so much!🙈🙈
I’m happy to hear you’ve had no emergencies – I hope the rest of your weekend is peaceful! Your SOTD is very intriguing.
Thank you sistine,I hope you have a cozy relaxed weekend too!🤗🌹
High five for no emergencies! 🙌 I have a co-worker reading Spare and she is quite titillated by it. I’m in the camp of “No Thanks!” but she seems to really be enjoying it. I feel as if I HAD read it because every time we work together she regales me passages and incidents from the book. I won’t go into detail but some of the things she relayed to me were very off putting, at least to me. YMMV
Many people are saying that “Spare” is “melodramatic,capricious,but it was also wrong”,in the words of Moira Rose!🤣🤣🌹
HaHa! I had forgotten what Spare was, had to google to remind myself.
Maybe second hand highlights is the way to go.
Hi, all. I’m reading The Egg and I by Betty McDonald for the third time. Ever since quarantine, I only want to read familiar books with happy endings written in simpler times. Nothing that makes me think too hard. I don’t know what perfume goes with it, there’s a lot of talk about manure lol.
My afternoon with young perfumeistas was a blast! One of the friends she brought is French and a full-fledged perfumeista since the early aughts, with her perfume life lived online, like me. We talked and talked. She brought a bunch of samples and I made a few decants. Zoologist Cow was a hit with everyone, Moth was “just like my grandma’s closet”, Hype + Alchemy is a brand new to me that I want to explore further. The cookies were good, too.
I know that feeling about familiar books with happy endings! It is how I mostly feel about television now.
I’m that way about TV. Old movies with happy endings fill the bill, and All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece.
I recently watched an episode with Dame Diana Rigg as Mrs. Pumphrey – what a fun and feel-good treat!
It really is, I love the books, too.
All my chattiness and I forgot my sotd, sampling Grand Soir. The opening smells just like Musc Ravageur to my nose and now some leather? has crept in.
How interesting, now I want to wear it again. I wore it earlier this week and smelled amber and lavender.
Hello in February perfume darlings.
I just wanted to let you know that on the last day of January we decided to break up with my partner after almost 3 years together. I’ve been so pitiful for months and my mental health was broken in pieces at some point.
Honestly it feels so relieving now to be free, as bad as it may sound.
I’m in 1725 Casanova from Histoires de Parfums today.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPnE_CIZYR/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Like a spring thaw you will be reborn, fresh and new. It’s a scary thing to end something, but we often instinctively know what we need to do.
Sending you good karma to ease your way. I’ve been there, done that, you’ll thrive.
Nothing like the taste of freedom after an emotional rollercoaster,Lucasai!Enjoy your alone time but also don’t give up entirely on love.
Hugs!🤗🌹❣️
So glad you are able to come to the surface and breathe again.
Sending you healing thoughts. Break ups are hard
Wishing you love and happiness
I believe in time heals all wounds.
Glad to hear that you’ve taken the step and feel good about it. (There’s a Rilo Kiley song that comes to mind — “Breakin’ Up”, with the chorus “Ooh, it feels good to be free.” It’s a bit lighthearted, but I do think it captures that feeling of relief.)
Break ups can be so difficult. Sending you positive vibes as you continue on your journey in life. It will get better as time passes.
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been hit so hard. Please be gentle with yourself as you regroup and recover. Big hugs to you.
It sounds like it was coming for a while and now it’s happened, now you can move forward. Wishing you sunny days ahead.
Sorry to hear that you are experiencing the pain of loss with your breakup. But it sounds like now you can move forward without the uncertainty of “should I stay or should I go”. Good luck.
Awww lucasai, I’m so sorry. But I’m glad you are giving yourself a chance to move forward.
What a coincidence you read Anthony Doerr, Robin. I have just finished All the light we cannot see and I absolutely adored it. The way he describes smells and senses when he refers to the blind girl and her feelings. I also love the way he connects to nature. Love, recommend it very much to perfume lovers.
I read an interview with him and wrote down some authors he mentions: Ruefle, Sebald and Rachel Carson. Also, here is a link to a wonderful speech he refers too from Nobel prize winner Tokarczuk.
https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2019/12/tokarczuk-lecture-english-2.pdf
I am meaning to read All The Light and Cloud Cuckoo Land and thought I ought to read Rome first.
I love Sebald but have never read Carson and have never even heard of Ruefle. Off to google, and will read the Nobel lecture tonight, thanks!
Mary Ruefle, I checked her and she sounds amazing.
Hm, I tried Cloud Cuckoo Land and just could not make myself get into it. I wish you better luck!
Maybe it will join the long list of books I get halfway through 🙂
Gabriela, I read All the Light and loved it too! I didn’t want it to end. I’ll look into those author recommendations – thank you for the list! 🤗
A travel friend mentioned All the Light We Cannot See and it sounds like it’s high time I read the book!
It is very good.
I’m reading Queen Sugar by Natalie Bazile. Woman inherits a sugar cane farm, mistakes and romance happen. It’s more than that, the writing is very descriptive of a location, culture and people I know little about. I’m enjoying it very much.
I’m frag-free today as I’m cooking and don’t want competition with onions, garlic, pork. Later tonight I’ll pick something out.
