Solace in Books

I find solace in books.  I've been buying quite a few books recently.  I like the anticipation of guessing what information lies between the covers and hopefully gleaning any useful information.

The book on top of the pile is The Star-Born by Henry Williamson, written in 1933.  It is an original copy complete with untrimmed pages.  It is a sheer delight imagining all the history that particular copy has gone through.

The story is a celestial fantasy set in the real world at Lydford in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor, and its gorge and castle keep (info from The Henry Williamson Society).

The illustrations are wood-engravings by Charles Tunnicliffe. 

New Books

I love books.  I love books even more than I love the Internet.  Books are tactile, a source of information and a window into other people's thoughts and opinions.  They are more than that of course but I can't find the correct adjectives at the moment.

As September seems a particularly scholarly month conducive to learning new things, I thought I would look more into making energy bites - full of the latest health giving properties and find out more about illustrating children's books which has been a lifelong theme that circles my mind intermittently.  With those ideas in mind I treated myself to the two books above.

I have already made a recipe from the energy bites book which was a crunchy hemp coated quinoa bite.  It was very tasty, packed with nutrients and made a complete mess of the kitchen!  Undefeated I will find my own way of making the recipe next time.

The book by Martin Ursell I have yet to read.  I want to take my time over it and absorb the knowledge and advice within.

Where Do You Go To My Lovely?

Where do you go to when you are not reading blogs?  I am still an avid blog reader but so many people are dropping out of the blogging World.  Blogging is particularly lonely in the summer months when people go away on holiday or spend more time away from the computer.  Sometimes I think I am blogging to myself - but that's OK.  I enjoy writing and looking back over my old blog posts to see what my interests have been and how I was feeling at the time.

I have been building up a book collection to read over the next few months.  It takes me ages to read a book (so easily distracted) so this little lot should last me well into Christmas!  I have read a few pages of each but not enough to give a review on any of them. 

In a weeks time I will be on annual leave from my job.  Time to catch up on doing all the things I love to do.  Hopefully I will have some things of interest to report back on here.

I have a significant post coming up in a few posts time and it would be great if you could join me on that day!  Keep watching! :)

Books for the Summer 2015

I love books.  A proper hard copy with printed paper.  I love fact and fiction and more recently..............colouring books!  If you're looking for a creative and mindful outlet then colouring is the way to go.  I am not talking about children's books with their often crude images on cheap paper, I am talking about beautifully intricate designs on quality paper that allow you to add your personal touch in adding colour.  This latest literary craze in adult colouring books is also known as art therapy and a great stress reliever.  I think summer is an ideal time to use such a book; on holiday by the pool perhaps or in a quiet spot in the park or garden.  One problem I have had though is that they are too beautiful to 'spoil' by colouring in!  I have taken a leap of faith by starting to add colour to the 'this book belongs to' page before progressing further in the book.  I have linked some suggestions of the best ones below that can be found on Amazon.

Enchanted Forest - Inky Quest and Colouring Book

The Art Therapy Colouring Book

Adult Colouring Book

The One and Only Colouring Book for Adults

Buy yourself some quality coloured pencils or gel pens to go with your book.  Add a pencil sharpener and you're ready to go!

If colouring books are not your thing then you may wish to do some light summer reading.  I have been reading The Rose Garden by Marita Conlon-Mckenna.  The main character is Molly who is finding the upkeep of  her Irish country house (Mossbawn) difficult to maintain since the death of her husband.  She starts to restore the neglected and overgrown walled rose garden whilst reluctantly putting her house up for sale.  Her niece Kim is invited to stay at Mossbawn House whilst getting over a broken relationship.  The house is set in the village of Kilfinn which is where Gina works in  Cassidy's Cafe.  The three women are each looking for a new beginning.

'Standing in the orangery, Molly couldn't believe what a wonderful place it was to have a party.  You could see out over the lawn and gardens, the high glass ceiling looking up to the starry night sky.'

The book is a chunky 458 pages but an easy read with chapters being only a few pages long.  I usually fall asleep whilst reading novels but this one caught my interest.

'Gina!'  called Norah. 'There's a hot rhubarb tart and an apple tart to go out to the front of the shop.  And you'll whip up some more cream to go with them, please!'

If you like descriptive writing of home cooked food, beautiful houses and gardens then this book is sure to tickle your senses.  It is not a complex book and is very basic and predictable when compared to trying to decipher some of Hardy's work, which is my favoured reading material, but if you want a gentle, lazy summer read - it is perfect.

My final book choice is Moominpapa's Book of Thoughts.  Originally for children and written and illustrated by Tove Jansson, this is a book for all ages filled with philosophical anecdotes and insights from Moominpapa collated by Sami Malila such as:

'There are some things in the World that cannot be disputed, such as sea currents and the seasons, and the fact that the sun will rise in the morning.  And that lights will shine in lighthouses.'

