Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit! Welcome to February, and 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 quarterly reading poll. And if you want more recommendations, scrolling through the literature tag will bring up all the older reading polls.)
Or, as always, just talk about something else.
My recent reading...
For fiction, I finished Armistead Maupin's The Days of Anna Madrigal and Mona of the Manor, which brings me up to date on the Tales of the City saga. I read and loved Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep, plus two books each by Anne Michaels (Held and Fugitive Pieces) and Samantha Harvey (The Western Wind and Orbital). Just last night I finished Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants by Mathias Énard.
Of all of those, the one I will scent is Samantha Harvey's The Western Wind. Her Orbital won the Booker, and I did find it enjoyable and thought-provoking, but it didn't move me nearly as much as The Western Wind. For the river and the general atmosphere of water and murk, I'll go with L'Artisan Parfumeur L'Eau de L'Artisan, even though seasonally it's all wrong.
I read only one proper mystery, John Banville's The Drowned, plus three spy thrillers: William Boyd's Gabriel's Moon (not my absolute favorite of his books), the last John le Carré, Silverview, and Nick Harkaway's Karlas Choice.
I finally finished Thomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life by Diarmaid MacCulloch, which I'd started in the fall, and on a much lighter note, I read three more books by Shaun Bythell, The Confessions of a Bookseller, Remainders of the Day and Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops. Another on the lighter side: Seth Rogovoy's Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison. I read most of The Position of Spoons by Deborah Levy (collected essays and fiction). I adored Katherine Rundell's Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne (I think this was a Kanuka recommendation) and while it is hard going and I did skip some particularly brutal episodes of cruelty, I finished Sathnam Sanghera's Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain.
Note: the Bunny bookends ("With their upward gaze and extra-long ears, these weighty sculpted hares look as eager to hear a story as they are able to support the books they're read from") are $130 at Restoration Hardware.
Chanel’s No 19 Poudre and Legend lippy
I may do a week of Chanel. I feel like I need to use some of my samples…Does anyone have a favorite?
Farmers market this morning, eggs are up to 9 bucks a dozen. I can’t believe. Passed and went to the supermarket, 10.75. Went to Trader Joe’s -no eggs on the shelf.
Currently reading Onyx Storm…While I thoroughly enjoyed Iron Flame and Fourth Wing, devouring them as one might savor a favorite slice of chocolate cake, Onyx Storm introduces too many characters at once. If I were to offer a critique of Yarros’s writing, it would be that her character development lacks the depth needed for readers to truly know and distinguish each figure in her stories. Meanwhile, I’ve paused my reading of Cher’s memoir, which I had been enjoying.
I usually have a lot of add to this poll…my apologies 🙂
Favorite Chanel? No. 19, in any iteration. Gorgeous.
No 19 is gorgeous. What is your ultimate favorite iteration?
It varies — I suspect that I wear the edp most often, but the vintage edt is something very special. Not easy to wear, but unique and beautiful.
Current favorite is Boy!
Lately, it’s been Coco Noir, but there are so many others I like.
I drained my bottle of the pure perfume years ago. Gorgeous
I heard that has been discontinued.
Many of the extraits even coco Mademoiselle have been chopped
Wow, I got eggs at the Texas chain HEB the other day for $4.99. I guess we’re lucky here.
Scotland last summer fresh farm eggs were 3£
I so wish we had HEB in Arkansas! We go by one just about every time we’re down in Texas. If we’re lucky, we make it to an HEB Central Market.
Whoa, that’s crazy for the eggs. Even here, where food prices are crazy expensive, I can get eggs for $7 at the farmer’s market, and $4.50 at the grocery store. That’s in Canadian dollars, so it’s like $1 US at this point. (I kid, but the Canadian dollar is taking a beating.) I’m trying to remember what we were paying in Germany, but I think it was €2.50 or €3? Maybe a bit more.
Yikes on the eggs! Favorite Chanel is a toss-up between No 5 L’Eau and No 19 Poudre.
Those two are gorgeous scents
Not sure I can choose between No 19, Cuir de Russie and Bois de Iles
I’ve avoided buying eggs for a while! Yikes!
I would continue to avoid buying
$11.79 for a dozen eggs in the supermarket here
😱
I am off for some sniffing at Lush and Sephora and will report back w/ thoughts later. Specifically I want to try Chelsea Morning which I sniffed on a strip and wasn’t impressed with a few weeks ago but I get major olfactory fatigue at Lush. ehaeheh the store is highly fragrant (reeks) so want to try on skin to see how it wears. Seems like most all the reviews on Fragrantica are so positive so I want to revisit.
I rabbited this morning and am so happy to say sayonara to January! 👋🏻 January is always a busy and tough month at work based on an annual audit schedule and I got a whole bunch of stuff turned in this week. I am relieved and don’t think I will work at all this weekend. 🥳
Earlier this week I wore Clouds parfum from a most kind and generous NSTer who loves red bottles 😉 hint hint ♥️ and it was wonderful…a true feast for the nose!
For books, I loved The Ministry of Time and my book club is currently reading The God of the Woods which I am enjoying so far and about 1/3 of the way done.
I loved The God of the Woods. I have a list of so many books to read now, but always looking for new ones.
I am listening to The Ministry of Time as a audio-book right now! It started a bit slow, but I am cheering for the ex-pats now!
Please give us a followup on your Lush & Sephora trips!
