Welcome to our annual summer reading poll! Please recommend a great book to add to our summer reading lists, and tell us 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, and of course, do report your fragrance of the day if you like.
I am still reading a bit less than usual, but here is what I've done since the spring poll:
On the fiction front, I finished off Sebastian Barry's Dunne series, recommended by Deva, with A Long Long Way. Then I read Makenna Goodman's enjoyably odd Helen of Nowhere, and Elizabeth Strout's latest, The Things We Never Say.
I finished two more Dame Frevisse mysteries by Margaret Frazer: The Sempster's Tale and The Traitor's Tale, plus Emma Garman's debut mystery, The Kindness of Strangers.
For non-fiction, I finished a book of Norman Lewis essays, A Quiet Evening: The Travels of Norman Lewis (highly recommended, especially if you read Naples '44), Pankaj Mishra's An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World (also highly recommended)*, The Land and its People by David Sedaris (perhaps for avid fans only), and A Time to Keep Silence by Patrick Leigh Fermor. The one I will scent is the easiest: for Oranges by John McPhee (which I picked up on Libby on a whim but which turns out to be fascinating, as McPhee often is) the best fit is Florida Water.
Note: top image is Lost Verses series [cropped] by Nick Kenrick at flickr; some rights reserved.
*A quick quote from a review in The New York Times...
"An End to Suffering" is part biography, part history, part travel book, part philosophic treatise. But perhaps it could best be described as a work of intellectual autobiography. I say "intellectual" rather than spiritual, let alone religious. Mishra is not a Buddhist -- he "couldn't sit still" long enough to meditate successfully -- and his story is not a narrative of conversion or a road map to inner peace, at least not in the expected sense. It is, rather, the tale of his attempts to delve into the legacy of one of the world's greatest philosophers.
Robin, thanks for those recommendations. I’m especially attracted to Pankaj Mishra’s An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World. I’ll see if I can pick it up at B&N. It’s slim pickings here as I’m out in the sticks.
As for MY reading adventures, I’ve been a complete slacker. I’ve mentioned starting a biography of my beloved Jim Harrison but I’m just so exhausted with the schedule I have here I’m unable to really focus on anything with even a modicum of depth. Still waiting for the release of the new Sebastian Barry book and another by a favorite author Daniel Mason, which I just realized has been recently released. Will look for that as well. It makes me sad to realize I will never again look forward to another release by Edna O’Brien. I miss her writing, her strength, her honesty, her unflinching examination of the brutality and beauty of life that is leaves me genuinely depressed.
Hot as hell here. No other way to put it. So hot I refused to go out to the grocery yesterday and instead ordered a pizza for delivery. Can’t tell you how long it’s been since I did that. And because it’s even hotter today, I STILL don’t want to go out so I ate leftover pizza for breakfast. Dinner will be oatmeal I guess because it’s all I have. 😂 Took the dog out this morning for business and the heat and stillness just about took my breath away. Ugh! Because I live “downtown” there’s a lot of homeless folk about and they like to sit under the big trees in the shade on the parkway of this property and I don’t know how they are managing in this weather. Even in the shade it’s horrible.
I’ve decided to extend my contract here, although I’ll be transferring to a specialty heart and vascular unit, so I’m hoping my schedule will be better.
This constant flip flopping of days and nights has got me 😵💫…
Currently wearing EL BG. My relationship with this scent seems to have deepened and evolved this summer. I love it more each time I wear it. 😍
Deva that sounds awful. Can you get to a hotel/motel until it cools off?
Oh, I’m in a little efficiency for the summer! No way I could live in this heat without A/C. It’s currently 100F. I’d die and so would doggo and that’s not hyperbole. So, I’m very lucky to have found this little place because not only do I have AC, but on demand unlimited hot water! Both of these things are quite the luxury for me. I miss the camper and especially the bed in my camper, but this is a nice break. I just hate to even step outside for anything right now. 🥵
And meant to add even an RV park with electric hookups so I could run the camper AC wouldn’t work because it’s still too hot in the late afternoon when I would have to unhook to drive to work. It wouldn’t be safe for the dog, even after the sun goes down because it’s not really cooling off much at night here.
Ugh I hate Summer! Even the wind feels hot and being outside is like being in a convection oven. I can’t go anywhere without an UV blocking umbrella (it does work somewhat in lowering the heat!) and a fan. People look at me like I am ridiculous but I DO NOT CARE!
We are summer hating twins! 👯♀️
Deva, so sorry about that weather! We are expecting temps to climb this week but suspect it is worse where you are. SO glad to hear you’re in an apartment.
On Pankaj Mishra, I have been reading bits of his for years, he used to write for New Yorker etc, but lately read a few really interesting political pieces of his in Harper’s & New York Review of Books & possibly elsewhere. Liked them so decided to try a few of his longer works.
