Welcome to our annual summer reading poll! (And if you want more recommendations, see fall, winter and spring).
Author birthdays this weekend: Jean de La Fontaine, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross on Saturday; Ann Radcliffe, Barbara Cartland, Oliver Sacks on Sunday.
The poll: please recommend a great book to add to our summer reading lists, and tell us what fragrance we should wear while reading it.
My recent reading:
On the fiction front, I finished rereading Olivia Manning's Levant Trilogy, then I reread The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald. If you have never read The Blue Flower, do! It was even better the third time. (And if you need more prodding, see The Blue Flower's elusive magic at The Guardian, or 'Nonsense Is Only Another Language' at The New York Times.)
Then I read Jane Smiley's A Dangerous Business (great fun, and could as easily be counted as a mystery), which would call for something outdoorsy like Ineke Idyllwild.
I have two books on my nightstand, both of which I've barely dipped into and we'll see if I finish either: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. Do comment if you've read either of them!
I did not finish a single non-fiction book, but I am very slowly working my way through William Morris: A Life for Our Time by Fiona Maccarthy.
For mysteries, I read the last three books in the Commissario Ricciardi series by Maurizio de Giovanni, which was recommended by Calypso. I believe there is one more in the series waiting for an English translation. I also read Exiles by Jane Harper and The Lock-Up by John Banville, and I've just started The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths.
Note: top image is Muro de libros [cropped] by Herbert Spencer at flickr; some rights reserved.
I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures!
Me, too!
Oh yay, I will finish it then, thank you both!
I did too. It is a great book. You must read it Robin.
Thanks Kris, I will!
must add to list. my sister loved it.
Today I’m in L’Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme, a work of art, a perfectly balanced composition of sweet, woody, spicy, fresh, aromatic, and balsamic notes. It gets more comments than anything I have ever worn, ever.
The last book I finished was the graphic novel Ducks by Kate Beaton, documenting her two years working in the nearly all-male Alberta oil fields. It gets more harrowing as it goes along, and I’d understand if people decided it wasn’t for them (for reasons that you can guess), but it’s extraordinarily good. Parts of it just haunt me. Highly recommended.
Just got back from the library with a book called The End Of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), about the way the universe will eventually come to a close, and I can’t wait to tuck into it. It’s a topic I find endlessly fascinating: one of my favourite books of all time is called The Five Ages of the Universe, about the entire history of the universe from the Big Bang to its eventual heat death. I know I’ve read it cover to cover three times, maybe four. It’s so worth hunting down if you have even the slightest interest in such things, and much more readable than you might suppose (I think there’s one equation in the whole book).
Wow- that’s sounds very interesting 🧐 I need more nonfiction page turners
I remember watching a show with Neil de Grasse Tyson about how the universe will end and found it oddly comforting. At times I feel like I did nothing of significance or worth with my life and took solace in the fact that it will all disintegrate eventually, so what does it matter? Everything is impermanent and passes away eventually.
Oh, and you smell fantastic, I love LIDG.
House and LIDG twins, but I’m in pour femme edt. I too have and love LIDG pour homme! Have you ever seen the Briane Greene TV show The Elegant Universe? It’s a very well-done show, and Prof. Greene explains (almost) everything in non-physicist terms and okay I’ll say it looking *fine* all the while! 😀 There is a book version, but I’ve not read it.
Anyone see my beloved NYPL library lion on the cover of the New Yorker. So cute!
I read The Switch & This is Where I leave you when I was on vacation. They were mindless reads.
My To Read Pile-
Right now I am reading The Rachel Incident. So far so good.
Others on my stack 📚
Paper Palace
Someone Else’s Shoes
A YA fantasy book called Shadows Lost
The Glass Castle
Tom Lake (which hasn’t been released yet)
I am wearing Royal Elixer for the farmers market this morning. Later I will switch to something else.
Robin- adding Maurizio de Giovanni to my list
They were very enjoyable. I might start his other series, which IIRC Calypso has also read.
Yes — just got that issue! And it will be another happy surprise when I actually catch up to that issue in about 6 months 😉
Hah! That means you catch up faster than I do…. As one of my dear friends said, years ago, the New Yorkers “just keep coming.”
Yes they do!
I used to pretty reliably maintain a 3 month lag and then catch up on summer vacation, but now my lag has grown ridiculous…
I really liked Remarkably Bright Creatures, Robin. I also read The Last Remains, and along with Pyramus I read Ducks (my very first graphic novel).