I’m wearing a spray of Shalimar, it’s a dreary day and it always makes me feel better. As for reading, I am very eclectic or all over the road, take your pick. I read 3 books by Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors, The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists, all historical fiction. I’m into police mysteries and am working my way through both the Alex Cross series and the Women’s Murder Club series. I liked the Gone series by Michael Grant, think Lord of the Flies set in modern time combined with sci-fi. Many more but those I can remember off my head. I LOVE my Libby app and the ability to easily take a “stack” of books on vacation, all on my iPad.
If you like the Patterson police mysteries, you may like some of his stand-alone books as well. I just finished Lies He Told Me and I found it to be very good.
I also finished the entire line of graphic novels Y: Last Man. I’d never read a graphic novel before and loved it.
I have still never read an entire graphic novel but I should and my son is always urging me to. He loved Y: The Last Man.
Persepolis is a great first graphic novel, I think. Plus there’s a perfume tie in since its author was a collaborator for Nez Ambre a Levres.
Thank you!
If you like historical fiction and police procedurals, then I shall recommend you Five Decembers by James Kestrel, set in Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Japan, and starts the week before Pearl Harbor is bombed when a young white man (nephew of a U.S. general) and Japanese woman (who worked at the consulate in Honolulu) are found slaughtered in a remote cabin in Hawaii. The case is handed to a young active military cop. Really colorful about life in Hawaii and Asia during that period. Kestrel, a nom de plume, lives in Hawaii and taught English in various parts of Asia so knows of what he writes.
Tan Twan Engs”books are so wonderful. There is a long gap between them and I always wonder and hope there will be another.
Someone on here recommended them several years ago, maybe it was you! I loved them and have his name bookmarked if any others come out.
Yes, he takes his time! I have still not read the first one though.
I think a lot has to do with the settings in Penang and Cameron Highlands.
Many trips there when I was younger. I think I tolerated the humidity in Penang better then. I cannot stand it now.
His books transport me in time.
Wearing Infusion d’iris today. Haven’t been reading a whole lot but have a couple books that I need to finish. I got into work a little later than I normally do and I am okay with that.
We are both in Iris perfumes today- different brand and style 👯
I am copying Priscilla today and wearing Eau de Protection. I think it goes with the book I am reading now. What Happened to the McCray’s? by Tracey Lange is about family ties, community relationships and middle school hockey. It sounds like a strange combination, but it works together. A mother and father divorce after their son dies, but because of life situations they come back together.
Another book that I would highly recommend is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. This is a historical fiction that takes places in the 1700’s. It is also a mystery/thriller. It is a perfect book for a frosty winter night as it is about a man who is found dead under the ice and a midwife is called to examine him.
Great recommendations
I downloaded The Frozen River just last night.
I think you will like it.
Wow. I am putting The Frozen River on my list on my phone. Very behind in reading, in everything really.
I get so many good reading ideas on the forum.
This is one I am sure you will enjoy.
No perfume yet today. It’s raining and I have several hours of driving ahead of me, so I’ll go search the perfume cabinet for something cozy but invigorating, if such a combo exists.
Not reading anything I can be bothered to type about, mostly just distracting fluff.
In audiobooks, though, I’ve been enjoying the books of T. Kingfisher. On my third book now. They hit the sweet spot I need for audiobooks (which I use to entertain myself while driving or doing housework): entertaining, distracting, but not TOO distracting. Given that my attention is always divided, twisty, complicated plots with too many characters don’t work, so I save those for non-audio.
Hope the drive went well!
Hi, nst! pardon the lowercase, but I have to type lefty. After my Sunday fall, I had surgery on my arm and it’s screwed back together. The dentist is optimistic about my teeth but it is too soon to tell for certain. My dressings and splint come off tomorrow but I will be in a sling for a while. PT starts Tuesday, the idea of letting the bones heal before starting rehab is out-of-date. Pain has decreased a great deal since Thursday and I am fairly comfortable. I have friends helping with the kitties and grocery shopping and such, so mostly I have been sitting in the recliner with kitties on me. I read a bunch this past quarter but right now I am too muzzy to recall very many, so I will save them for the next poll. Thank you all for your good wishes.
You are typing well with your left 🙂
Speedy recovery
Thank you for the update, Foxbins. I wish you a continued pain-free recovery.
So sorry! Kittie love will help the healing! Get better soon!
Oh, that’s terrible you have to deal with several issues at once, especially the dental ones. I was lucky that in my various falls with broken bones I never broke my teeth (but I did lose my front teeth in a bicycle accident with my brother when I was about 12–I still have literal nightmares about it. AND IT WAS ALL HIS FAULT, ha ha.) Anyway I’m glad you have friends helping out and kitty caregivers, who are the best.
Calypso,
I broke my sisters arm when she was about 12, I was about 11. She still holds it over me.
But then – she dropped a brick on my foot and broke my toes when we were about 11 and 10 – so we are even.
I once poured a few drops of milk on my younger sister’s head (I genuinely thought the container was empty and was joking around). She still holds it over me 20+ years later. Ahh, the loving pettiness of sisters.
Calypso, I was in a bike accident when I was 12. No-one wore helmets then, and I went over the handle bars and landed on the right hand side of my face .I was on my own and once I came to I thought my teeth were gone. I remember using my tongue so gently, expecting to feel broken teeth-but they were intact! I was ecstatic. Mind you half my face was gone and required some surgeries lol.
