Thursday, May 23, 2013

Spring Reading

We use our Public and County Libraries a lot in this bookish little family of mine- so much so that sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming. Ahem. (they let you check out so many! And it’s free! what’s one more? picture me hidden behind the stack of books in my arms…) So lately I’ve given myself a 3-book maximum rule: One for research, one to read, one for fun. It works out pretty good, too- two libraries, once a week or two, 6 books. More if my husband brings something good home. It can overlap though- right now I’ve got 7 books to post on the reading list to the right over there (they are going back this weekend) to be replaced by the 6 I picked up last night (holds that came in midweek are too tempting to leave at the library!). I’ll order books I see in the bookstores, or titles I find recommended in my blog reading online. With so many titles lying around I thought I’d round them up and make a list!

Julie Czerneda’s A Turn of Light- This is so good! Wishing Magic, with invisible Dragons, armored House Toads, traveling Gypsies, and pie…all against a backdrop of Frontier Homesteading and Doorways to the Otherside. Yummy.

Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent- Alternative Victorian fanciful piece with Dragons  of all sorts, a tragic love story, Russian folklore, and even a  bit of amateur sleuthing? It was read in a mere 4 days- worth every second of lost sleep!

Mark Alan Hewitt’s Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Farms- Lovely pictures and line drawing of the houses, furniture and landscapes of the Arts and Crafts movement, some background info of how it came to be, and an in-depth look at the attempt of one man to create a Utopian community.

Michelle Obama’s American Grown; The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America- I’m enjoying this for all the information and background on kitchen gardens, the White House Gardens in general, and the impact food has on our health and well-being.

Bob Thomson’s The New Victory Garden- Love this one! Broken down by month, with colour pictures and beautiful line drawings, this is a gold mine of gardening information, with a little bit of personal history that keeps it from being a dry text book.

Gladys Taber’s The Book of Stillmeadow- A personal account from the 1930’s of running away to live in the country. Susan Branch quotes her constantly in her books and artwork, so I wanted to see what she has to offer. Lovely anecdotal and lyrical writing, and bits are truly funny- she has a ton more that I might check out too.

Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone- A really big, heavy book (not convenient for reading in bed) with lots of really good ideas, some simple, some rather complex looking. Why do these vegetarian books always work out to be behemoths? Vast encyclopedic monstrosities with every single recipe the author can think of, very few (if any) pictures, and rather a lot more commentary and “instruction” than I want to wade through. I am finding ideas, but it’s taking forever to get through it, and I get bored every other page. Very disappointing really. 

So there you have it- some research, some reading, some fun (some not so fun…but necessary). What can I say?

I love to read.

3 comments:

  1. I am always impressed with the variety of reading material you explore, absorb, and apply. You inspire me to embrace my interests with more enthusiasm and less perfectionism. All the best to the faeries...

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  2. Love the lists!

    Have you tried looking at Indian or Asian cookbooks? Those tend to have a lot of vegetarian recipes and still be colorful.

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  3. Dear Magickwyrds:

    Your reading life puts me to shame. I'm currently (slowly) reading a compilation of 1960s Batman team-up comics One that you might enjoy based on your list if you haven't come across it, though is Annie Dillard's "A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." Dillard beautifully observes and writes about the rhythms of nature in a bucolic setting. By the way, you write beautifully. All the best!

    --VT.

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