That sounds interesting! I made chili tonight and the smell did pretty much take over the house 🙂
I’m currently reading Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey. It’s about a young woman reeling from an unexpected divorce, so it has some heartbreaking moments, but it’s really funny too. The author has written for Schitt’s Creek so some laughs were to be expected!
Testing out Peach Me by Bel Rebel. It started out very promising with a huge (albeit synthetic) burst of peach and unfortunately it’s settling with a bit of a pee note. It may wind up being a scrubber if that note lingers.
Oh how interesting, I loved that show! Is she good at straight (non-screen) fiction too?
Yes! I finished it last night and it was excellent.
Thanks!
One of my (pointless, I know) New Year’s resolutions was to read more books (I read a *lot* but it’s all my computer screen), so last month I read a Ruth Rendell psychological thriller, 13 Steps Down. The three antagonists — hard to say there are any protagonists in this book, very Rendell — are a mean, parsimonious landlady, her serial-killer-obsessed tenant, and the vapid model who he believes will fall in love with him, with one thing in common: they’re all incapable of imagining any world outside their own restricted viewpoint, and so of course misunderstandings and catastrophe ensue. It’s haunting: Rendell has that effect on you, if you can read with pleasure stories of awful people doing awful things. I still vividly remember scenes from her books I read thirty years ago.
I have borrowed some other (nonfiction) books from the library but haven’t gotten through any of them, though I persist. Maybe I should just stick to fiction.
Today I’m wearing Demeter Honey, as simple as can be, something warm on this monstrously cold day. It should be back to normal tomorrow. Thank goodness we can stay inside: I feel so bad for all the people who can’t.
I have a hard time with nonfiction as well
I had the same resolution!
I’m reading The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern right now. You can really lose yourself in this one; highly descriptive and evocative. I borrowed it from my friend who lives in the apartment upstairs, who has great taste in music and books. I’d pair it with Aroma M Geisha Noire, a rich. lush amber.
I might just shower off what I’m wearing now: FM Uncut Gem. This isn’t quite a scrubber, but only because I gritted my teeth through the first couple of hours, hoping it would improve. It got a little better, but mostly it just faded. I’m okay with that. I got a sample of this on the sniffa with Calypso last month. I’m afraid this Gem is going into the the trishy-trash. 🙄
I think the woman who is the perfumista behind Aroma M is writing her memoir
I haven’t tried any of her fragrances , anything you recommend?
Oh, thanks for the tip about the biography! I’ll keep a lookout for it.
I haven’t tried much by Aroma M, but I did try Geisha Blanche and Vanilla Hinoki. They were very nice and well-made, but didn’t ring my chimes the way Noire did. I was in my Amber Phase though, so don’t take my comment too seriously!
Oh really?That should be an interesting read!I’ve always admired Maria McElroy.Geisha Noire is seriously good,I’m hoarding my little bottle in the most gorgeous kimono fabric pouch!🌹🤗
Another very good book. I read it several years ago so I don’t remember all the details, but I know I enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed The Night Circus. The Starless Sea by the same author is also great.
SotD LPRN So Frenchy edp Intense. I’m really noticing the bergamot. However, I got a souvenir cold from my recent travels to visit family. I’m better, but with the illness and the cold and dry weather I’ve not been able to enjoy perfumes lately. I’m re-reading The Bostonians, a very Wintery book. Robin, I’ve never heard of Penelope Fitzgerald, but I am going to see what our library has – sounds like something I’d enjoy. Thanks everyone, for all your book suggestions!
Oh darn, hope it is better soon!
My library did not have a ton of Penelope Fitzgerald, but luckily I had kept all the ones I bought over the years, and they did have a few.
I haven’t had the time or energy in the last couple of weeks to read much, and then books keep coming in at the library one on top of the other and there’s no time to read them and I just have to return them and put them on my “For Later” list. Elif Shafak’s “The Island of Missing Trees” is one of them — I’ve had it twice but just haven’t had the time to dig in.
Robin, I am with you in having had “The Mirror and the Light” on my nightstand for years, and just haven’t gotten back to it.
I did finish “Glory”, by Noviolet Bulawayo, which I enjoyed — very interesting to read about recent events in Zimbabwe through the lens of someone who knows and has lived through it. And “The Secret Commonwealth”, because we were going to Oxford.
Most of my reading lately has been non-fiction. The one library book I’m trying to get through right now is Yascha Mounk’s “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure.” And Ruchika Tulshyan’s “Inclusion on Purpose”, for work but also for personal learning and growth. I started Peter Wilson’s “Heart of Europe” on the plane to Germany, but didn’t get very far (I’d been up all night).
My list of books I want to get to soon is huge, though. Sigh.
Not sure about SotD. Need to go shower and figure something out…have been enjoying a lazy morning.
Okay, figured out the SotD, which is Vilhelm Basilico & Fellini. (Generous NSTer who sent the sample, you know who you are :).) I first tried it in the fall when I stopped in at Scentrique for the first time, and really liked the basil with the violet & hay. Today is a completely different story. I probably sprayed more this morning, and all I am getting is a rancid celery note, not basil. I keep getting glimmers of something I might like underneath, but the celery seed just is overpowering everything, an hour in.
I loved The Secret Commonwealth! You might also want to look for the little novella Lyra’s Oxford.