Kitties’ loving on a recliner seems like ideal recovery conditions esp with loved ones and friends helping out! Please feel better foxbins!
The recovery journey has begun! I hope it goes smoothly and comfortably for you.
Sending you our best wishes for a speedy recovery of arm, teeth, and soul. I fall like that can really instill such fear going forward. You know you’ve got true blue friends when they clean your cat’s litter box for you. ☺️
Glad to hear the recovery is going well so far, with lots of purring caretakers!
Speedy recover, Foxbins!
Oh, no! Hope you have a speedy recovery. I know we have been missing you.
foxbins I missed your post where you said you were injured. I’m so sorry, and hope you heal well and quickly. Glad your cats are giving you comfort. Feel better 🙂
So glad you popped in, have been thinking of you! And so glad to hear you are at least fairly comfortable and have help. Onwards & upwards!
I missed your news of your accident but it sounds painful. I hope everything mends well and you feel less pain soon. Good luck with rehab
I wish you a quick recovery!
I wasn’t aware of your fall. Sending healing vibes, hope the kitties keep you company today as well.
That’s a lot to deal with all at once. It’s amazing to me that PT will start this week already, but I see the benefit. Sending best wishes.
Foxbins, I am sorry to hear about your fall. I wish you a quick recovery.
Wow, sorry to hear. I hope you mend fast.
I hope you heal quickly, foxbins
Good Morning NST! I finally clapped my snout on some Yves Rocher Nature Millenaire, a long-gone woodsy/spicy thing from 2000 that I’ve wanted to try for ages so I got a partial mini. I’ve read folks raving about it here (I think) and elsewhere. It’s got woods (cedar), iris, spice, benzoin, labdanum, musk, vetiver, and a squitch of vanilla if my nostrils don’t deceive me. Very nice. If I ever found a cheap bottle, I’d grab it. YR has made such excellent fragrances over the decades. Oh, and it’s by Olivier Polge, no slouch he.
As for reading, I’ve just finished History by Elsa Morante, a wonderful but harrowing 800 page novel about Rome and Italy under the Fascists and Nazis during WWII. I didn’t know much about Fascist Italy so this was super interesting and quite tragic. The main character is half-Jewish widow with two children who lives in fear of being deported and her children starving. Published in 1970s, translated more recently. Morante and her husband Alberto Moravia were huge eminences in Italian literature. Morante is the literary godmother of Elena Ferrante (who has cited her as an influence). Morante and her husband, who were Jewish, lived in Rome then had to flee to the countryside to avoid being rounded up and sent to camps, so experienced that era firsthand, which shows in her writing.
Before that I read another doorstopper, Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman, which told of WWII life in Soviet Russia and Stalingrad through a multitude of characters at the front and behind the lines, a real 20th century War & Peace. That was serendipitous, not planned, but I felt like they complimented each other quite well for showing the horrors of war suffered by soldiers and ordinary civilians in two different countries.
History sounds like something I should read…might have to wait until I’m in a better headspace for lack of a better word. Not up to 800 pages of harrowing at the moment.
Have you read her earlier book, Lies and Sorcery?
Robin, yes I did read Lies and Sorcery. Also a masterpiece, And also harrowing in its own way. Her penetrating writing about the interior of a woman’s psyche and the corrosive effects of extreme poverty and the class system were astounding. This book reminded me more directly of My Brilliant Friend. I had to take small breaks from it because it was too intense and claustrophobic to live inside Anna’s head, especially,. I also felt escalating dread about the malevolent manipulations by another character. Both her books are really stayed with me,, which is the mark of a good novel.
I agree…a book should stay with you! But I am not up to too much intensity at the moment — loved Brilliant Friend but not sure I would read it today — so putting both of these on my list but may not get them anytime soon. Thank you so much!
When I was learning Italian Alberto Moravia and Elsa were two authors I read so much of!
Have you read Moravian’s The Conformist? It could be a good companion piece to the Morante. It’s not a long book. The Bertolucci film is also terrific. Life and Fate is a great book.
I was just thinking…have you read Elias Cannetti’s Crowds and Power ( non fiction) or Auto de Fe ( fiction) ? Both worth reading on similar themes
Wow, Robin, you are the queen of readers!! I am very interested in your responses to both Orbital and her other novel The Western Wind. I loved Orbital and now very much want to, and plan to, read this other book of hers. Thank you for that tip.
Well then I will be very interested to hear which book YOU like best! I was so surprised by Orbital, I kept thinking why didn’t they give the Booker to Western Wind?
But the whole fun of the Booker is disagreeing with the winner. (Although really for me the fun is dipping into the longlist and finding authors I have not paid attention to, and knowing even if I don’t love something, it will be well written and worth the time.)
I’ve bought it and it’s now on my Kindle, so I’ll be reporting in later!
Excellent! Apologies in advance if you hate it 🙂
SOTD &is St. Clair Casablanca. I really like this, but it doesn’t have all-day staying power on me for some reason. Very pretty flowery orange blossom with some nice woods underneath. Make me feel pretty!