Well, I knew it was coming, which is why I snapped up this little studio. I have been rethinking things as the summers continue to heat up higher than ever before, even in parts of the country known for cooler summers (looking at you coastal PNW!) and planning how I’m going to handle that going forward. It’s a challenge but I don’t want to give up my nomad life. One thing that’s in my favor is that I’m perfectly fine with the unknown, flying by the seat of my pants, and being able to pivot quickly. For those amongst us who like to be in control this would be the worst kind of life ever. 🤣
Your life sounds so satisfying yet fly by the seat of my pants is not how I roll!
Just thinking of it makes me a little (ok, a LOT) nervous!
Be careful with this heat, it’s so dangerous! I feel for the homeless and the animals.
Oy with the heat! Have you tried a free trial subscription of Dash Pass? It’s either 3 or 6 months but it may be long enough for you to decide.
On July 4th, I was at friends’ house and we decided to order in as usual. I don’t ever recall using Door Dash to order and here we were deciding what to get from where. Anyway, I never even heard of the “Dash Pass” until then! We ordered from 3 different places. Was it worth it? Not sure, since the friends paid. I subsequently decided to read reviews but where I’m reading, it’s no longer worth it. Maybe it’s because I don’t order enough with delivery (only once in the last year) but it doesn’t look like it will pass the hajusuuri sniff test,
I very rarely order anything delivered because no one will deliver to a truck camper out in the boonies! 🤣 Plus, I’m really cheap and try to make my money stretch as far as I can. For me it wouldn’t be worth it at all. I’m still grimacing at the total price of the pizza I had delivered…😫
I am currently made my connection to Phoenix and going home. Right now I am commando since I have been up since 3. Can’t wait to have my collection back.
Hope the rest of the flight goes well Dawn!
It’s been a good quarter of reading for me, hardly any duds. In non-fiction, I read Every Deep Drawn Breath by Dr. Wes Ely, a researcher and ICU physician who has pioneered changes in the ICU such as early ambulation, early trials off ventilation, and family involvement.
Salt, Sweat, and Steam by Brigid Washington was a memoir about attending the Culinary Institute of America. She’s now a food journalist.
I read I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything by Joanna Stern, a tech writer for the WSJ. She vows to use AI for every decision, proposal, and help she can find. She tries a robot dog, masseuse, a self-driving car, a therapist, and uses AI to clarify medical and dental issues. It was less interesting than I thought it would be.
I also read some other non-fiction that was not engaging enough to recount here.
In fiction, there were some true winners. I’m putting in another plug for Martha Wells’s Murderbot Diaries series. The newest one is Platform Decay and continues the story of Murderbot’s growth in empathy and human understanding. The first two books in the series are novellas and so are fast reads. Even if you don’t like science fiction you might like Murderbot, it’s about relationships.
I read an oldie but goodie, Noah Gordon’s The Physician, after my Istanbul tour leader recommended it. An orphan is given to a barber-surgeon in 1020 AD and discovers he can tell when someone is about to die by touching them. He hears of a school for physicians in Persia, and when his mentor dies he sets off with a caravan to Persia. He receives the training by pretending to be Jewish. After his physician mentor dies, he and his wife return to Scotland. It was a very nice book.
An excellent read was The Beheading Game, by Rebecca Lehmann. Anne Boleyn wakes up after her beheading in a box, wearing a shroud, her head resting on her knees. She gets up, steals some clothes and a sewing kit, sews her head back on, and sets out to kill Henry. The writing is beautiful and I mentioned it a few weeks ago in passing. Another excellent book was Ode to the Half-Broken, by Suzanne Palmer. In a post-apocalyptic world, a sentient robot studies insects when it is attacked and its leg stolen. A cyborg dog arrives by accident and they go on a quest for the leg, discovering two warring factions of humans with “mecha” or sentient machines. Gradually the robot, the dog, a human, and a VW bus with the mind of a train figure out who is behind the attack and why.
Like Robin, I also read The Kindness of Strangers, about a murder in a boarding house. Everyone is a suspect!
The final memorable book of the quarter was Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. It’s the 14th century and the plague is everywhere in France. An unemployed knight saves a strange farm girl from rape by brigands and she wants to go to Paris and then to Avignon. He accompanies her and slowly comes to realize that she has been sent to eradicate the fallen angels who are battling with heaven’s angels for control of the world. It was such an engrossing story I could hardly put it down.
I also read Yesteryear. It got a lot of publicity but I hated it. So many plot holes, and apparently it’s okay to hit your wife and force her to have sex if you’re a Christian household. No thanks.