I really like authors that teach me something, and for the last month or so I’ve been reading Jodi Taylor’s The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. It’s about a group of historians (from St. Mary’s) that “investigate historical events in contemporary time” i.e., time travel. But Ms. Taylor has an extensive vocabulary and I learn new words like “nitid” and “vair” and her description of historical events is accurate, minus the time-traveling part, of course. There is some deus ex machina action but not too much. Pixel might like them. I’d scent all the historians in Black March, as time traveling to historical events seems to be a rather dirty business.
I read Elinor Lipman’s Ms. Demeanor, a bit of summer fluff about a woman on house arrest who finds love in her apartment building. I’d scent her with Mediterraneo.
For suspense, I read Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T. J. Newman. A reviewer described it as “Like Apollo 13 underwater.” Pick something aquatic to wear.
For non-fiction, I read The Long Haul, about a long-distance mover’s experiences. I’ve moved a lot and it was interesting to read about moving from the driver’s perspective. Something with beer and sweat notes would be appropriate.
Lastly, I read Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series about 30 years ago and I’m re-reading them. If you haven’t read them I strongly suggest you do, they are excellent.
I have a little medical thing to do this morning so no scent yet, but it will be something Kerosene later. This sample pack is big.
I’m a huge fan of the Master and Commander series! Somehow, DH and I ended up reading them aloud to each other at night, usually before bedtime. I remember once getting dressed again and running to the bookstore before they closed to get the next book, lol!
We even named our dog Aubrey.
🤭
Both Mr. Skal and I love the M&C series. He has been through it three times (!). Me, just on round two. So engrossing and beautifully written.
I have been doing more philosophy reading lately, for various reasons (reviews, conference) and less literature kinds of reading, but I caught up on the last two Harry Hole mysteries by Jo Nesbø, The Knife and Killing Moon. The Knife was far better and is one of the best in the series. Warning: these are VERY violent murder mystery novels. Probably scent would have to have a blood note so I recommend Tyrannosaurus Rex.
On a different note, I’m wearing Diptypque Ombre dans L’eau to meet an old friend for lunch soon–she’s a good neighbor who moved away and I’ll be so pleased to see her again. Plus, we’re trying a new area restaurant! I am excited. On me this scent is a somewhat green and fresh rose–I don’t get any tomato leaf or other off notes which reviewers complain about. I’m so happy that my air conditioning is finally fixed!
May I ask which philosopher or which field of philosophy are you reading? And — I hope this question would not be too private — do you work as an academic?
I was planning to study philosophy (and critical theory), but for whatever reason, I just did not make it. I still had the interests but I find it a little struggling to fit some serious philosophy reading within the busy work-life in the business world. So I am just curious how you manage to balance it.
(btw. My recent interests are Schelling (on history and fate) and Bataille (on erotism, death, and sensuality). Though for the reason mentioned, I am not sure to what extent I can reach or have to pause. )
P. S. Ombre dans L’eau, you must smell amazing today 😉 And congrats on the fixed air-conditioner. It could be essential against the recent heat.
Thanks and no problems with asking. I’m actually a now-retired philosophy professor, so the work-life balance issue has been overcome, ha ha! My specialties were the ancient Greeks and the philosophy of art. So I’m writing something about a friend’s brand new book, “Thoughtful Images, Illustrating Philosophy Through Art,” for a critical comments panel. It is scholarly but might have broad interest and it’s written accessibly. I’m also re-reading someone else’s book because I’m writing a memorial to her, Jenny McMahon’s “Art and Ethics in a Material World: Kan’t Pragmatist Legacy” (2014). It is a fantastic book but probably more for specialists. I do like Schelling but haven’t much studied Bataille. I wish you luck as you go on ahead and try to study philosophy!
And yes, having a cool house is pretty wonderful after our heat wave!
Many thanks for your reply, Calypso. I will also put these books on my reading list.
VERY VERY violent, the Nesbo! I read one or two then couldn’t take it, which is true of so much Scandi noir, it’s a shame because I think there are so many good writers taking mystery seriously there.
I love Arnaldur Indridason and don’t think his are so violent. He’s Icelandic. His Inspector Erlendur mysteries are fantastic.
Thank you, I will look for those!
I have Penelope Fitzgerald’s “The Blue Flower” in the Everyman’s Library omnibus edition alongside “The Bookshop” and “The Gate of Angels”. I only read “The Bookshop” about five years ago; I should dig it out to read the other two.