My reading has been erratic and haphazard this winter. Currently listen to The Ministry of Time. Before this I listened to the Connie Willis time travel classic, Doomsday Book, an interesting counterpoint. Also, in no particular order, Downbelow Station. Station Eleven. Peter Mayle’s The Corsican Caper. Also, A Year in Provence. War and Peace ( in progress…what is happening in Ukraine is a little too factual for some of the stupid Russian generals decision making processes…I go back and forth between this, and Middlemarch..) A book about a towering figure of Buddhism, Enlightened Vagabond, counterpoint to Man’s Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl. Several of Daniel Desilva’s art restorer/ Israeli assassin books in a row until what was happening in Gaza was a little too close to home. Hmm. A lot of re-reads here. Plus a Monty Don gardening book to get in the mood, you know?
Do you think if I read a gardening book now I will do some gardening this year??? It might be worth a shot!
Just added Enlightened Vagabond to my list.
The Monty Don book I adore is Down to Earth, where he discusses the rhythm of the cycle of the seasons. I listen to it every winter- it gets me inspired.
Enlightened Vagabond is the story of Patrul Rinpoche. It is good for everyone to become aware of him, for the benefit of all beings. Ugh-ending opinionating now.
🙂
Currently reading On Getting Better, On Giving Up, and On Wanting to Change by Adam Phillips. I loved his Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life.
I’m basking in Ormonde Jayne Woman😊
All the years I lurked I derived such deep pleasure from NSTers’ poetic takes on life. allô, each morning now instead of thinking which fragrance should I wear, I will instead ponder which scent do I want to BASK IN!
Ha! 🥰 A friend and I often repeat words for emphasis so instead of basking, it would be “basking and basking!” And she’s not a perfume person but when we go shopping, we invariably stop at the perfume counter. Bless her heart, she runs interference so I can shamelessly spray (and spray) and we call that “drenching and drenching!”😋💕
What a devoted (& devoted) friend to help you pursue a passion she doesn’t share with you!
Love this!
Scent twins! Basking is the right word.
Fragrant minds think alike scarebears!
Hi basking twin!💕
SOTD is Bois Imperial. I have used this a lot since I bought it.
The opening is so very crisp and fresh and by evening I am cozied in the woods and spice. There is a hand/body wash but if there was a lotion or cream I would purchase it.
Still reading Salt Houses. Listening to Harry Bosch. Started Circe by Madeline Miller sometime early in Covid but didn’t finish, so am ready to pick it up again.
Ooh, I liked Circe! The entire Ockeghem household has read it and enjoyed it.
Second Circe and Song of Achilles is wonderful also
I remembered it getting so much praise here – so I will give them a go again.
Thanks to allô, currently BASKING in Sotd Jones Road Beauty’s Shower. JRB is Bobbi Brown’s latest company.
I went out today for the first time in 10 days after being so ill. I wanted something light and springlike for the 66 degree sunny weather. I was drawn to Shower which I always find uplifting and with good sillage on me.
4th qtr books read: zippo, zéro, el nada, rien, despite monthly attendance at my book club. Happy to say I’ve already read one book in 2025 and have started a second.
Shoutout to the lovely generous Kris! Counting down hours until her kind gift of Iris Poudre sample arrives. Can’t hardly wait!
Bask on!☀️
I think you will love Iris Poudre as many of us do. Unfortunately, when you open the package, you will probably smell the other goodie I sent you as I spilled a little. I think you may like that one too, but it is totally different than Iris Poudre. Now you are warned🤣
The mystery deepens….
Saw a stunning sunrise this morning from the unit I worked on last night that has a panoramic glass wall. People kept showing up to takes photos, it was that beautiful. Then, I walked out to a bunch of balloons in the air, including this one:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFiNGBsujWR/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Woke with a wicked headache and crap sleep so no SOTD yet, but will most likely go with the MVP version of the Queen no for its soothing properties.
As for books, I tend to pick up obscure titles that most others probably wouldn’t be interested in. I find a good selection at gift shops in NP, NM, state parks, and wilderness areas. Most are about local history, culture, wildlife, etc. Most recently I’ve been listening to the Sookie Stackhouse series which I read in book form a lifetime ago. It’s a great fantasy series and I really enjoy diverse characters. The HBO version did it no justice. Anyway, can’t handle reality right now, so I’m in fantasy land, dreaming a little dream.
The balloons are beautiful!
Gosh I adored that balloon! What a mood lifter deva!
Cool balloon!
Reality, who needs it? From a piece I just started reading in the New Yorker about Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire’s lover and apparently “the Englightenment’s great female intellect”:
That she loved Voltaire no one can doubt, and she wrote a beautiful little book about happiness, sometime in the seventeen-forties, that remains the most vivid record of her mind. A perfect instance of French wit, with its mixture of sharp candor about human motives and sincere sentiments about the human heart, she briskly lists the necessities for happiness as good sense, good health, good taste, and a capacity for self-deception, since “we owe the majority of our pleasures to illusions.” She went on, “Far from seeking to make illusion disappear by the torchlight of reason, let us try to thicken the veneer it places upon the majority of objects.”
🤯🤯🤯 mind blown that’s brilliant !
I feel so VALIDATED! I may never return to reality. I’m going to look her up, she sounds like a hip chick. 😉
How have I never heard of this woman? Hopefully translations exist!
Well, this woman is a giant of mathematics and physics. She translation Newton into French, and corrected and added to his findings, and her translation is the standard and only complete translation in French, still used today. She debated and shut down several well known figures of the day on various questions, was acknowledged as a master in many venues inspire of her sex, but unfortunately died young, in childbirth. A great loss.