Yes! Some things in Secret Commonwealth make more sense after reading Lyra’s Oxford. Waiting with baited breath for the next book!
Same here. He needs to be faster because I forget too much in between 🙂
I have very little on my list. Like Pyramus, I read constantly but it’s on screen – news, interesting stuff I find on the internet, and of course lots about perfume. I’m still working my way through the Salvation SF series by Peter Hamilton, they’re very good.
I have read quite a lot of non-fiction from the library at work. As I work in a government agency in the health sector, that’s been a lot about the Covid pandemic, earlier pandemics, Big Pharma and health developments. I’d have to look at my work emails to find titles and authors, but I can say that there are some excellent books by journalists and medical professionals that are as readable as a novel for a non-expert.
Perfume for reading such books is whatever I’m wearing!
I feel like I get a ton of non-fiction from reading The New Yorker, but I do like to read biographies.
The Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe about the Sackler family and opioids was an eye opener for me. I work in healthcare. I was never one who never felt comfortable with opioids but now even more wary.
SOTD is Zoologist Civet which as I said yesterday, reminds me of Mitsouko. No one responded to my question yesterday so I am going to ask again. Does anyone know how the EdT of Mitsouko that came out a few years ago compares to the previous Mitsouko perfume.
Books-I am an avid reader, but as most of you probably know by now, I favor thrillers with other fiction books thrown in the mix. Two of my most recent favorites include:
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone is a thriller about a woman that wakes up in Lisbon and her new husband has disappeared. She goes through the embassy and law enforcement to find him. Many twists and turns.
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby is about a black father and a white father whose sons have been killed. They join forces to find out who is behind the murders.
Great recommendations to my list!
Thank you…I feel like I have read about Chris Pavone before but can’t remember where.
You may have as he is an American crime writer.
Great list
I love that you always share what you are reading during our weekly SOTD polls too..
Looking up these books now
If I do it during the week it’s usually when I am thinking of something you are reading or a book I think you would like.😊
I feel like I haven’t added my own readings to this poll in a long time, maybe since the one at this time last year. I didn’t read as many books last year as I’d hoped, but I started to get back to reading at a faster pace in December and January.
One of the books that had me reading slowly was Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer. It’s the only one off the books I’ve read from him that I didn’t really get into or really connect with. Too bad because I truly loved Borne and The Strange Bird that I read earlier last year.
Next I went on to a quick mystery, Lucy Foley’s The Guest List, which was kind of a hot mess. My most recent mystery was also a hot mess, Sometimes I Like by Alice Feeney. So many unlikeable and villainous characters!
After The Guest List I read Heidi, the children’s classic. I enjoyed the descriptions of idyllic mountain life, but it turned really preachy and religious halfway through, which was absolutely not my thing as an atheist. My copy is part of a 4 book set called Puffin in Bloom with cover illustrations by Rifle Paper Company. I’d pair Fox in the Flowerbed with Heidi.
I then had four quick reads in a row (ending with that Alice Feeney), and I liked the first three of the four very much: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager, Recursion by Blake Crouch, and The Push by Ashley Audrain. I especially recommend Recursion to those who enjoy sci-fi thrillers with heart and a love that made me cry. It’s not too sci-fi for those who don’t usually read the genre.
One of my biggest recommendations from recent reads is Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake. I read a chapter at a time between reading other books and learned so much fascinating info about mycellium, fungi, etc. Perfume pairings could be Cepes et Tuberose and Chypre Mousse.
And now I’m doing a purely fun read of The Essential Calvin and Hobbes. Fun fact is that my partner grew up in the same town as Bill Watterson, Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He pointed out that it’s depicted on the back of the book. My partner also had the same teacher as the one Mrs. Wormwood was modeled after, though she was just a substitute teacher by the time he was in school there in the 90s.
No scent of the day yet but still have some remnants of last night’s Lui on my sleeves.
I couldn’t get into Hummingbird Salamander, either. I really liked his Southern Reach trilogy, but this one? Nope. Didn’t get very far into it before setting it aside.
Yeah, I’m hoping I enjoy his next one more. I also want to read his earlier books as I started with the Southern Reach trilogy then the more recent ones after that.
Entangled Life — is it similar to Suzanne Simard? Maybe with less autobiography?
I’ve not read anything by her, so I can’t make a comparison, but the author does talk about his own life a bit. It’s a lot of biology and ecology but it’s not dry at it all. There’s a lot of rich context.
Just noticed a typo. The Alice Feeney book is called Sometimes I Lie.
There are a few of Alice Feeney’s books that I really liked, but this was not one of them.
Which did you really like? I do still want to read some of her others.
I really liked His & Hers and Daisy Darker. Rock Paper Scissors wasn’t too bad either.
Thanks for those. I already had Daisy Darker on my list, but I added His & Hers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/books/review-way-through-woods-mushrooms-mourning-long-litt-woon.html
If you want another fungi book there’s a nice grief memoir by Long Litt Woon about how she started mushrooming after the sudden death of her husband. It’s an easy read
This sounds really good, thanks. Added it to my list.
Entangled Life sounds good. Coincidentally, I heard a fascinating interview on the NPR radio show Science Friday yesterday of a woman who is a mycologist/fungi expert. The ostensible reason she was there was because of the show The Last of Us (which I haven’t watched but I gather involves dangerous fungi) and the whole interview was fascinating.