If you have not read Moomin books before (I vaguely remember them as a child) why not use this summer to get to know them?  I think I may have a new obsession coming my way with the enchanting Moomins and strange characters they meet such as the Hattifatteners, Tulippa, mermaids, sea-trolls and other weird and wonderful creatures!  I have listed some Moomin books below that link to Amazon.

The Moomins and the Great Flood 

Finn Family Moomintroll

Moominpapa at Sea

For more Savor Summer inspiration click on the link to Anne's blog here. and scroll down to see all the previous Savor Summer posts.

See you on Monday with another 'joy list'!

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Increasing Knowledge

I am not an academic or an intellectual and yet I am always striving to be better informed.  I love knowledge for knowledge's sake and seek out information where I have a gap in knowledge about things that I am interested in.  I love to seek out classical fiction by great writers such as Hardy and am about to embark on reading Far from the Madding Crowd (which is currently on at cinemas in the UK).  I am also looking forward to reading A Brief Guide to Philosophical Classics  - which according to the front cover is - 'philosophy without the boring bits'. 

From time to time I dip into a book called Sort Your Brain Out by Dr Jack Lewis and Adrian Webster.  It is about boosting your performance, managing stress and achieving more by adapting, training and exercising your brain on a daily basis.  It is full of stuff you need to know and stuff that one never needs to know such as;

 ' if your skull was used as a drinking vessel it could hold about 3 pints.' 

 I am not likely to forget that trivial piece of information now!

Talking of triviality,  I made some mini coat hangers out paper clips after seeing a tutorial on pinterest.  I have absolutely no purpose for them and yet they make me feel happy just looking at them and I have no idea why.  Yes, the brain does work in some strange and fascinating ways.

The Art of Mixing

There is an art to mixing, whether it be for culinary purposes or otherwise.  The perfect Victoria sponge cake requires the egg to be added little by little to prevent curdling and the flour has to be folded in gently cutting through the mix with the edge of a metal spoon. The bowl has to be large enough to accommodate the mixture with room for lifting and aerating. Attention to mixing makes for a favourable outcome!

I have been mixing the herbs for my sleep pillows.  The ingredients for each pillow has been separately weighed and I have dallied with the ratio of botanicals to get a fragrance that is balanced and neither to sharp or too sweet.  The colours put me in mind of a summers day.

I've  noticed that there are a few reading challenges going on in blogland just now.  I am a slow reader so have decided to opt out of them at the moment.  However, I have been reading a lot more recently and will soon be embarking on reading  'The lady's Slipper' by Deborah Swift.  It is right up my street as it is set in 17th Century England and the subject of the story is a rare Lady's Slipper Orchid.  Alice Ibbotson is captivated by its beauty, a local medicine woman is seduced by its mysterious medicinal powers, while Sir Geoffry Fisk sees it as a way to repair his ailing fortunes.  The story is said to be about beauty, faith, love and loyalty - four things I hold dear to my heart!

Christmas Reading

I look forward to catching up with reading over the Christmas break.  It has taken me ages to devour books this year as I only seem able to read a few pages before I drop off to sleep!  I spent a lot of time earlier in the year reading 'The Apothecary's Daughter' set in London around 1666 at the time of the great fire and of the plague.  I have never been into historical novels until now and Charlotte Betts researches her material so well that I felt I was the main lead in the book!  Since then I have gone on to read 'The Painter's Apprentice' which is a follow on book and I am about to start to read 'The Spice Merchant's Wife' also by Charlotte Betts.  All this talk of apothecaries and spices led me to send off for the latest catalogue by G Baldwin and Co.  Baldwin's is a lovely old fashioned apothecary shop in the Walworth Road, London SE17.  They are 'purveryors of natural products since 1844' and well worth a visit.  As a child I used to visit their market stall in East Lane and my Mum would treat me to one of their hot sarsaparilla drinks. You can find their website here G Baldwin and Co.

I do like to have a few crafty books on the go too and was particularly smitten with Mollie Makes 'Woodland friends' when I found it on the library shelf.  It is nice to see a modern take on traditional crafts and get some ideas when inspiration is flagging.  I think another visit to the library is on the cards as I don't want to be without reading material over the next few weeks!

Books

I have many books to read.  I have much to learn.  There is so much that I want to cram into my life.  I want to make, bake, create, sing, dance, laugh and run barefoot across a meadow!  I am going to seize the day!