In April, I read Allen Mandelbaum’s translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses published by Everyman’s Library; I had previously read the Penguin Classics edition which I disliked. There is a 2014 film by Christophe Honoré inspired by some of the stories called “Métamorphoses” which I also rewatched.
Sometime in May I decided to read the second book in Mary Renault’s Alexander Trilogy, “The Persian Boy”, after having read the first one, “Fire from Heaven”, a few years ago. I may complete the trilogy by the end of the year.
After finishing Claude Arnaud’s book-length essay “Proust contre Cocteau”, I read Cocteau’s “La Machine infernale” and “Le livre blanc” as well as bits from “La difficulté d’être”, and I watched some of his films. I greatly enjoyed “Le Sang d’un poète” (1930).
I have also reread a handful of plays: Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, Aiskhylos’ “Agamemnon”, and Euripides’ “Bakkhai” (the Anne Carson translation is the one I return to again and again).
I recently received “Tales of Dionysus”, a group translation of Nonnus’ Dionysiaca: 42 translators for the 48 books, each one translating one or two. I am yet to read the whole thing but I am not too impressed with the choices of some of the translators.
As for poetry, I have dipped into the Homeric Hymns, the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Leopardi’s “Canti”, Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus” and “Duino Elegies”, among others.
With Proust’s birthday coming up, I’ll be picking up something of his to read tomorrow or the day after. I am rather spoilt for choice given how many books by and about him I have amassed over the years.
And I have winging their way to me “The Star-Child”, a collection of Oscar Wilde’s short stories from Penguin as part of their new series Little Clothbound Classics, and “Oscar: A Life” by Matthew Sturgis, the most recently published comprehensive biography of Wilde.
If I had to recommend one book, it would be “The Star-Child”: Wilde’s wonderful stories in a gorgeous new edition (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453035/the-star-child-by-wilde-oscar/9780241597033).
Oh, and a fragrance to wear while reading “The Star-Child”: Guerlain Jicky, which Oscar Wilde may himself have worn.
For Proust, I associate him with Guerlain L’Heure Bleue; I even scented the clothbound “Remembrance of Things Past” with the fragrance.
LOVE LOVE The Persian Boy! Huge Renualt fan 👋
That is one of my favorites of hers.
yes indeed. Re read it at least once a decade.
If you like travel writing, Nicolas Bouvier’s L’Usage du Monde is excellent.
Anne Carlson is an amazing poet and translator.
Since you’re doing sort of French and modernist literature, have you ever read any Colette, or Malraux? I love Colette and am just now in a book group SLOWLY reading Man’s Fate by Malraux. It’s brilliant.
Gate of Angels is wonderful too!
Just finishing up Elixir: A Parisian Perfume House and the Quest for the Secret of Life. It wound up being a little too heavy on the science for my liking—I actually love science when it is spelled out, but this author assumes her readers have a stronger handle on organic chemistry than I have. It also assumes the reader has a good understanding of the events just prior to the French Revolution and the decades that followed. I have my iPad nearby to look up figures and events as I wrap up the book. I am very glad I read it, and will be thinking about it for a long time (the link between soap manufacturing, gunpowder shortages, and social dissent now blazes bright! Also, Elisabeth-Felicie Canard (Elisabeth Celnart)! I shall now be on the lookout for anything in English about her.)
Drained the sample of Harvest Mouse I think Nancyleandros passed on to me. I quite like it, especially for these cold California mornings when a warm scent is needed!
Isn’t Harvest Mouse nice? It was a hair too sweet for me, but I think it would work in Houston winters. We have Calypso to thank for the sample. It came to me from her. 🤗
So many of you are adventurous readers! I am not. However, thanks to a library app, I have just discovered and devoured two sets of three Nero Wolfe novelettes that I had never read before — such a treasure, finding previously unread books in a beloved series! I also recently finished Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and enjoyed it — it’s a bit of a fantasy/fairytale, and the first in a trilogy that I might explore further (or might not). And I have just borrowed A Dangerous Business based on Robin’s recommendation, and so far (one chapter in) I like it.
SOTM is Mojave Ghost. Delish.
Loved Shadow & Bone. I read a lot of YA fantasy during the pandemic. Also enjoyed Holly Black’s YA fantasy
Just got Remarkably Bright Creatures. Am looking forward to starting it. An aside here. For those who haven’t seen ‘My Octopus Teacher”-watch it! Just wonderful! Really just wonderful.