Here’s a link to the interview from yesterday. You can either listen to it or read the transcript here. https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/last-of-us-fungi/
Thanks, I’ll check it out. I’m looking forward to watching The Last of Us soon.
I also recently saw on Twitter that a bookstore made a display of spore horror (sporror it’s called) books. They also created a running list and included some mycology reference texts.
https://twitter.com/RyinWonderland/status/1616180105847390248?t=vFu8P55IHStjf8ujmjThzg&s=19
“Sporror” is such a brilliantly creepy term!
Thanks!
My son loved Calvin & Hobbes, and oddly I had never paid attention to it until he got into it. He now has all the books and I can easily while away an hour or two when I come across one.
This is actually my first time reading Calvin and Hobbes!
Oh and I meant to say yesterday that I’m really tempted to buy that Yayoi Kusama Alice in Wonderland book. I’ve got it sitting in my Amazon list.
Oh nice! I think that was our least successful image challenge ever, so glad someone “responds” to her.
“Calvin and Hobbes” was a daily must read for me when it was running in the newspapers. I cried after reading the very last comic strip.
Currently finishing up the third book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s Foundryside series. Not as good as his City of Stairs series. I like the characters but somehow don’t feel a giant urge to bury myself in these books.
A friend of mine loaned me a couple of books a while ago, and since I’m going to see her again next week, I felt obliged to read them. I enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Got bored by Where the Crawdads Sing. No surprise to the ‘surprise’ ending there, and the interspersed poetry was… wince. Bad.
Tried to read Braiding Sweetgrass, a gift from a writer friend. Don’t throw things at me, I know it’s supposed to be fabulous, but it mainly made me want to beat the author over the head with the book. Too many illogical arguments, which seriously hurt my engineer brain.
I did enjoy Mary Stewart’s Rose Cottage, and the latest Anty Boisjoly mystery by PJ Fitzsimmons (comfort books, both of those). Whew! Needed something fun! Read the third book in Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series, liked that too. And I really liked The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, which won the 2022 Booker prize.
Sampling today. No winners yet (money saved)
I have Braiding Sweetgrass on my list at the library because Neko Case raved about it. Hmm…will be interesting to see, but then it’ll probably be 2 years before I get it, anyway.
Neko Case,NOW we’re talking!🤣🤣✌🏻
Mary Stewart’s Rose Cottage and also Thornyhold are two of my favorite comfort books. I’ll check out PJ Fitzsimmons!
I’ve been halfway through Braiding Sweetgrass for a few years now.
After I read “Killers Of A Certain Age” by by Deanna Raybourne, I looked at her past writing and I am working my way through the Lady Julia Grey series. They are mysteries and perfect for airplane flights. For Austen lovers, there is “The Murder Of Mr. Wickham,” by Claudia Gray. For the most enjoyment, I recommend having read all of Austen, as all of her characters from the books attend a house party where Mr. Wickham meets his end. I’ve also enjoyed Stephen Spotswood’s Parker and Pentecost murder mystery series. Martha Wells added a new book to her “Murderbot” series, and all of them are a delight. I also read Tracy Kidder’s “Rough Sleepers” about the homeless in Boston and a physician who has cared for them over the past 30 years. I’m currently midway through “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King, after giving up on Cormac McCarthy’s “The Passenger.” McCormack’s affectations didn’t bother me in “The Road” but they bugged the heck out of me in Passenger. Part of the fun of puns is picking up on them, not having the author point them out. It gave me the feeling that he was saying, “See how clever I am?” and I didn’t care for that.
Today I’m wearing Frapin 1270, a blind buy that has worked out very well. I expected something more assertive, but 1270 is well behaved and very pretty.
I want to look into Rough Sleepers. That sounds very good.
Please report back on Fairy Tale. I bought it a while back, but have not read it yet.
Is Rough Sleepers by the same author / about the same doctor who was featured in a NY Times long form piece recently? I should add that to my list — I used to volunteer at a homeless shelter in Boston (not the Pine Street Inn that was mentioned in the article, but one for women), so I liked that article a lot.
Yes, Dr. Jim O’Connell.
Thanks — just put a hold on it at the library.
Any book that kills off Mr. Wickham is good by me!
Ha!
Not McCormack! McCarthy! Although I think it’s interesting how I conflated his name.
I unexpectedly had to travel to Canada because my mom was hospitalized, so I have very little perfume with me. I’m commando until visiting hours are over and then apply Act + Acre’s rebalancing scent before bed.
I am so very grateful that this did not happen when borders were very tight – that was one of my big nightmares during lockdown.
Onto the poll. I’ve been reading a ton over the last 6 months. I’ll list some of my favorites in no particular order, just what pops into my head:
1) Mecca – Susan Straight
2) In the Country of Women – Susan Straight
3) The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion
4) The Old Drift – Namwali Serpel
5) How to Murder Your Life – Cat Marnell
6) Thee Martini Afternoons at the Ritz – Gail Crowther
I hope you and your mum are okay. Big hug to you!
Thank you so much.
I’m so sorry to hear your mom is ill. Sending good wishes to you both!
I really appreciate it!
I hope your mother is all right. That sounds scary.
Thanks – the crisis seems to have stopped, but they have no idea what caused it so there’s just a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. But she’s in great spirits.