On the nightstand is Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. I have to be in the right mood to read Kingsolver, and somehow I missed this when it came out. Probably because I heard it was a retelling of David Copperfield and I think Dickens is a hack writer.
It’s a cloudy and cool day so I pulled out Box of Eels parfum.
Great recommendations, duly noted for my next bookstore sojourn. I’m especially interested in Every Deep Drawn Breath because this is something I’ve been following real time. This should be happening in every ICU with every qualified patient. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of supportive staff to make this happen, and most hospitals will see this cost as nonessential, resulting in a reduction in CEO/shareholder/private equity profit. One of many reasons healthcare should not be for profit. But I’ll stop there since I don’t want to cross those political boundaries.🙃
Wow, you’ve read some really imaginative books! I especially like the sound of the one in which Anne Boleyn sews her own head back on and pursues vengeance against Henry!
After you accept the central premise the book seems quite historically accurate.
Me too! I love me a good revenge story.
Thank you for the mini reviews! Looks like I need to plan my next trip to the book store.
Yesteryear sounds horrible, I too am not okay with all the things you mentioned.
Some of these medical books I must check out.
I, too, was very disappointed with Yesteryear. It is on all these lists of being a “must” read. I almost didn’t finish it.
Thanks for the mini reviews, I’ll add a few of these to my reading list!
Well we are also Demon Copperhead twins, I have owned it for ages and not read it.
Ms Kingsolver needs to put out another book.
SOTD is Caswell-Massey Casma, from the collection of minis I recently bought. For the record, this seems to be the “original” formulation, in the standard round bottle with the Caswell-Massey coat of arms insignia on it, not the early 2000s rerelease. I had initially assessed this as a strong like, but to be honest, I love this one. It is a very sweet, powdery floral. In this case, by “powdery” I mean powdered sugar rather than dusting powder, the olfactory equivalent of candied flower petals. I already bought a FB of White Rose, which I find to be very close to the super-expensive and hard to find Shiseido White Rose, and I fear a FB of Casma will find its way into my ebay cart when I’m not looking 😉
Casma sounds fun! Hope you get your FB.
SOTM is Regime des Fleurs Falling Trees, from a dabber sample. It is enough like Courreges Seconde Peau (which I own) that I don’t think I’ll need any more.
On the reading front, I’m still mostly rereading old favorites, but I do have one new-to-me novel that engaged my interest. It’s called The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. The story starts on the man’s 100th birthday and then jumps back and forth in time, telling about his current adventure and several past ones, in which he befriends nearly everyone he meets and inadvertently causes and fixes several world disasters. The story(ies) are wildly improbable, and of course they all dovetail in the end. Made me laugh out loud about every other page. If you liked Remarkably Bright Creatures then you’ll most likely enjoy this one.
Another, and very sweet, story with an older protagonist is”Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love” by Marianne Cronin.
I’ll check that one out — thanks!
A few other books you may like with older protagonists are The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston and Theo of Golden by Allen Levi.
I had a hold on Frederick Fife on my library app, but something intervened and I can’t remember what. I need to revisit that, and investigate Theo of Golden, which I’d never heard of before. Thank you for the recs!
Theo of Golden has been a best seller since last year. It is excellent.
Wearing Mugler A*Men Ultra Zest, a variant on the original A*Men brightened with orange. Just delightful.
I read a lot but almost all of it is online: I haven’t picked up a physical book with the intention of reading it front to back in such a long time. And I have a bunch of books in my Kindle, on subjects that interest me, books I would surely enjoy, but do I use it for that? No, I use it for cryptic crosswords and suchlike (I have a Scribe so I can write on it). I used to read voraciously from early childhood well into my forties: I never could have foreseen a day when books are foreign to me, but here we are.
I went through a very long period of barely reading anything but magazines…then I started reading again. Not saying that as encouragement, just saying, things change and so whatever!
Happy weekend!
Sotd is Guerlain Cuir Intense. I can only pull this off in such hot weather is because I am indoors with aircon.
Not much reading done recently. The only “books” I have read are crochet books. I am making amigurumi (crocheted stuff toys). I made a strawberry layered cake 🍰 and a hamburger 🍔 so far. Currently working on a weighted blanket. Why in the dead of summer you ask? That’s because amazon had been sending me good deals on yarn and I was weak and got tempted.
Oh, a strawberry layered cake sounds delicious! I have to laugh, a dear friend of mine knits and crochets, she has an unbelievable amount of yarn in the most wonderful colors, and textures.
Stockpiling yarn is a real thing and it’s probably more dangerous than perfume because of how much space they take up! You can’t just buy a single ball of anything so if you see a few colourways and textures that you like, that’s over a dozen easy. Then you feel they are too precious to use and you buy some more….