I always try to have both a fiction and non fiction going. My non fiction right now is ‘The Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher’ by Timothy Egan. About Seattle photographer Edward Curtis. At the beginning of the 20th century, Curtis realizing what is happening to the Native American population sets out to photograph every tribe he can across the US. Hubs and I saw an exhibit of his Native American work in Scottsdale and it was astounding. Depending on what part of the US he is in the perfumes could be marine, incensed for the desert, woody. Lots of options.
The non fiction is ‘The Actual Star” which is a speculative fiction that covers three timelines using Mayan history and cosmology. Very good. This one is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.
Up for the rest of the summer are some Harry Hole and I’m going to finish two or three that I started and never finished: ‘A Legacy of Ashes’-a history of the CIA, ‘Rise and Fall of the Third Reich’ and ‘The Making of the Atomic Bomb’. I am looking forward to seeing ‘Oppenheimer’ when it comes out.
Glad to find another Harry Hole fan here!
If you’re into the somewhat new literature about the wonders of the octopus you may have already run across this, but I can highly recommend it–fascinating, informative and highly readable, by philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith, Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness. Here’s a link:
https://www.amazon.com/Other-Minds-Octopus-Origins-Consciousness-ebook/dp/B01FQRPIIA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RJ6Y1P3DZSU1&keywords=peter+godfrey-smith&qid=1688841757&s=digital-text&sprefix=peter+godfr%2Cdigital-text%2C142&sr=1-1
I saw ‘The Snowman” with Michael Fassbinder and thought I would read the book. And then another and another. Lol. Same with Jack Reacher. Saw the movie and some friends said that was NOT Jack Reacher. Read the book and was appalled at how different it was. Tom Cruise is definitely not Jack Reacher and the movie was one action scene after another. Which was also not the book. Have read a few more when I want something mostly mindless. Saw the TV series also. Now that WAS Jack Reacher.
I agree about Reacher in the TV series bring the right guy!
Remarkably Bright Creatures is on my list. I like just about anything by Timothy Egan or Erik Larson.
Both the Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher and The Actual Star are definitely my cuppa, so thanks for the recommendations. I already have Short Nights on hold at my library and foresee the Dame Perfumery Artist Collection scents accompanying me on this read. After that I’ll check out The Actual Star.
You are all such prolific readers!Wish I had more time-and patience!
SOTD!
LPRN the original.I prefer the Couture version I wore a couple of days ago.
Happy Saturday!
Currently only reading NST comments and extremely exciting(not) research for work….
XO’s
lol 😂
You are probably the MOST prolific reader here!Always look at your rec’s.”A little life” has been on my list since forever!
A little life was a book that really affected me deeply.
I hope you get to it one day.
My friend saw the play in London- the actors were hot and naked almost the whole show. 🔥
Haha!Should I rather see the show then?Lol!
🙈🙈
😇 I am sorry to miss it! I couldn’t just fly to London for that.. lol
JB-Remember how we were going to get Spare read? Well, I haven’t read it yet. How about you?
Nope.Still gathering dust,although with the home renovations it moved from my bedside to “the pile of unreads”…🤣🤣🤷🏼♂️
😂
I have not been a good reader this past year. My great love in books in my car.
Just finished Hang the Moon, but I don’t commute anymore and gas is still a lot so my drive times and listening times are cut way back.
Libraries or The Library by Susan Orlean was great. A wonderful history lesson about libraries that starts in my own backyard with the downtown LA library.
I do have The Covenent of Water ready on my kindle for first leg of flight to Africa and have been adding a few others with amazon digital points.
Maybe because I look at such stupifying documents all day long at work I find it difficult to read when I close my laptop. Have been watching you tube and reading twitter and other stuff, nothing seems to keep me interested.
SOTD is dedcool taunt. Another birthday gift to test!
I just bought The Covenant of Water the other day. I am anxious to read it, but it is so long so I am going to probably save for this winter.
My sister listened to it and loved it. We both loved Cutting for Stone.
I loved Cutting for Stone too.
Would love to hear more from you and others on The Covenant of Water. I admire Verghese’s nonfiction but have yet to read his fiction. And, like apsara, I have some looooonnnggg flights ahead.
Curious about your thoughts on “Taunt”!I’ve been eyeing the dedcool discovery set.