Sending healing prayers for your mom.
Thank you so much.
Sistine, I’m so sorry! Wishing the best for your mom and you! ❤️
Thanks Deva. I thought of you when I saw that one of my mom’s nurses has purple hair!
That’s my sister by another mister! Tell her I said to treat y’all like royalty! 😉
Wishing the best outcome for your mom, sistine!
Thank you so much.
Sending good health wishes to your Mom.
Thanks! That means a lot to me.
So sorry to hear your mom is ill. I am sending healing thoughts!
Thank you so much.
Sending good wishes and tons of hugs to you and mom!🌹🤗🤗
I really appreciate that. Thank you!
I’m so sorry to hear about your mom, I hope she is better soon!
Thank you tulipani.
I hope your mom’s recovery goes well and that you both have peace of mind, sistine.
Thank you so much.
I hope that your Mom will be OK and released from hospital soon. Thoughts of strength and endurance to you. Hugs!
Sorry to hear that, Sistine. Hope things go ok <3
I hope they get it all figured out! Glad to hear she’s in good spirits, though. Sending healing thoughts your way!
Well done on finishing the Hilary Mantel …I never did.
So, I have read a lot of books and lots of re-reading.
I will start with Australian books as I am such a huge fan
1. Robbie Arnott, Limberlost. Arnott is Tasmanian, a beautiful writer, and this novel is set in a summer and deals with masculinity, with nature playing a huge background role. It is quite simple ( his other books are more literary) . Good for fans of Stoner.
2. So many good Australian thrillers, Jane Harper Exiles, Chris Hammer but my recent pick is Garry Disher Day’s End. Outback Noir set in the time of Covid. It’s well written and has good characters.
3. Classics: Shirley Hazzard, brilliant writer ( Transit of Venus is a must) and a new biography by Brigitte Olubas is worth reading if you like/ know Hazzard. A classic to reread, Oscar and Lucinda , Peter Carey. Just a great book about two outsiders coming together via ‘glass’, a fear of water, gambling and church. Set in late 19th century Australia. was a good film too with Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes but the book is good, better
Non fiction: a really remarkable , readable book about pain called Why Does it Still Hurt by Paul Biegler. About the brain and science and medicine. Looking at pain research, case studies, links between fear of pain and pain experiences. How pain remains even after healing. Best book on the subject I have ever read.
Also worth reading , Alan Garner Treacle Walker…if you like David Mitchell, Matt Haigh. Louise Erdrich, The Sentence…set in a bookshop/ ghost etc.
Calypso recommended The Metaverse and it is worth reading. Song of the Cell.
Sorry, I have been reading a lot.
Wearing Rose Jam, great in our heat…the hottest day on record yesterday apparently. Horrible and not that hot by international standards!
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/07/limberlost-by-robbie-arnott-review-a-sweet-and-moving-song-of-man-and-landscape?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Oh, and I’m a HUGE Shirley Hazzard fan!! Transit of Venus is so wonderful!!!!
Thanks for all these suggestions, I especially want to read the “Outback noir” novel! I’m also a huge fan of Peter Carey and got his autograph here too at a bookstore back at around the time Jack Maggs came out. I told him my favorite book of his (up to then) was Illywahcker and he was surprised because he didn’t think it had many American readers.
Jane Harper Exiles is also okay . And The Widow and the Wife by Christian White is another quite good one. But I think the Disher is the best. Australia does lots of good thrillers. So glad you like Shirley Hazzard. The sentences in Transit …OMG! Talk about craft. You might also like Gerald Murnane , a beautiful writer and not well known outside Australia.
Love Shirley Hazzard, have been meaning to reread Transit of Venus. I loved her Great Fire too, and her little book about Graham Greene, Greene on Capri, was also touching.
Exiles is on my list, I did read her earlier books! Maybe because of you?
Paul Biegle, I will look at that, thanks. I am a big fan of Sarno and his many disciples, reading them took care of years of cyclical back pain for me.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/hurting-so-good-the-pain-in-the-strain-may-be-mainly-in-the-brain-20221205-p5c3r7.html
I have exceeded my free read quota for the newspaper but you might be able to open it.
Thank you, yes, that is basically a take on Sarno from what I just read.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Sarno
Although really I don’t know that he was the first, and many people have adapted his work and written books. The core argument is the same: your brain plays an important role in chronic pain, and you can teach your brain to stop.
Thank you for this, I have heard of it before and wanted to learn more about it, I mean, this theory or view (I don’t really know how credible it is).
Not trying to be a skeptic, truly want to know more. A friend suffers from what I’d call either chronic pain or unusual pain sensitivity, and despite consultation at reputable pain centers, cannot find relief.
Literally all the women in my family suffer from back or shoulder pain, and my personal feeling is that it is not necessarily worth pushing it on others…in fact I try not to bring it up anymore. Essentially it is not going to work if you can’t get yourself to believe that despite your x-rays and diagnoses and whatnot, you don’t have to be in pain.
If you do want to read, I would not start with Sarno, because his idea (which I don’t toally buy, that your pain is caused by repressed emotions, etc) is not palatable to many. I would start with one of the later books that build on his work. I am sorry I cannot remember titles.