And the best part of all? She was taken seriously by her contemporaries, respected, and allowed to educate the world for the short time she was in it. If only all women in science and education (and everywhere else) were given this kind of respect and acknowledgment…
Charming picture!
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/more-than-human
Deva, I think you might like this book, Anima by Kapka Kassabova about the nomadic shepherds in the Balkan highlands, and the close relationship between humans and animals…the inter-relatedness. It’s about living in the land.
I will check it out, thank you for the recommendation. ✌️
The balloon is awesome!
Isn’t it? I feel like we (as a nation, trying to not get political..!) need a lot of love right now, even if we can only get it in balloon form! 😉
I remembered my rabbits at about 3:30 a.m. when I woke up in the middle of the night. I’ll take any luck I can get to get through February, usually the bleakest month here, in my experience.
SOTD is Vilhelm Mango Skin, which is the first sample from this month’s Scentrique discovery pack. (I treated myself to a subscription…need to try some new houses, though I’ve already sniffed a fair amount of Vilhelm.) Despite the description saying that it has “complex flavours”, all I got was a hit of mango on the opening that faded quickly and left me with a scent that reminded me of walking into Sephora — that mix of background smells. Maybe it’s the “pink sugar” mixing with the vanilla and blackberries, all of which are popular in cosmetics these days, I think. My nose isn’t sophisticated enough to tease it all apart; it just says “Sephora” to me. I haven’t been bowled over by anything from this line, though Morning Chess is pretty good on Mr. Ockeghem.
Books: The one I’m finishing now is one I recommend but most people may want to avoid thinking about right now, or ever: Timothy Ryback’s “Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power.” I started Miranda July’s “All Fours”, but it didn’t grab me enough that I finished it before it was due back at the library; I wanted to sympathize with the main character but I just couldn’t find her believeable…at all (I suspect I’m missing something because I know a lot of people really liked the book). I liked Oliver Burkeman’s “Meditations for Mortals”; not much there was a surprise but it was good to read it and be reminded. I also started Nick Cave’s “Faith, Hope and Carnage”, and didn’t quite finish it — waiting to get it back from the library again, and hoping I do before we go to see him in concert this spring.
Oh, and one book that I forgot that I probably recommend over all of them: Craig Mod’s “Things Become Other Things”. I have the art book first edition, but there’s an expanded Random House edition coming out this spring. Highly recommended for his photography, insights on Japanese culture and modern life, and also his own life story. I just lent it to a friend who’s headed to Japan, but Mr. Ockeghem started reading it before he took it to her, and he really got into it, as well (and wants it back soon!).
Mango Skin had a lot of hype on fragrance youtube for awhile. I tried it once and agree with your take. If I recall it had a noticeable ambroxan note.
I got a kit for Christmas with ambroxan in it, and I should get it out and smell it against Mango Skin to develop my nose. (I did independently smell the ambroxan, and didn’t like it, though I’m not totally against it, it just needs to be tamed.)
I was planning to wear OJ Woman today, but needed coziness so it’s Indochine once again.
I think of myself as a reader, but I’m quite behind on my list. I’ve been reading some of William Kent Krueger’s mysteries set in Minnesota and some Louise Erdrich. I just finished Raynor Winn’s The Salt Path (highly recommended).
Next up are Ina Garten’s recent memoir, Christiane Ritter’s Woman in the Polar Night and I still really want to read All the Light We Cannot See.
Robin, I’m curious how you find the books you read. I’ve never heard of most of those you mentioned. Do you find them in a list somewhere or by perusing bookstores or a book club? I usually just find things very randomly from a friend or by seeing a mention in an article. (And I’m with you on skipping over those graphic episodes of brutal cruelty in some books. I understand they may be a true part of history but I just can’t do it–the words return to haunt me.)
I did rabbit this morning first thing and was quite pleased about it! 😀
I did too
I remembered my rabbits for a change too.
I love Indochine and was thinking about wearing that tomorrow.
I highly recommend All the Lights We Cannot See. It is a very good book.
Thanks. I even have the actual book, in this case (I most often read from the library on my Kindle). I think it’s partly that I got it from my mom who is no longer living and it just feels a little emotional every time I look at it. I just need to get it started!
I can certainly understand that.
I second the recommendation of All the Light We Cannot See — I’ve had it for ages but only read it a few months ago, after our family trip to Normandy and Brittany last year, when we visited St. Malo. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down.
I know you’re asking Robin, but lately I’m getting book ideas from a blog (Imagine! Getting ideas from a blog! Next thing we know it’ll be perfume…) called High Heels in the Wilderness. The blogger is a retired teacher who also writes about clothing—less about that lately since she’s embraced the 5 or fewer new items per year philosophy— but clearly has a passion for reading and diverse tastes in literature.
Thank you! All responses welcome!
I look at the New York Times book reviews a bit, I look more at the wonderful book page of The Guardian, and I always pick a few authors from the Booker longlist and try to read one or two books by each of them — as I said in another comment above, even if you don’t like the books you will never find any time-wasters on the Booker longlist, plus there are years of them to explore, sometimes I go back and find people I missed in earlier years.
I also read about lots of authors in the New Yorker. And I have gotten tons of great recommendations here!
Thank you!
ps I took a long time to get around to All the Light We Cannot See but it was indeed a great read! And I am terribly behind on Louise Erdrich, did you read any of her more recent books?
and The Salt Path looks wonderful, adding to my list.