I like Taunt. I find it super enjoyable and easy to wear and have had it on all day and can still get amber/vanilla.
My gifters made some good choices for me!
Thanks!
The Covenant of Water sounds really good.
Thanks for the mention of the Susan Orleans book. Sounds right up my alley and my library even had the audiobook. The title, btw, is The Library Book. V cute.
Lately, I’ve I have been a complete loafer when it comes to reading.
I finally read Horse by Geraldine Brookswhich had languished for far too long on top of the stack. Highly recommend! It’s mostly historical fiction interspersed with contemporary chapters, and the characters are finely done and highly memorable. Scent to wear would be PdN’s vintage Vie de Chateau.
Brooks is a powerful writer. I started reading her decades ago when she was an international correspondent for the WSJ, covering the Middle East, I believe. She’s written several novels since then, and I’ve made my way through all of them.
SotD is for my next project, going through my sample set from Burren Perfumery. First up is Illaum, a light floral. Mostly orchid. Not a standout.
The People of The Book was such a wonderful read.
Yes!
Another round of 23 spritzes of Lys du désert. It’s verrrry hot and humid. We are leaving on a camping trip tomorrow for a week to the Gaspé peninsula. It’s supposed to be cool and rainy, which I am actually looking forward to after all this heat.
Have a super great trip!
Does Mila like camping?
Yes she does, she even likes hiking. But being low to the ground and very furry, I’m thinking it could be a mud fest requiring lots of bathing. I’m packing dog shampoo and lots of towels. 🙂
Lol. Have fun!⛺️
Have a great trip !!
Thank you!
Hope it is a perfect trip cazaubon!
SOTD = Valentino Valentino Uomo
I am still in the chocolate theme so points for sure!
I thought I was going to share more of my reading. While I have read more, I will say that they were not exceptionally remarkable and I will leave it at that.
My nephew will be home sometime later today and I hope to see him. He passed whatever theoretical part he was supposed to pass and so he has a good 1.5 weeks of rest and relaxation until he goes back again. He’s in the Navy and I am so proud of him! I will definitely ask him about Titan although I am not so sure that he will have more info than what I was able to read on the NYTimes and People magazine.
In other news, I was bummed that IG saw it fit to remove one of my posts! HTH am I supposed to know why a picture of MY Coromandel bottle would be tagged as violating Commercial terms? It’s my own bottle and nowhere have I ever offered to sell any of my perfumes ever! I just got a pop up saying my post was removed and did I want to dispute it. Nowhere was there any space to provide an explanation.
Regardless, here’s my Caturday contribution:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CucgstNxPUw/?igshid=Y2I2MzMwZWM3ZA==
Great to hear about your nephew! I hope he has a relaxing visit. I am also interested in what he has to say about Titan.
Will you be disputing IG?
I actually saw your bottle before it got removed!
Love the caturday post! Social media algorithms are inscrutable.
That’s really weird about IG. I mean seriously, of all the things they let people post!!? Your perfume got flagged? Ridiculous.
Insta has kind of been on your case lately with flagging stuff.
I have read all fiction books this quarter which is nothing unusual as I just can’t get into non-fiction very much. Anyway, I read about a book or two a week so will not report on ones that I found to be fair to poor.
I usually find Barnes and Noble’s book club picks quite good and they did not disappoint this quarter. The April book Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls is a historical fiction/feminist book set during Prohibition. In May the book club selection was The Secret Book of Floral Lea by Patti Callahan Henry. If you like history, fantasy, mystery and romance than this book if for you. Two sisters are separated after an unfortunate situation and that’s just the beginning. It has a great storyline. This is one of my favorite books this year so far. The June selection was Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea and is another historical fiction during World War II of women in the Red Cross.
My favorite genre is suspense and I read many in that category that were good. They included: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, The Senator’s Wife by Liv Constantine, Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica, She Started It by Sian Gilbert and Between Two Strangers by Kate White.
I am wearing one of my favorite Jeffrey Dame perfumes. Not even going to mention it as you have all heard about it enough over the last few years. LOL
I like Kate White a lot.
I feel the same about non-fiction. Glad to hear I am in good company!😉
Commando until I shower. Then something light and pleasant since I’ll be in a theater.
Been reading the Venice detective books by Donna DeLeon…enjoying the cultural view into Venice society, culture, weather and policing. Just started Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths…it was on hold for months at the library. Also enjoyed of the detective books by Katherine Engberg. The Measure came through after months-long hold also. I returned it early…thought it was stupid.