Good article if you can read at NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/well/mind/john-sarno-chronic-pain-relief.html
Wow! That is some list 🙂
You are a voracious reader
Wonderful list! Doerr also mentioned Hazzard.
Wow, I’m feeling like quite the Yahoo here, since I’ve not heard of many of the authors mentioned today! I’ve still had my head buried in the sand of murder mysteries. Entertaining, but not very fulfilling.
But I stopped by to put in a plug for one of my favorite authors, Julia Glass. I went to a reading which she shared with with another author recently, and I finished her latest, Vigil Harbor. I loved it, and if you haven’t read anything by her yet, I recommend this one or her first novel, Three Junes. (Full disclosure: there is a local connection.)
She’s a deceptively simple writer; most characters are ordinary people caught in extraordinary situations. Her books pass the test of great fiction for me: I’ll find myself, from time to time, recalling scenes or characters from her books years afterwards.
I almost forgot! SotD is Calandre I honor of Paco Rabanne. I wanted to wear Mētal, but I guess I don’t have it anymore.
I’m another big murder mystery reader. Thanks for the tip on Julia Glass.
Me three. Sometimes it is all I want to read.
Yes, I think there are quite a few of us armchair detectives here. 🧐
👋🏻 me, too!
We should start a mystery book club!
Yep, same here. It’s just so easy to go with a mystery for my next read so I tend to read them more than anything.
Robin, I took a long time to read The Mirror and the Lamp because I dreaded the ending. Not a spoiler because it’s just history that he died but I couldn’t face it. Then when I finally did read it, the lead up to his arrest and execution all happened so fast it left my head spinning (well, an unfortunate turn of phrase there!). It truly made me depressed.
I’m in a sort of academic book reading group and we recently read Chekov’s Uncle Vanya. I moved on from that to a volume of his short stories and am still reading those. I love The Woman with the Little Dog. Now we are reading Andre Malraux Man’s Fate. It’s about participants in a revolution in China in the early 1930’s. Malraux spent a lot of time himself in French Indochina. He is a very fine writer; I told my friends that one scene of a man taking opium really made me want to try it! (They said “Don’t!”). It’s kind of confusing and he’s not innocent of Orientalism, but I am really enjoying it (especially since it is set in Shanghai where I have visited).
I also read a fun book Little Follies that is set in Cracow, a city I have also visited. It involves an art theft at a fictional museum there of a Leonardo painting (also fictional, though there IS one there in an actual museum) by some rather bumbling thieves. It’s very clever and the author knows a lot about art, which makes it more enjoyable. It’s brand new.
Not sure how to scent either the Chekhov or Malraux, but something with tea and/or gunpowder would work! Not having such a fragrance, I am again wearing a dab from my dwindling sample of Thomas de Monaco Eau Coeur, which I’m liking more and more.
Bonus: I recently watched the Japanese movie from a year or two ago called Drive My Car, and loved it. It’s a long and VERY slow movie about an actor/director in Japan who is directing a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater there with a cast all speaking different languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, even Korean sign language) in an experimental production. The main character has suffered a deep personal loss recently and as the play rehearsals go on, there is a lot of reflection about love, life’s meaning, growth, and so on (It may be tedious for some but I thought it was fantastic).
That is exactly what happened to me with Mirror…I had 50 pages to go, and my Dad died and Covid and etc, and I just couldn’t take it. I had so loved the first two books. Every so often I’d pick it up and read a few sentences and think, nah, not today. Then Hilary Mantel died and I felt even worse. I am glad I am done and some day I will read them all again, she is an amazing writer….obviously, if she can make modern day readers unable to let Thomas Cromwell die. Ha.
At one time I had a set of books of Chekhov’s short stories and I wish I’d kept them. I thought I would never read them again but now I think I would. It is hard to get rid of books.
That movie has been sitting in my queue for eons!
Really love the Chekhov and also Man’s Estate. Kind of ( not) related but there is a good tv series based on Bulgakov’s time as a doctor in the middle of nowhere with Daniel Radcliffe as young Bulgakov, and Jon Hamm as old Bulgakov. It’s a bit OTT but entertaining.
Even better is The Duel with Andrew Scott in the main role if you can find it. Scott is very good.
Calypso, I just watched that movie and I loved it!
Drive My Car? Isn’t it? The actress playing the lead in Uncle Vanya using Korean sign language was particularly good; I loved how they staged the ending of the play. In general I loved both the “outside story” and the “inside story”, I mean, the play as it was gradually shown through the sequence of scenes in the rehearsals and ultimate performance. I loved how central the play was to the story. Plus the two main actors (driver/director) were both so good.
Yes! I agree with you on everything. ❤️ I was mesmerized by the actress who was signing. She has her own show now, called Extraordinary Attorney Woo, playing an autistic lawyer. I watched a bit of the preview, and it actually looks pretty funny. 😉
Wow, I have watched all of the Attorney Woo show, and never would have realized it’s the same actress. How amazing–she’s very, very good in both roles! Thanks.
Great list
I love your movie recommendations
Months ago you mentioned a foreign series you were watching that was good and also had good looking actors 😇 I noted it somewhere but then lost my note so if you happen to remember please let me know.
LOL, I only watch shows with good looking actors. 😉
But seriously, I’ll try to remember.