I’m reading the latest by one of my favourite SF authors – Exodus by the British author Peter Hamilton. It’s got his usual multiple story threads, cast of thousands, etc. It was a bit slow to get started, but I’m engrossed now.
I also read Angela Sanders’ latest in her Witch Way Librarian series – a lovely light read, like all of her books.
Perfume-wise, I can still smell last night’s Le Participe Passé on my clothes. When I bought it, it mostly smelled like burned sugar, but my nose seems to have got past that, and it seems more nuanced.
I am not keeping up with Angie’s mysteries and should get back in the swing!
For once I do have some reading to report. I have been reading Han Kang, the Korean author who recently was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. I began with Greek Lessons, which is still my favorite, and I would say it’s the best book I’ve read since Orbital. Han Kang is definitely not for everyone and most of the friends I have who have read this book did what I did after finishing it–re-read it right away. It’s just that puzzling, yet still interesting. It’s difficult to describe–a very philosophical-poetic reflection on language, speaking, and trying but failing to make contact with reality. I am going to recommend it as my book group’s next read and wonder if they’ll all hate me! After that, I read The Vegetarian (yikes!), Human Acts (novelistic memoir about the horrific military suppression of the Gwangju uprising in 1980 (the author is from Gwangju), and am almost finished with We Do Not Part, another book about a political massacre in Korea, this one in 1948 on Jeju Island. This one is more personal, and has more “plot,” than Human Acts. Greek Lessons is still my favorite by far. The Vegetarian is quite good but it’s extremely weird, and many people would probably be put off by it. She’s certainly not like anyone else I’ve ever read before. The advantage of Greek Lessons is that it has (I think!) a happy ending, though that’s debatable. The main woman character is described as having a faint smell of apple (it comes from her son’s scented shampoo); even though I don’t have anything with apple I’d choose Honour Woman, because it always smells to me like apples.
Forgot to mention that my SOTD is L’Or de Louis, by Arquiste; very beautiful delicate white floral scent, but not good lasting power. I’ve got a decent spray sample but won’t be buying the FB.
I’m working my way through the NYT Best Books of the 21st Century list and The Vegetarian is on it. Weird is okay with me but I don’t like violence, so I’ll see how it goes.
It doesn’t have violence.
I didn’t have time to post yesterday but I think I was more compliant with the cp in every which way than ever before. SOTD was DKNY Sweet Delicious Tart Key Lime: lime the dominant top note with other citrus and sweet notes layered over basil, ginger and neroli with violet leaf on the bottom. To my nose the lime lingered throughout. Lime was also my shower gel and then BBW’s Coconut Lime Verbena body products.
Spent the afternoon and evening at our Taste and 2 other outdoor concerts. I wore a light lime green sundress, a fun watch with a bright lime wristband, and my earrings had light green stones in them. We even brought lime margherita mocktails with us to one of the concerts.🍸
A much calmer day today, one last trip to our Taste tonight for dinner and a country rock band. SOTD is one of my summer favorites, Bvlgari Omnia Coral, to harmonize with my bright coral shirt.
Will have to give some thought to the reading poll; haven’t read too much lately that I’d recommend. In the meantime, happy weekend to all!🎶
I miss OG Coconut Lime Verbena! Later iterations got too clean for me.
You have a great weekend too!
Hi, everyone. I’ve started reading again this summer and I’m really enjoying it. Since Covid, all I’ve been able to read are articles online about things that interest me but I started missing books, although now I read them on my kindle.
I love old fiction and since I enjoy classic movies so much, I’ve started reading the books some favorite movies are based on. So far I’ve enjoyed Stella Dallas, Now, Voyager, Dodsworth, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and currently I’m discovering James Hilton. I’m starting with Random Harvest, it’s one of my favorite movies and so far the film and book are quite different, so it’s fun to see what changes were made.
Today I’m wearing a new to me bottle of Cinnabar, not sure how old it is but on a muggy gray day in cold air conditioning, it smells great.
That sounds like fun and you’ve got a great list of movies there! I adore Now, Voyager (film), in particular. A suggestion is Daphne du Maurier, many of whose stories or novels were made into films. A favorite of mine is The Birds, which is a lot different from the Hitchcock movie, and also, Don’t Look Now–closer to the movie, by Nicolas Roeg, and yet still distinct in some interesting ways.
Thanks for the Daphne du Maurier recommendations! It’s been many years and I did read The Birds but I don’t think I ever read Rebecca, and it’s been ages since I’ve seen the movie.
Now, Voyager was a good read; like you, I love the movie version.
Vera Caspary wrote the suspense/gothic novel Laura, which was made into a big movie in the 1940s, is a fave of mine. If you like those mid-20th century novelists…
I do, for the most part. Laura is an excellent movie, now I can read it, thanks!