And, of course, Angela’s latest – Witch Upon a Star. Love this series.
I do hate waiting for months! I joined another library just to have 2 places to put things on hold.
I have read The Rooster House, the Victoria Belim/Bois de Jasmin book about Ukraine and her family. I found it touching. I also read more Nick Adams Stories by Hemingway. Wearing Angel Muse EDT.
I’d love to read The Rooster House too.
I think you would enjoy it. There are some poignant moments but overall it’s not a sad book.
You smell wonderful, and I loved The Rooster House. It was not what I’d thought it would be, and I think I liked it even more because of that.
I’m in Terracotta. It’s another beautiful day here.🌞 I got some errands done this morning, including a trip to the library to pick up a hold.
Since the last poll:
In non-fiction I’ve read Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown and although it is a good book omg it took me forever to slog my way through it. I’ve decided that I’m just not much of a non fiction fan.
In fiction I’ve read:
The last mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
The house of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
Did you hear about Kitty Karr by Crystal Smith Paul
The Thursday murder club by Richard Osman
The light we lost by Jill Santopolo❤️❤️❤️
And currently reading Cassandra in reverse by Holly Smale
I finished The light we lost in less than 36 hours, which a record for me. I was instantly hooked. It was written in a style I haven’t read often, first person told by the main character Lucy as if she is talking to another character Gabe. I won’t give it away, but about a third of the way in I figured out the premise and so I had to get to the end to see if I was right. I was, and of course it broke my heart.
Saturday freebie: I’ve got a box of samples passed to me from pfsh that I’m ready to pass along. I’ve taken a few, added a few, along with some skincare and body products. Dibs and email me at p k wisdom(one word) in the land of yahoooo.
Happy weekend!😎
I love anything by Liv Constantine. I really enjoyed Mrs. Parrish. I think we have the same tastes in books madtowngirl.
I think so too, great minds think alike.😉🤓
Freebie claimed!✌️
I am enjoying seeing what everyone else is reading. I am still plodding through Shantarum. As I predicted, my momentum declined as soon as my last vacation ended. Fortunately, I have a stay-cation coming up in a week and I hope to finish the book.
I am also reading cookbooks and doing internet searches, trying to find slow cooker recipes so I don’t have to use my oven or range in this awful heat. One of the most interesting cookbooks I have is Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O’Dea in which the author makes everything in slow cooker. I really like the idea of piling ingredients into the cooker and going about my day for 4-8 hours. I am going to do a simple beef pot roast tomorrow night but I want to branch out with recipes that are more summer- appropriate. Maybe some Mexican or Asian meat recipes I can pair with rice and vegetables.
I am trying out a sample of Commodity Milk, the Bold version. I don’t find much difference between this one and the Expressive version I used yesterday. I like both so far, remind me of cake batter.
I’m a fan of reading cookbooks, too. O’Dea recipes are pretty reliable, in my opinion. Southern Living has some great slow cooker recipes, too. 😋
Good to know. I bought a subscription to Southern Living for my office but haven’t checked it out myself. Lately, I find internet searches are great for finding new recipes.
O’Dea recipes have been pretty good but some rely a lot on premixed/processed foods. I am hoping I can learn enough to improvise.
I’m not much of a cook and I substitute a lot since it’s not pastry. I haven’t done this myself but have you ever tried using Google to enter the ingredients you want to use along with slow cooker?
Probably would work. But internet searches are fantastic for cooking in general, I can find recipes for most things and even ones I never thought about. At Christmas, I tried out a slow cooker pudding recipe that was great.
I’ve not done much reading of books of late, but I spend a lot of time reading news and perfume reviews.
I didn’t get the Kerosene sample set from Luckyscent due to the postage cost, but I did get a few samples. I’d tried Copper Skies a while back and really like it, so was keen to try a few more. On first sniff, I like Dirty Flower Factory, a nice rich jasmine. I really didn’t like Unforsaken, it is very coconutty. Of course, it has got stunning longevity.
Ha, the ones you hate always last the longest. 🙂
like marriages and meetings.
Haha 😂
Ouch!
No SOTD yet. Missed my confession to Donatella this week. Waiting on a bottle of Angel’s Share that I bought on Etsy. Hoping it’s the real thing since the price was almost too good to be true. It’s supposed to be coming from England. Also bought a sampler set from Tokyo Milk in the San Diego airport.