Most recently, I read Erdrich’s The Night Watchman (2020) and The Sentence (2021). I enjoyed both.
Erdrich’s most recent, The Mighty Red, was very good.
Thank you both!
Oh, I loved The Salt Path. First heard about it here actually and then went on to read everything she’s ever written
Yes, I want to read her other books now!
Marianne Faithfull’s first memoir, called Faithfull, Is a fascinating no holds barred look at her life and its many challenges and highs and lows. And her comeback album Broken English stands up extremely well all these decades later.
Thank you DeniseH! I always liked her.
Wearing a spritz of Chamade this morning, which is an interesting contrast to the weather; it is snowing with some determination at the moment. I’ll stick my nose outside in a bit so I can get a whiff of new-fallen snow for an even greater contrast.
In the last quarter I mostly read unchallenging old favorites, the exceptions being Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead and McBride’s The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, both of which I recommend. Recently I read and loved Erdrich’s The Mighty Red; somehow I have missed all of her books between The Round House (one of her best) and this one and must remedy that. I am late to the Elizabeth Strout party (always a day late and a dollar short, that’s me) and am reading her books in chronological order now. Also queued up are Brookner’s Hotel du Lac, Pym’s Excellent Women, and O’Farrell’s This Must Be The Place. Luckily our library automatically renews all books the day they’re due unless someone else has requested them! My reach exceeds my grasp.
Brookner and Pym are two women I should start re-reading. And I still have not read Demon Copperhead!
It’s Sunday morning and I slept late after wearing myself out deep-cleaning the downstairs yesterday. Argh. Basking (and basking!) in Profumum Roma Ambra Aurea this morning, and considering my recent reading. It isn’t inspiring, folks. There are lots of what sound like interesting, thought-provoking books that I’ve downloaded but have failed to make dents in — sad, because I used to be a voracious reader. Ah well. I do have a Flavia DeLuce on loan from the library and am about halfway through it, and it is very fun and funny, and I started Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop last night and it has grabbed me so far. Nothing finished recently other than what must be my eighty-sixth re-reading of The Mysterious Affair At Styles, and the bloom is most definitely off that rose!
Enjoy your bask! You sure smell wonderful😊
Thanks! (I think so too.)
Another vote for Death Comes for the Archbishop
Oh, good to hear! I’m only about three pages in so far.
I recently finished Bring Up the Bodies, part of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy, and I’m about to start The Mirror and the Light, the last one. Getting ready for when the filmed series comes to the US!
Forgot to scent it — clearly, Jo Malone’s Tudor Rose &Amber, lol. It was one of the limited edition collection Rock the Ages.
And it is coming soon! March, I think. Just saw the trailer.
Oh, gotta get on reading that. Mr. Ockeghem already has, but I haven’t gotten there yet.
Good morning! I forgot to post yesterday morning – that was a very lazy Sunday! It’s a sunny morning today, but it’s already starting to feel like autumn.
I’m continuing with last week’s elegance in Cabochard.
It felt very autumn-like here this morning, chilly with heavy dew and calm, clear sky
Sotd Abel’s Laundry Day. Definitely a basking & basking experience! And no, not one piece of wash will be done today!
FIRE BRAIN – heard about this yesterday. Affecting all we Los Angelenos to varying degrees with brain fog, nasal and lung congestion, depression about fire’s aftermath, short fuse temper, reduced concentration abilities, lack of smell. Guilty, as charged. I’ve had all of those compounding my sinus infection.
Brain Fog antidote possibility: humidifier. I just got one on Friday with lots of bells and whistles. What a difference! Woke up breathing clearly, no nasal blood from dryness, and when I sprayed (oops, basked in) my Laundry Day,!it smelled glorious!!!
I’m glad to hear the humidifier is working well for you.
Surprise! It’s also minimizing my wrinkles especially my laugh lines around my eyes. Surprised that they don’t use that marketing angle.
Currently reading Love Scene, the story of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh by Jesse Lasky and waiting for me at my local bookshop is Madly, deeply: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and the romance of the century, a more recent book.
I was trying to decide whether to keep my bottle of Falling in Love so I chose it this morning and I think I’ll keep it, tonight it’s vintage Giorgio Red.
Aurora, what started your interest in Laurence & Vivian? Your fragrance choice is ideally suited to their love story imho.
Well, my mother saw them onstage in England and also I feel so sorry for her struggle with mental illness at a time when it wasn’t understood or treated.
Smelling great Aurora!
Thank you Lillyjo.
The groundhog says 6 more weeks of winter. That’s pretty much every winter here though. Last year we had an early spring but that brought early tornado weather. I would rather have snow.
Anyway, thanks to a generous Nster I am sampling Chanel Comete. It’s powdery and musky and reminds me of laundry hanging on a line in a field. It smells better in the air than on my skin where it turns a little sharp.
Lillyjo, how do you feel about the fresh laundry metaphor? I know some perfumistas don’t enjoy those notes. And 6 more wks of snow means 6 more weeks of perfect hot cocoa excuses to me.
I like the smell of fresh laundry. What I don’t like is the smell of commercial laundry detergent. I use unscented myself but I like the smell of clean. I hope that makes sense.
Absolutely. I use unscented myself, but I find I gravitate towards fresh, citrus and clean fragrances myself. I’m striving to increase my scent palate and try different notes.
Not so long now until spring.