Thanks! I think it may of been Korean or maybe Japanese. Geez, I can’t remember at all
I know! It was Mr. Sunshine on Netflix. Try it, you are sure to love it. It’s a historical drama with political aspects, but also very, very beautifully filmed and with a super-intense romance. I’ve gotten two friends interested in it and we were all utterly hooked by it.
Late to the party once again. Sporting Shalimar MVP today for a soft comforting hug. I’ve just been so busy with absolutely no time to do the stuff I want to do, which is specifically to do nothing while sipping coffee or tea, and day dreaming. This is essential for my mental health! I would be an excellent paid day dreamer, if such a career existed.
Still reading my Lewis and Clark journals (when I have time and light) and thoroughly enjoying it. By turns it’s amusing, terrifying, and admirable. I love the language and spelling, which is verbatim from their journals. Luck was on their side throughout their journey because they looked death in the eye many, many times and escaped with a jaunty step and a tip of the hat. Rigorous and demanding physical exertion are certainly not detailed, but when a person takes a 12 mile “evening walk” along an uncharted river, bushwhacking the entire way, I can only admire the fortitude of of all these men (and a single woman and doggo, too). Today, people would be shouting from the rooftops about how they “conquered the wilderness” because they did a five mile hike with a clear and well maintained trail in a state park. People aren’t what they used to be! Highly recommend this one if you’re a fan of history, determination, and the will to meet the unknown head on.
I do find this interesting Deva. I’ve said this before but I would have never survived in anytime in history. I can’t even believe I made it out of the 70’s! Lol.
I was recently telling my son about the hazards of pull top pop cans! 🤣
Welp, a lot of people DIDN’T survive but I believe you’re stronger and tougher than you think.💪🏼
Yes, how did we survive the 70s with no children car seats and with seat belts optional?! Hahahaha.
I think because there were fewer cars on the road and comparatively more enforcement of traffic laws.
I am surprised I can survive now. I see people driving so recklessly on a daily basis, weaving in and out of traffic, not really caring if they might hit another driver. And never any consequences in terms of traffic tickets. Nearly got t-boned by someone running a red light the other day.
I visited the northeast last fall and was surprised to see state trooper just sitting in their trucks watching the AM commute. I think that had some effect.
This is one of the many reasons I prefer a larger vehicle. Worst case scenario, I’m surrounded, and to a certain extent, cushioned by a lot of metal. What really amazes is me is the people who have been in an MVA and complain about an injury related to airbag deployment. Really? You’re angry that you have a fractured wrist? How about being thankful you didn’t sustain a life changing head injury or a possible decapitation. Sheesh!
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-18-la-et-duel-20100618-story.html
Also…Janet Malcolm’s Reading Chekhov. I much preferred her essays to George Sanders book…something to do with the tone of her writing being better suited to the subject, I think.
For Calypso
Thanks! I just watched the film which I could get via Amazon Prime and liked it. Wow that scenery was gorgeous! And so were the sets and costumes. I want to go re-read the story now!
Nothing to recommend reading-wise, I’m failing in my new year’s resolution to read more books. Sometimes I think I would have to ditch the internet entirely to recover my love of reading books, my brain feels ruined by technology and continuous dopamine hits. But others are finding the will to read so clearly this is a personal failing. Wearing Bottega Veneta extrait.
cazaubon, I think the same way, too, sometimes. However, I don’t think it can be laid entirely under the heading of “personal failing.” If you have Netflix, you need to see this: https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/the-film/
There may be another way to stream it, but I didn’t check any others.
I don’t have Netflix, and in fact don’t watch TV at all. I shudder to think what the state of my mind would be if I watched TV on top of being an internet addict. I’ll google for a synopsis, thanks.
I’m in the same boat as you. I think my problem is this.. when reading a book I really have to give it my full concentration, which with all the other things on my mind is hard to do especially in this current decade. I also know that a really good book will make me feel things I try to avoid feeling ( like sadness) the internet makes it easier to swipe those feelings away.
I was distracting myself with perfume earlier and picked 5 of my all time favorites from my collection. BV is in my top 5. I didn’t know there was an extrait. You must smell amazing.
Thanks lillyjo, I don’t have the concentration either due to anxiety about money/inflation and the state of the world, it feels scary to me when I think about it so I try not to. I avoid reading anything that might be sad or stressful.
The BV extrait was a fluke, I found it on ebay years ago. I did try it in the store so I know it’s real, but they discontinued it very quickly.
BV Extrait was one that got away from me. The re was a BV boutique at the World Financial Center near Hermes. I strolled in because I saw the bottle but could not get myself to buy it and then when I wanted to, it went poof.
Bottega Veneta extrait? Please waft over here. I bet you smell incredible.
I had to cut my digital time way down in order to get my reading mojo back. I started by setting a timer for 30 minutes each day and promising myself not to check my phone, just concentrate on reading. I was embarrassed to have to do that but then realized that it was a necessary step to regain some headspace.
I think I need to do the same.
So many books I have not heard of, let alone read! This is the best non perfume thread ever!
📚 🤓
I am doing a week of Shalimar starting today. I have 7 modern ones so I have one per day.