I have a friend who publishes on Substack. I have started noticing that seemingly everyone wants to be paid now for blogging. Even businesses want you to become paid subscribers on platforms like Patreon. This whole monthly subscription thing for everything makes me cranky and I flatly refuse to participate. That’s my rant for the day. 😂
Perfume-wise, I’m wearing Dior Grand Bal.
I agree with your rant.
You smell just lovely.
I’m totally with you on the refusal to pay for this kind of stuff. What really peeves me is news channels that make you pay to get the news, not that any news is very trustworthy here anymore. But even Reuters wants your money to access news. They’re already getting paid by advertisers, for gods sake?! The greed everywhere these days has become horrifying. The only subscription I have is for my Waggle camera which requires LTE to function, but that’s worth it to me because I can leave it inside or outside the camper and get notifications for “activity.” It’s a good safety measure for us. Anything else, I’m not paying for. Don’t get me started on all the new cars and how they’re nickel and diming you for every single function, not to mention the cameras in the cab used to track driver and passenger activity. Not just NO, but HELL NO! 😂
I’m also agreeing with your rant. I would never buy a vehicle with those functions. Lucky me, I can’t afford them anyway. 😉
The thing is that the option for these surveillance cameras and stuff is not up to the buyer. It’s embedded in the auto electronics. It also monitors braking, speed, and other driver characteristics. Many newish cars have installed tracking devices that are not disclosed. In the near future almost all cars will have a remote stop function so your vehicle can be disabled by “law enforcement.” Some are equipped with this already. These are not options or billable subscriptions. The subscriptions you will need to pay for includes things like music, GPS, seat cooling/heating, outside safety camera functions…those are the types of things you will need to pay monthly for or they get disabled. I’m giving props to LA because they just ended their contract with Flock and I’m hoping towns and cities across the U.S. follow. I’m not a fan of Big Brother, inside my car or outside of it.
Flock cameras are a very hot topic here in Colorado. That’s pretty much all I will say about it.
And the printers! I do print, although not much; however, why should I pay to get ink to print besides the usual 1-2 x per year investment?
I don’t want any smart devices around me other than the phone and laptop that already spy on me, which I can’t do without. I’ll take a stupid house, car, appliance, etc., thank you.
I have some of that same resentment. But I also recognize that journalism is struggling, as entities get bought and consolidate. Any viewpoints are less unbiased when political players own media outlets. So I pay up, hoping that my support helps preserve a little independence. I guess where I get cranky is when I already HAVE a subscription to the actual printed media and I have to pay extra for the electronic subscription. This happened to me recently with Vogue. I have a magazine subscription but in order to read the online articles that come to my email, I had to pay for the electronic access. I begrudgingly paid up, since I tend to read online more than the paper magazine.
I wasn’t referring to journalists but rather to random people who have set up blogs and expect people to pay to read them. That’s the part that boggles my mind.
I am so with you on the subscription substacks. I so far have not paid for anything although I probably need to review my credit card statements more closely!
On the one hand, I don’t pay for subscriptions to anything but NYer and NYT. So I hear you.
On the other, nothing is really free. This blog barely covers its own hosting costs these days and when it stops, I will have to stop blogging…I cannot afford to pay the hosting out of my own money. As it is, it is pure foolishness how much time I spend on it when I ought to be doing things to earn money.
To be clear, there are other things I could do to make it pay, but they’re all even more annoying than the ads.
oof I’m sorry to hear this, Robin, but I understand.
I most certainly was not referring to you Robin, my comment was about random people who just post things on Substack and think they should get paid for that. I have a lot of respect for the professionalism, effort and care that goes into your blog.
Oh I know you weren’t, I was just putting in a word for content creators! If I was still writing reviews on a regular basis I think substack or the like would be about the only option now.
“Whistler” by Anne Parchett was great, no surprise there. What did surprise me were a couple of similar plot points to the also-enjoyable “The Family Man” by Elinor Lipman.
It’s been a while since I’ve read Ben Aaronovitch and “Stone and Sky” his latest Rivers of London book – set in Scotland! – was pretty good, with its mixture of fantasy and police procedural.
I have loved Elinor Lipman for years.
Glad to hear Whistler was good as it is sitting on my end table. It will be one of my next books to be read.
Commando today. Yesterday I had my eyes dilated. I have a floater that is right next to a cataract in my right eye and for the last eight months it’s like a constant flicker. Crazy making I tell you 🤪
Will see a retina specialist in two weeks. My mom was blind from macular degeneration so all of this is freaky to me.
Needless to say less reading and more listening has been going on.
Finished Whistler. Finished a Michael Connolly book.
Started The Simp yesterday.
Listening deep house music and doing laundry.
Sorry about the floater!