Two days ago I attended a friends funeral.  She was 54.  She has left behind a husband, 3 children under the age of 14 and a menagerie of animals.  She fought against ovarian cancer until her dying breath.  She was not going to give in without a fight.  She lived the last five years of her life to the full.  She spent many days out with her family capturing memories in photos, she decorated her house regularly, spent weekends away, joined the National Trust, put a fishpond in her garden and started to grow vegetables.

I am going to live by her example.  I am going to live my life to the full and just 'get on with it' as she did. 

My word for 2012 is 'create'.  I am going to make time for all kinds of creative pursuits and hopefully show them here on the blog.  Do you have a word to focus on in 2012?

Goal Setting Revisited

Earlier in the year I set myself some personal goals that I wanted to achieve. These goals were to identify and read 10 books by John Steinbeck during 2010 and to paint and draw every day.

I read 3 John Steinbeck novels but after the greatness of the Grapes of Wrath I found it difficult to engage with some of the characters in his subsequent books.

Painting and drawing every day fell by the wayside too. I just didn't always feel like painting or drawing and guess that the lure of the paper and palette box is not as strong as I once assumed.

I have decided to review my personal goals and will do so on a regular basis. As my interests develop, my goals will be reviewed and updated as necessary.

So, my new goal is this; to identify and read 50 books from the best English Language Novels of the 20th century. I am starting with 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee. I have put no time limit on when the books have to be read by and will read them at leisure.

Have you any personal goals you want to achieve?

Goal Setting Number 1

Time is one of my greatest enemies. The more I have the more I waste. It is not that I don't want more time. I just need to use it more effectively.

I have decided this year to give myself some personal goals to achieve so that I put my time to good use. As and when I come up with a new goal I will add it to my side bar.

Recently I have discovered the satisfaction in reading John Steinbeck novels. I started off by reading Of Mice And Men and then progressed to The Grapes of Wrath. I can't wait to go to bed each night just so I can curl up with a book by Steinbeck!

I find that I am getting so caught up with The Grapes of Wrath that my political views are radically changing. Now if a book can do that to a person then the writing must be good in my opinion.

Anyway, back to the goal setting. Goal number 1 is to read 10 novels by John Steinbeck during 2010.

Clarity

I finally got around to sorting out the bookshelves and surrounding area. A dusty and time consuming task but one that has brought clarity to me.

Among the books was one that I wasn't too familiar with. I then remembered that I was given a selection of my Auntie's books when she died a few years ago.

When I opened the book there was a cutting from a publication placed inside.

After reading this I had a sense of even more clarity.

A Fidgety Kind of Day

I have been having a very fidgety kind of day so far today. I have faffed around and achieved nothing apart from blogging about it! I can't quite pinpoint why I feel so restless but the fact that I am surrounded by chaos may have something to do with it. The bookshelves above are an indication of how a lot of the nooks and crannies in my house look at the moment. I have lack of storage and lack of organisational skills. Despite having nowhere to put my books I just still keep on buying them.

This used to be a linen cupboard but crafting supplies seemed to take over and the 'linen' became a pile on my bedroom floor. The pile has now been joined with several other piles of homeless items.

Despite the chaos around me I divert my attention to other things such as the books above which I have had for ages and not yet got around to reading.

The books above are my new books that I bought over the last few weeks. I devour a new book within hours and am then looking for the next thing to do. I enjoy receiving new books immensely but am often disappointed with the content. There is never enough to keep me absorbed for long enough. Saying that I do go back to them over and over again.

I am nearly at the end of this blanket. I usually work on it during the evenings when the t.v or radio is on so I don't feel like I am just wasting time. This blanket gave me fidgety fingers! I have the dreaded task of sewing all the little ends in once I have completed a few more rows, unless I find something else to become preoccupied with such as sorting out my dilapidated hovel!!!

Gratitude

For many years I have read/collected self help/improvement and creative lifestyle books. Each time I get a new book I think - this is it. This book will change my life. They don't. In order to change my life I have to be willing to change myself and so far I have been reluctant to do so for reasons that evade me. Maybe I quite like me and don't see any reason to change after all these years! One very good piece of advice that I did pick up though was from a website that I discovered last year http://simpleabundance.com/gratitude_journal.html that recommends keeping a gratitude journal. Each night before lights go out I write 5 good things about my day. 5 things to be grateful for. I have been doing this now since October last year and I find so much in my day to be grateful for. Sometimes the things are mundane such as 'I am grateful for finishing the pile of ironing' or it might be about receiving nice comments from bloggers. I have found that by focusing my attention on the good things in my life the good things get bigger and the not so good things seem to diminish. It is also a good thing to do just before bed as you go to sleep on a positive note. I am still on a quest for the ultimate book on self improvement/discovery though! Can you recommend any to me?