SOTD = Guerlain Shalimar EDP Serie Limitee
If there was a “regular” Shalimar, this would be it! It is so well-blended that no notes shouted out. Of course it is entirely possible my nose is broken, but whatever. I love it. And the bottle is beautiful.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoQ-tN1OmCR/?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk=
Thank goodness it wasn’t as cold today as it was yesterday! I drove to meet up with friends for Escape Room. We selected Game of Thrones although none of us actually saw or read it but knowledge of it was not necessary. We did not accomplish the mission (find 3 eggs and keep them safe, we only found 2). It was the easier of the two adventures but it was way harder than the one we did a year (or was it 2?) ago. Afterwards, we had drinks and dinner. Overall, it’s great to socialize in a small group.
As to books, I read a few late last year but I am too lazy to look them up. I have to write down some of the recommendations as they do sound right up my alley!
I would really like a CP where we list the perfume/ flankers in the order from best to worst. Sometimes I like flankers better than the original ( L’ambre des Merveilles) so would find it really helpful, especially with perfumes like Shalimar or J’Adore, Angel etc.
Chanel 19 or 5 would be another example where flankers might be better?
Great idea as ranking the ones from the mid-twenty teens and thereafter is more doable than mixing in the vintage.
That bottle is really stunning!
It is indeed! I sometimes wonder, because I don’t read through the descriptions, if the new bottles are just that or comes with new perfume.
Last month I read a memoir, which is unusual for me. Stay True by Hua Hsu; the author is an acquaintance of a few people I know. It’s set in the 90s in Berkeley, and reliving that time was a huge enjoyment for me when reading the book. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that was set in the exact time and place where I once lived, so that was a treat. Back then, I wore RL Safari and No 5. I was not the typical college student, hahahahaha!
All the mentions of Japanese books have made me remember one of the few Japanese books I’ve read. A True Novel by Minae Mizumura. Anyone else read this? It’s roughly based on Wuthering Heights, set in post WWII Japan. I really enjoyed it.
I won’t bother mentioning the three books I’m currently reading because there’s a high chance I might not get through any of them. But I will try, and will report back if I do.
I haven’t read either of them but have added them to my list. A True Novel sounds good. Thanks for the tips.
I have read Misumura’s A True Novel. It is quite lovely.
I read a review of Stay True and it sounded great.
Hope you all are comfy and warm and my thoughts to those struggling with family health matters or breakup of relationships.
Not reading anything currently. My free time is too fragmented for me to read on a regular basis so I save most of my reading for trips. I think that is why I read short pieces on the internet rather than books.
Next on my list will likely be Wilding by Isabella Tree, about a couple who bought an estate in England and found that re-wilding it had lots of benefits. I am lately fascinated by the idea that nature can accomplish what technology cannot. I am also intrigued that some farmers have returned to crop rotation and cover crops as a means to preserve and enrich soil. Apologies for my ignorance for anyone in agriculture. My own little 1.5 acre plot is naturally re-wilded since we just leave a lot of it alone.
I am going through a sample pack of Liis. Today it is Bo – Elemi, tobacco leaves, redwood, incense, guaiac wood, cedar, vanilla. All of the fragrances have an understated, ethereal vibe but are surprisingly long lasting. I will wear Rose Struck sometime next week for the CP.
What an apropos name for that author. 🙂 And your perfume today sounds like something I would love. One more sample set on the wishlist!
Slept in super late this morning and was asked if I wanted to see a movie today. Wasn’t exactly game for seeing Avatar. So I get to have the house to myself for a while and get to have a candle going. Wearing Jubilation 25 today.
Your afternoon sounds very cozy. Enjoy!
Slowly reading Annie Ernaux’s Se Perdre (in French for practice) and wearing La Pausa for a long walk today (also practicing to walk long distances for a trip to the Cotswolds this summer).
Since it’s a long walk and La Pausa is beautiful but fleeting, I’ll bring along samples to spritz along the way😊
I’m wearing Bois d’Arménie on this lovely Sunday afternoon. Such a great scent, glad to have backups.
Robin, for what it’s worth, I liked the Kusama art that you featured. I just couldn’t pair it with perfume.
SOTD = not vintage Coco EdP, from the Sample Stash. Thunked this one!
I’m glad! I thought it was such as easy cp but I was way off base 🙂
I didn’t have time to comment on Friday, but I wore Arielle Shoshana’s Sunday for the CP because someone mentioned the polka dots :).
Perfect!
Hey all! I love the book polls. I’m reading an advance copy of Dennis Lehane’s “Small Mercies” on my Kindle. I’m a librarian so I have access to these things (a definite perk of the job!) It’s a mystery/thriller set in Boston, 1974, just before the forced desegregation of schools, and the people of Southie are not happy about it, to put it mildly. I’m really enjoying it so far.
I’m also reading “Trespasses” by Louise Kennedy and enjoying that (though I do get sick of young woman plus old man romances). Speaking of Northern Ireland, I heartily recommend “The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne” by Brian Moore. Short and devastating.
I’m taking notes on what other people here recommend!
Hi socks, I’m a fan of Dennis Lehane – he’s a local hero. 😉
I did not know that there was a book of …Judith Hearne. I saw the movie adaptation ages ago, and it was a great production with Maggie Smith & Bob Hoskins. Have you seen it?
Oh cool, are you from Boston? I went to college near there :).
And I didn’t know there was a movie adaptation of the Judith Hearne book, and with two great actors!! I’ll have to check it out!
It’s my adopted home. 😉