Just finished “All the Light We Cannot See” yesterday. Beautiful interwoven story about a blind French girl and a German boy set during WWII. Non-fiction was “A Spy Among Friends” about Kim Philby, fascinating. Currently have started the audiobook of “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchett. Liking it better than I thought. Hard to go wrong with Tom Hanks as the narrator. Bedside table has “Dinners with Ruth: a Memoir on the Power of Friendships” by Nina Totenberg. And have bought a copy of “The Rooster House.” My reading list is ridiculous. I need to retire just to read.
Ha! I am not reading much but I definitely feel that when I retire, I will never be bored. When I have time off, I love to read and I so look forward to reading when I retire. I was lying in bed with my husband last night and we were talking about people who retire and have no interests, so they can’t enjoy themselves – so sad and so strange! I have been bored in 40 years.
I love Angels Share
I need to just retire.
I liked the Dutch House (and I too did the audio version). The mention of the linden trees had me mooning over getting one for my yard.
I’m in Mandarine Basilic again today, having thunked the 7.5ml mini I received through the swapmeet. We’re headed into a week of very hot weather here, after having some rain the past couple of days.
I’m out of granola, so I’ll be making a recipe from David Lebovitz that actually has chocolate chips being added for the baking. Chocolate chips don’t melt in cookies, so they shouldn’t melt in granola. We’ll see how it goes! 🥣
Sounds yummy! I have one of his cookbooks that has a wonderful ginger cake in it.
My better half has been making his own granola since grad school- he is now in his mid 40’s.
I made a batch of granola today and now I wish I’d added chocolate chips!
I know it’s not this bunch’s favorite collection, but has anyone smelled Lancome LVEB Iris Absolu? Thoughts?
I think that MossyBerry has tried and enjoyed that version of LVEB.
Yes, I did and I do like it very much – you won’t have to ask “where’s the iris?” and the LVEB sweetness is toned down. I prefer it to the OG which I think is a very fun perfume, though I was not an early adopter. I am already all perfumed-up today, but I will wear LVEB IA next week and see if I can say more about it. I think it reminded me of something.
I just tried it today. It is definitely iris, a sugared iris. I also smell the original in there. I like this one better though.
SOTD is ELDO Fat Electrician, from a sample vial. A foil to yesterday’s Borneo 1834.
Am loving these book recommendations — there is a lot of travel time ahead of me between now and late August. The first leg of our flight to Australia is super long (JFK to Auckland, nonstop, in economy — and no extra legroom seats to be had).
Oh my, that is a long flight! Hope you find a book so wonderful you don’t notice the lack of leg room 🙂
I would go with xanax, earplugs and eyeshade. and sleep.
That is the plan — and sleep is the hope. But even with my neck pillow that clicks shut (so it doesn’t fall off) and all those other sleep-supporting items and no alcohol or caffeine, I have exactly once been able to get real sleep on a plane — flying to Helsinki earlier this year. The plane was nearly empty, so I had a three- seat row to myself (almost everyone on the plane, except families with small children, was the only person in their group of seats). It was glorious, and I had the mildest jet lag of my life. (We both are tall with pretty long legs — I have a 33” inseam — so a normal economy seat is painful, and we are priced out of the next option up, given the surge in fares.)
The flights to Australia are so packed that Mr. Skal and I aren’t even sitting together on the return Auckland/JFK leg. But my GP just refilled my Xanax scrip in record time, so that need is crossed off my list! And we get to meet our grandson, so we will do our best not to be miserable in transit.
Bon Voyage – so happy for you to meet your grandson. I also *rarely* sleep on a flight, be it short or long.
Only one book worth recommending this month: If you’re a ‘Mutts” (comic strip by Patrick McDonnell) fan/animal lover/someone who’s concerned about the future of our planet (I’m all three), you may enjoy “Heart to Heart, a Conversation on Love and Hope for our Precious Planet.” In this simple but powerful little book, Patrick adds his poignant illustrations to inspirational words by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Makes a beautiful 🎁; I gifted myself with a signed copy.
In keeping with my theme for July fragrances, ‘blue sea and sky,’ my SOTD is Armani’s Acqua di Gioia edp, as refreshing as this gorgeous day has been with all windows wide open. Going out for stuffed pizza and 🍷 in a little bit. Happy Saturday night!