Which Michael Connolly book? I have been reading the Bosch series and I’m now up to no. 19.
Nightshade. No Harry Bosch in this one but it takes place in Catalina, an express boat ride away from me.
Looks interesting. It may be my next series read!
That is crazy making…hope they get it taken care of.
So sorry about this, apsara. I hope the specialist can take care of it.
Sorry about your eye issues; hoping the specialist will help alleviate the problem🙏
Sorry about your eye. Same hoping your specialist can help with the problem.
Good luck with the eye specialist!
SOTD is BBW Covered in Roses body wash and lotion with Essential Parfums Rose Magnetic. Love this combination as it reminds me of Delina.
I have read several books that were definitely worth it this spring/summer. As mentioned earlier, I could have done without Yesteryear.
Kin by Tayari Jones is about two Black girls that are raised in a small town in Louisiana by relatives other than their mothers/fathers. They become best friends but go their separate ways as they grow older. They continue to stay in touch as they venture into vastly different lives. This author also wrote the book An American Marriage that was very good.
The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff has been one of my favorites this summer. This deals with a lot of family issues including early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, divorce, and tragic happenings. There are also some wonderful moments in the book.
Another super book is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I wasn’t sure how I would like this book that is comprised of letters and e-mails written by an elderly woman, but it is really a story of her life. It has been on a lot of best seller lists and it is a great book.
Other good books worth mentioning were:
The Paris Match by Kate Clayburn-Chick lit/romance-fun book.
Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth-Suspense, but some humor.
Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Bramer-About friendship.
Dissection of Murder by Jo Murray-Great debut legal thriller.
The only non-fiction book I read was Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden. This was another book that was hyped up however, I didn’t find it to be anything more than a story about a divorce in an elite family.
I now have The Correspondent, from my sister who got it from my step mother, they both loved it. So I will read it!
I read so many reviews of Strangers that I feel like I’ve read enough…glad to hear I was right 🙂
Great list!
I read London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe. It is about the death of young man in London and how his parents uncover details of his death as well as the existence of an underworld in which their son had become ensnared. It was quite good, I recommend, if you like nonfiction. I love anything by this author, I think my favorite being Say Nothing.
I guess if I had to scent the book, I should pick something by Penhaligon’s but I don’t own anything. Maybe I could go with Jorum Studio Spiritcask (Scotland) as geographically close.
Today I wore a sample of Fille En Aguilles but I ended up overlaying the last drop of Ebba Miss Marisa oil, as I was cleaning out some old samples and this one was not quite evaporated so I finished it off.
👏 for the thunk! I love Jorum Studios although I can’t count on one hand (maybe two if I want to be generous) when his perfumes are mentioned in this blog.
Another gorgeous summer day. My potted hibiscus is blooming and I’m wearing Blanche Immortelle.
Yay for a gorgeous summer day and gorgeous summer flowers! I spent a couple hours weeding today — possibly my least favorite activity on earth — and just barely made a dent in the ridiculousness, so I hate all growing things at the moment but I will get over that.
Ahaha – I am in the same boat: I have a LOAD of mint to dig up before it takes over my entire world. I will be hating growing things for a while and then of course, will get over it. Actually, I only hate all growing things in the front area — my veggie garden in back is a raised bed and super easy.
Good Sunday Morning NST.
I’m wearing Frapin 1270 because I’m decanting some for a local NST friend. It’s very beautiful & balanced and stewed fruity resinous and it makes me remember that I’ve been neglecting my Lutens bottles in favor of lighter summer colognes. Must remedy that.
As to books, my son and I have tumbled headlong into the Alastair Reynolds space opera universe thanks to Gaynor. We are now swapping books back and forth. Reynolds is very prolific so we have a lot to go through.
When I need a break, I’ll read Allesandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed. It is based on a 17th century Italian story (long before there was an Italy). I’m a sucker for Italian authors and books set in Italy so I’m looking forward to that too. And thanks to Kanuka (I think) I’ve just received The Lost Orchard, about a French chef planting a huge orchard of heirloom fruit trees in England next to his restaurant/hotel that now yields 30 tons of fruit a year. It will surely make me want to go there.
Me too! The Lutens are just waiting.
Despite saying just above that I hate all growing things, I do like reading about OTHER people’s growing things, so the Lost Orchard book looks great. Added to list.
Yeah Robin I have a hard time growing things too, other than citrus trees, which honestly bear fruit each year no matter how much I ignore them. But I love having friends, neighbors, & family members who grow things especially bumper crops they then pass on to me. One of my neighbors is gone this week and told me to come by and pick as many tomatoes as I want (it’s also better that way so it doesn’t draw the night critters) so I will do that and make a bunch of gazpacho and use them in all my tomato forward recipes & sauces.