Apparently the Canadian groundhogs and lobsters were mixed. So who knows about spring? 🙂
As a little kid I thought only 6 more weeks of winter seemed like a good deal, considering that it generally lasted longer.
Staten Island Chuck said spring is coming early! And apparently he has a better record 🙂
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/25/clear-by-carys-davies-review-compelling-scots-historical-drama?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
If you’re after a beautifully written, subdued novel that embraces solitude and language then I really recommend Clear by Carys Davies. It’s set on a remote island between Scotland and Norway ( near Shetlands/ Orkney) during the period of the Highland Clearances, centred on a ( religious) man sent to evict a lone occupant from his home. It’s immersive, quiet writing not plot focussed. It’s short, about 150 pages.
A couple of you are reading Orbital so I will put in a word for my favourite astronaut/ space book written by the British author Martin Booth. It’s called Adrift in the Oceans of Mercy (1996) set on a Mir space station, with a lone cosmonaut who has been left behind and is not going to be rescued. It’s a very beautiful book. Booth died quite young but wrote a number of good books, including Industry of Lost Souls which was booker listed and set in a gulag. I can’t find a review of Adrift ….but it’s a good book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBIuXJTF5UA
A very short clip of Tan Twan Eng ( who some of you have been reading ) talking about Martin Booth.
Thank you, Kanuka!
Adrift in the Oceans of Mercy is such a great book title. It does not look as if it is in print here but will have to see if I can find a copy.
PBS has a terrific dark brooding series called Shetland.
Wore Shalimar Millesime Iris yesterday. Today was Musc Ravaguer during the day, and Cuir de Russie for my 2 hour drive home in the rain.
I’ve just started reading a YA sci fi romance recommended by my cousin, “The Darkness Outside Us”. It’s claimed top spot in her favorites roster. I’m about one chapter in, and surprised at the very spare prose (in a good way). I don’t read YA on the regular, so my surprise may just be my own ignorance of the variety within the genre. I’ll report in again once I’ve finished it.
We had a lovely milestone birthday party for my Grandma today. I’m now emotionally drained, though, as it was a lot of peopling.
By now I am sure you are recovered from the over-peopling…glad you got to spend the time with your grandmother!
I used to read more YA fiction (because my son was reading it) but am now completely out of the loop.
In the late fall, l was a guest at my brother’s usually-online book club and read the selection When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, a memoir of a young physician dying of cancer. The attending members met in person since a few of us were in the same city and we ended up discussing life in general more than the book. The book is sad, as expected, but insightful. I am not sure if I will be able to keep up with the book club, since my leisure reading is typically just on vacations. Most of the members are male and the selections are more history and science. But I am trying to expand my horizons.
I was commando during the day, now wearing a small spritz of Cocopink Triple Vanilla Dream from a travel spray. It was about 75 degrees and sunny. Unfortunately, I spent most of the day on office related tasks. Boo! And now I head back to 3 weeks of work.
I read some of Paul Kalanithi’s work published in excerpts both towards the end of his life and just after, and really liked it. Yes, sad, but real, acknowledging the reality I know too well, but with an interesting perspective.
OMG, the spouse found a link to the first few hours of MTV ever. And there was an ad for Andron. All I can tell from the ad is that it contained pheromones and was mean to attract the opposite sex. Um, hmm. Anyone with experience of Andron? Top notes were fresh, green, and citrus, then sandalwood, patch, woody, musk, civet, etc. Hmm. Andron.
I just looked up the commercial. I don’t remember it at all.
Last night I saw the Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl in the theater last night.
Volunteering in the library later today-will wear Chanel Comte
Sorry..maybe I was thinking of some cheese this morning..I am wearing ComEte
Ha, Comte sounds good right about now. Hope you’ll weigh in with your opinion on Comete.
It’s another iris, I think if you have 1932, 1957 and even No 19 Poudre…you may not need this. I find the staying power not good-maybe if I spray on a scarf or clothing it will have some lasting power…
It’s very elegant. I am wearing a long tweed blazer today and this fits both my outfit and mood. It has that classic Chanel feel to it-musks, iris…very polite fragrance.
What did you think of Babygirl?
I was so happy to see a film that thoughtfully tackled the complexities around (women) love, sex and aging
Loved it!
you?
I wore IA Dipped in Chocolate yesterday and I still smell it on my sweater today. So I am layering Montale Intense Cafe on top. It smells like coffee and rose so it’s CP compliant 😇 lol
That sounds great, cp or no cp!
Starting off rose week in Coco for a brisk Monday morning walk💃🌹
Brisk for sure! Is it icy out there?
I didn’t encounter any ice, just cold❄️😊
I’m heading out for my brisk walk soon – meant to get out earlier…
You smell beautiful!
Finally feeling human after about 24 hours of sleep, becoming upright only to eat and and potty doggo and myself. Sheesh! Just exhausted! Feeling much better today and it’s LOVELY out! Bright sunshine, temps up into the 60’s so we will go for a hike somewhere. Poor doggo needs to get out and about. She’s such a good girl, just noses her way under the covers and sleeps right along with me. 🐕❤️
I had a patient over the weekend whose wife was visiting him and when I came in at change of shift , I saw she was crafting something gorgeous at bedside. We had a nice chat and she told me it was a Navajo Wedding Basket. Here’s a little blurb and some photos if interested:
https://affordableweddingvenuesandmenus.com/blog/learn-about-navajo-wedding-baskets
I’m not sure what type of material she was using and I didn’t want to hover and make her uncomfortable but I was really interested I learning more, but I guess I was supposed to be patient focused…🙃
Anyway, after all that, I’m wearing Devotion because it’s easy and at hand.