You had me at quotes from
The HHDL
All of the book’s text are the words of The HHDL and the. book itself has a very interesting back story:
https://mutts.com/pages/heart-to-heart. Enjoy!
I used to enjoy reading the “Mutts” comic strip very much. Thanks for the heads-up about the book!
Mutts always brings a smile to my face but I did not know until I signed up for the daily newsletter (which provides a comic strip different from what’s in the daily newspaper as well as an inspirational quote) all the good Patrick does to make the world a better place in both his advocacy for all animals, especially shelter ones, and the environment. Here’s a link to additional info about him https://mutts.com/pages/about-patrick and you might want to check out the rest of the website where you can also sign up for their mailing list. Enjoy!
New Jersey used to have a “Mutts” specialty license plate. I would catch sight of one every so often. But I haven’t seen one in quite a while.
Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins is a personal finance book for the ants out there, vs grasshoppers.
That book looks fascinating, I might have to read it. Bit of a summary for anyone else interested can be found here:
https://www.sloww.co/die-with-zero-book/
Hello, lovely people!
I’ve missed you, but stayed away to avoid temptation. I already have lots of samples and some bottles of perfume, and my mother remains extremely sensitive to any sort of fragrance — fine fragrance, scented soap, many herbs — my eternal complaint. (lol!)
I’ll have to get some boxes of samples together to give away/pass along.
I haven’t stopped buying garden plants or books, of course. (lol!) Lately I’ve been reading books by Celia Lake, with characters who mostly live in a magical version of Great Britain called Albion, set atop/alongside a non-magical world. The characters who use magic are not supposed to let the non-magic characters know about it. One of the books is set in a school where students learn how to use their magic. It was not surprising to me to see in the author’s notes that Ms. Lake is a Harry Potter fan. (lol!) But the story itself, “Eclipse,” featured a romance between teachers, plus a little mystery they needed to solve. Historical paranormal romance — totally up my alley. 🙂
Other books set in that magical world that I liked included “Bound for Perdition,” “The Fossil Door” and “Wards of the Roses.”
A YA anthology I recently read was “It’s a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories.” Some of the stories were very amusing.
I’ve read a couple of short stories and a novel by P. Djèlí Clark, set in the “Dead Djinn” universe. There’s a whole range of diverse human characters in that universe, let alone the diverse magical creatures.
Another book with diverse characters, where the characters use magic, is “Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution” by R. F. Kuang. Lots of footnotes about fictional books and the characters, kind of like “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” that way, but more openly showing the brutality of the British Empire in the 1800s and the also brutal effects of colonialism on the colonized. Some of the footnotes are Chinese characters, showing what one of the viewpoint characters says exactly, while the main text has the transliteration. Those footnotes were lost on me, which is most likely part of the point.
I’ve been reading books that cover the early history of the du Pont family in America, some starting when Eleuthère Irénée du Pont started a black powder manufacturing business on the Brandywine River in Delaware, and some starting with the previous generation.
I’ve learned some facts (and legends) about the family and business working as a museum guide at the Hagley Museum. But many of the books have interesting factoids, and/or pull together some of the family dynamics in more detail than I was originally given.
This summer, I’ve been working “upstream,” where the house E.I. originally lived in, and which has been much renovated since, is located. I give visitors to the museum who haven’t been there before an orientation about the early du Pont family tree, and lead them shuttle bus stop at the top of the Eleutherian Mills part of the property through a recreation of E.I.’s French-style kitchen garden (potager).
The adults have much more of a frame of reference for events that happened in the late 18th century and early 19th century, and I can talk about history and gardening all day. (LOL!)
In autumn, I’m sure I’ll get back to the elementary school field trip hands-on lessons about life in the 1850s. “I’m going to *show you* how to use the quill pen and the ink well before you touch them.” The young children and their chaperones don’t seem to find it particularly reassuring when I say that the ink is less permanent than a Sharpie marker, or even when I say that it’s water-soluble, and will wash out. (Go figure, right?)
I’ve been reading additional books about heirloom plants. That was a habit of mine long before I got a job that involves interpreting a recreation of a garden from the early 1800s. I found that I can read plant lists written in French at that time, and also the botanical Latin from then. I found books from the mid-1800s by Mrs. Jane Webb Loudon on Project Gutenberg, Google Books, and the Internet Archive. “Botany for Ladies” is a book of hers, for example. Those books have been very useful for explaining the botanical theories of the time, and for which plants were known to European gardeners at which time.