I remedied my Serge Lutens drought by soaking myself in Santal Blanc last night and this morning while it was cool. We are actually having a cool day with cloud cover and breezes so it has worked wonderfully.
Other people’s produce — the best!
What other Italian authors do you like?
We topped off at 103F yesterday and to add insult to injury it’s supposed to be >100F all week long. Needless to say to say, I will be going to work and nowhere else for the foreseeable future.
I’m back in AG Ninfeo Mio but will probably change it up after a shower later today.
If you’re in the hot seat, please be take care and stay as cool as possible! If you can, leave water out in a sheltered for bugs, birds, and strays. 🐦⬛🐞🐜🐈⬛🐕
Oh dear, that is a lot for a long while. Sorry Deva!
GUH! 😵💫🥴🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵
AG Ninfeo Mio is very cooling, hope it helped, Deva.
Off to work after a long weekend – very pleasant, but never long enough!
I’m continuing my SL theme of the weekend with Baptême du Feu.
Sorry Gaynor! Hope Monday is easy.
SOTD = Chanel Antaeus Pour Homme
Lovely … very masculine although not surprised.
Here’s a free gift article from the New York Times regarding licking by cats. Some could even be considered bullying, believe it or not!
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/science/cat-grooming-licking-research.html?unlocked_article_code=1.w1A.SRSa.qvfMZMWv30GY&smid=nytcore-ios-share
The bullying thing doesn’t surprise me at all. I frequently noticed that fights between my two cats would begin after one started vigorously licking the other.
Thanks for sharing that article–I enjoyed the videos it included! The point seems correct to me, also. Although three of my cats who are related typically do groom one another in affection, I have one big cat who’s something of a bully. I’ve noticed that he often comes over to lick a cat who is just lying around being comfortable, and it is peaceful for about 20 seconds; but after that, the licked cat either gets mad and takes a swipe at him, or stomps off in annoyance.
I remember Spooky kitty being rather assertive when it came to licking Teflon’s ears. Sometimes a smackfest would erupt after that.
Our weather respite ends today. Time to close the windows; pull the shades down; and turn on the A/C. Mid 80’s, 🌞, humidity not bad, but tomorrow and through the rest of the week, mid-90’s and high humidity. I think we’re not the only ones🥵.
A sustainability garden walk this morning, then a late breakfast at our favorite local diner, and a trip to Woodman’s Market to stock up-such a great store! SOTD is one of YR’s annual summer offerings from a few years back, Green Summer. A light, citrussy greenish scent that layers nicely over BBW’s Mango Mandarin body products.
The only book I’ve recently read that I’d recommend is for an upcoming book discussion, 107 Days by Kamala Harris. It details her presidential campaign and, putting politics aside, is a fascinating inside look on how political campaigns work, how decisions are made, how it affects all those involved, and more. A good one.👍
Wishing all a good week ahead!
Whereas it is finally cool enough and low enough humidity for me to open a few windows for the first time in weeks! But I think we are looking at unpleasantness soon enough.
I’ve noticed you seem to get the same weather we experience a day or two after we do. Sorry about that!
In Gabrielle pure parfum today. My lil 35ml bottle packs a punch. Lasts real long hours. It’s floral, maybe fruity, sunshine-y which isn’t what I typically were ever fond of. But as is the case with Chanel – it’s pure perfection and magic. So well constructed and it’s like a summary symphony of beautiful florals with a deep, golden heart. Nectar. Ambrosia. Every time I wear it it’s heart is reminiscent of a chilled glass of citrusy iced tea. I don’t know why but it reminds me of thirst quenching glass of chilled iced tea served in a garden setting. So beautiful and I am in love.
After returning home and still wafting Gabrielle parfum – I couldn’t resist and dabbed on Coco Mademoiselle extrait on my wrist just for sniffing. Another one that I love so so so much.
Hope you saw there is a new Coco Mad coming 🙂
Happy Monday!
For this week’s CP, I’m starting with the 1920s and wearing Le Labo Baie Rose 26, the Chicago exclusive – for jazz, speakeasies and a Chicago flapper.
The spiciness of pink pepper and clove also makes me think Some Like It Hot (set in 1929):
“Us? We would not be caught dead in Chicago!”
Glannys I love that movie so much-I can just picture Jack Lemmon delivering that line 🙂 Thanks for the laugh!
He’s hilarious! I love it too.
Happy Monday back atcha Glannys!
Today I leaned of the new Chanel release – Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu which will be officially available on Gabrielle Chanel’s birthday – August 19th.
I absolutely LOVE my Coco Mademoiselle, especially in pure parfum version. Absolute masterpiece.
But I am also very fond of Coco Mademoiselle EdT. Bright most juicy citrus ever with a very beautiful sweet dry down.