Wow, those are beautiful! If you see her again perhaps you’ll get the chance to talk with her more and ask some questions.
Deva, ita w Calypso, those are so beautiful!
Following springpansy and wearing Indochine today. I find it somewhat calming and I needed that as we are in the middle of making a lot of remodeling plans for our twin home. I think my husband has seen enough flooring and tile samples for a lifetime😂
Oh yes, I’ll likely be wearing lots of Indochine as we move forward with remodeling our bathroom…
Sotd BASKING & BASKING in FM Iris Poudre, thanks to the beneficence of the incredible Kris!!!!! Oh gosh, I just love it, especially now that I’ve had that dang humidifer on for 4 days, as I can deeply smell the different notes. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t check earlier as it arrived Saturday instead of today, as expected. And a sample of Encens Mythique!!! Kris, go out and buy some lottery tickets because you’ve got a massive deposit in Good Karma Bank and deserve to win a jackpot!
LOL! Glad you are enjoying them!
from the front row of the cabinet, i am wearing pulp today.
Happy you are feeling well enough to wear perfume and hop on to comment! Wishing I had a magic wand to zap you tout de suite into the healthy and healed zone. 🤕
Good sleep was had here.
So foggy out today and rain coming to the burn zones.
So lucky and blessed I am to be able to go to my kitchen and have my coffee.
Lots of volunteering scheduled this week.
SOTD will be Philosophy Nude Rose. I seem to have a big bottle of this, so may as well start the week with it.
Everything has been so distracting I started watching Nobody Wants This on Netflix last evening. Think I watched five episodes.
Yes apsara, I thought I had teletransported to London from LA with that pea soup outside. Although I do enjoy a cup of Fog Chaser by San Francisco Bay Coffee Co.
I binged Nobody Wants This earlier this year 🙂
Still on my green rampage and wearing Jacomo Silences from a little parfum de toilette sample. Rose is listed as one of its notes so I am CP compliant too! It was quite a sleepy foggy morning here and Silences cut right through it.
In my almost non-existent entryway I have a little old table on which I use books as a riser for a vase, and I change the books to reflect the seasons from time to time. Right now it is decorated for Valentines Day, and under the vase I have Sonnets from the Portuguese, DuMaurier’s Rebecca, and Erdrich’s Tales of Burning Love. As broad a spectrum of views on love as I could accomplish with three books! I think I’ll reread the first and last as I put them away on the 15th.
What a great idea! I have loved Erdrich since forever, but will admit I like her older works more than the newer. I’m a couple books behind, so I really should rectify that soon! Silences used to be mentioned all the time here, but seems like much less frequently these days. I have never tried it, but of course, I should. Too many perfumes, not enough time (or money 💸)!
Starting “Toned Down Rose” CP in EL White Linen. That’s another project I can do for weeks. Usually, if rose is listed in a floral aldehyde, chypre, rich oriental or “floral bouquet”, I cannot detect it. I bet there are some rose experts here who will sniff it out everywhere.
Perfect choice Glannys! I also have lots of fragrances that have rose but I don’t (or hardly) notice the note…
Checking in from work tonight wearing Armani Si. I’m also drinking the limited edition Wild Cherry and Cream Pepsi. It’s ok but I won’t buy it again. It’s incredibly sweet.
I went with my Son earlier to do a meet and greet with a possible young adult mentor. They never showed up. They better hope I don’t answer if they try to reschedule.
That’s disappointing. Totally NOT a mentor thing to do.
Smelling very nice!
That is a terrible thing for a “mentor” to do. I don’t even know if you can call him that if he doesn’t show up for an appointment.
That’s just appalling. So sorry.
Had an appointment downtown near the flagship Nordstrom so took a quick walk to finally smell Comete. I snagged a sample – have not put it on skin yet because I also tried Hermes Pamplemousse Rose on one wrist (CP-compliant) which I loved until the far dry-down. (The bottles in that collection are so gorgeous – all jewel colors. I would love a whole line of them on my dresser.) And then Bois des Iles on the left wrist. Yes, yes, yes to the BdI. Is there any of the parfum left anywhere, does anyone know?
I think you will like Comete, but some have said they don’t think it lasts long. I didn’t have an issue with that, but I have other iris scents that smell close enough to Comete so decided to forego purchasing it. It is very nice.
Will be trying it today (Tuesday).
I think there is some BdI Parfum here and there but the only way to find it is to call around all the Chanel counters that stock the Exclusifs line. I found a bottle at a Neiman Marcus in NYC a while back (but iirc, someone tipped me off) and I just found the Parfum version of Coromandel at a counter in Phoenix the end of last year. Good luck! If you’re working on patience this year, hunting a bottle down is a great way to cultivate it!
Thanks! Yes, patience 😁
SOTD: Confessions of a Garden Gnome
Another long work day. But tomorrow I’ll cut out “early” (😂 after 8 hours) to hang dinner with a friend who’s in from out of town.
And on Thursday I’ll join a group of friends to celebrate one of their birthdays.
Looks like it’ll be raining for the rest of the week here. We need rain, I just don’t like driving in it.