Coco Mademoiselle EdP is my least favorite. It isn’t as juicy in the citrus notes as is the EdT to me but also nowhere near as beautiful as the pure parfum.
I also own Coco Mademoiselle Intense which I adore very much for the labdanum.
Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu is supposed to be the Coco Mademoiselle for the lovers of jammy citrus. That right there is what makes me jump for joy. I found the Intense version to be a tad jammy when smelled from afar. Like when I have my friend a sample of the Intense and later on when She stood about 4 feet from me, the wiffs I got had something jammy in it. I am under the impression that this new Crush Absolute version amplifies that jammy accord even more. It just sounds like I will definitely be making a purchase come August 19th.
Hope you will love it!
I just completed day one of five of Iyengar yoga. By friday I will be several cm taller-I can feel it 🙂
Scent free because of the practice, and can’t decide if I should go to the beach or try my paddle board in nearby Loch Arbour. I could also just stay on the verandah which is warm and has a cool breeze. Cat’s fur is being blown around a bit and seems to be making her happy.
In terms of Reading I have two on the go: Margaret drabble’s Seven Sisters, and Deborah Levy’s August Blue. Right now I’d recommend both but let me finish them to be sure they’re fit for someone else’s bookshelves. I want to read Maggie O’farrell’s Land, and the new elizabeth strout. I tend to love both of their works. Maggie O’Farrell can completely scare me, especially in The Hand That First Held Mine. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but there’s a passage that lives in my head about 7 or 8 years after reading it.
Have a great day, everyone, and wish me luck in my headstand 🙂
Luck!
Good luck!😉
Wearing Nasomatto Nuda today. Today was a busy day. Had a dentist appointment and got my partials today. Having partials feels strange and it’s been so long since I have had back teeth. Then I went for an intake appointment to get set up with a psychiatrist.
That does sound busy!
While hanging laundry outside this morning, a beautiful black swallowtail butterfly graced me with his presence and landed on the dill in my herb garden. He made my day! We’ve been slowly planting more natives in our garden and plants to attract pollinators and it’s very gratifying to see it working.
Afternoon at the pool and afterwards just a couple of spritzes of love2love Orange Blossom and White Musk. It’s light and refreshing and cheerful, perfect for a post-swim on a hot and 🌞 day.
Sending stay cool wishes to all!😎
I remember dill and parsley both being plants that attract butterflies when I was container gardening in NJ.
Do you have milkweed in your yard?
Yes, regular milkweed, swamp milkweed, and butterfly weed. I’ve seen a few monarchs lately but haven’t had a chance to check the undersides of the milkweed leaves for eggs or caterpillars yet cuz it seems like we’ve been constantly on the run the past couple of weeks.
102F right now. Just waking after a good long sleep, took the dog outside for business, and just about ran to get back into the A/C! 😂 I didn’t want her walking on the blacktop, so we took the long way home on the cement sidewalk but I could still feel the heat seeping through the soles of my shoes. Yech!
I’m currently commando and contemplating what to wear tonight. Leaning heavily towards my banana chocolate mashup with CSP Amour de Cacao layered with Vanille Banane. Yep, that’s what it’ll be!
Got an admission last night for a totally unrelated illness but had the dreaded GI symptoms everyone is worried about. Turns out it wasn’t the headliner plague but the much more common and contagious Norovirus. Another big Yech! Wash your hands well because alcohol based hand sanitizer will not save you! 🧼💦
Ew, norovirus! Super no bueno!
Does T-Rex have booties or something she could wear to protect her paws in the summer?
No, she will absolutely not tolerate them. I tried a few times over the years but she immediately, with iron focus, rips them off.
Post shower in Chanel Paris-Paris. Because I own 3 (and two huge) bottles of it, I have an unlimited supply haha. Meaning I sprayed myself with abandon today. For an Eau de Toilette it lasts a long time or is it because I way over sprayed? But it’s so versatile and beautiful. The black pepper and lemon plus beautiful rose make it so ummm delicious. I leave behind a very exotic trail when I enter any room.
Lemon + rose are a wonderful combination.
Yes, thank You, Jalapeno!!
First 100-degree day for me this summer. A couple of cities near me hit 101 yesterday. Hiding from the Daystar at the moment.
I heard back about my cousin yesterday. The surgery on Friday went well but took longer than expected, and she was discharged from the hospital sometime Saturday afternoon. Today was her final round of post-op pain medication. She has a follow up appointment this Friday. Positive news so far, I’d say.
Reading lots of manwha (Korean manga) on a site called Webtoon. Boy, what a rabbit hole *that* has turned out to be!
SOTD = commando.
Good news about your cousin, may it keep coming 🤞! It was in the low 90’s today, tomorrow’s forecast says 97 🥵.