A winter reading list for you...

I've been taking a cue from a few fellow bloggers regarding reading lists.

Fall is approaching and the long nights will soon be upon us and with that, for me anyway,

means there is a growing stack of books by my bedside.

I'm squirreling nuts away.

There's nothing more fearsome to me than being on the last chapter of a 

good book and not having anything else to read.

For now though, I'll share with you some titles and brief descriptions

on a few of the better ones I've had the pleasure of reading in the last little while.

First off is a fact based novel by Hannah Kent...

It tells the incredibly moving story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir who, as a young woman,

is convicted and sentenced to death by beheading. 

The last public execution held in Iceland in 1829.

The descriptions of the vast and desolate landscape is a juxtaposition against the 

backdrop of a claustrophobic rural family farmhouse 

where Agnes is being held until her execution.

The farmer, his wife and two daughters avoid contact as much as possible with

Agnes and she is befriended only by the young assistant priest appointed to be

her spiritual guidance.

I read this book during the early part of this year when it was dark and bleak.

I had to be warm under the comforter  for this one most nights.

One of my all time favourite books is my next recommendations ...

In this beautifully written book, Robert MacFarlane ventures out on a quest to

find the most undomesticated, remote places in England, Scotland and Ireland.

I think I dogeared about half the pages in this book for quotes by MacFarlane.

'Landscape was here long before we were even dreamed. It watched us arrive.'

He is such an evocative writer taking us along on his many journeys while versing

us in the history and sense of the disappearing 'wild' places of our world.
 I was taken back to some of the more remote places I visited in Ireland and I also felt
he echoed many feelings I have here at home on my walks.

I especially loved and related to this paragraph...

“Wild animals, like wild places, are invaluable to us precisely because they are not us. They are uncompromisingly different. The paths they follow, the impulses that guide them, are of other orders. The seal's holding gaze, before it flukes to push another tunnel through the sea, the hare's run, the hawk's high gyres : such things are wild. Seeing them, you are made briefly aware of a world at work around and beside our own, a world operating in patterns and purposes that you do not share. These are creatures, you realise that live by voices inaudible to you.”

It's both encouraging and enlightening to know that we can still walk out our back doors and search 

for such places, hopefully find them and meditate on them to bring 
a sense of quiet and wonder to our lives.

Next up is a book I have recommended to quite a few people...

I'll let this review speak for me...

'Elizabeth Gilbert’s first novel in twelve years is an extraordinary story of botany, exploration and desire, spanning across much of the 19th century. The novel follows the fortunes of the brilliant Alma Whittaker (daughter of a bold and charismatic botanical explorer) as she comes into her own within the world of plants and science. As Alma’s careful studies of moss take her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she loves draws her in the opposite direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose is a Utopian artist. But what unites this couple is a shared passion for knowing—a desperate need to understand the workings of this world, and the mechanism behind of all life.

The Signature of All Things is a big novel, about a big century. Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, this story novel soars across the globe—from London, to Peru, to Philadelphia, to Tahiti, to Amsterdam and beyond. It is written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time. Alma Whittaker is a witness to history, as well as maker of history herself. She stands on the cusp of the modern, with one foot still in the Enlightened Age, and she is certain to be loved by readers across the world.'

I tell you, you'll never look at a patch of moss the same again. Elizabeth Gilbert has researched her subjects in great detail and her writing is simply beautiful. There were so many poignant moments in this book for me. Near the end of the book she has many discussions on the subject of death and dying and I read this on the day Griff (my best dog ever) died. It really hit home with me and gave me a lot of comfort.

The next book...

Such an insightful read into the tragedy of the 1982  sinking of the Ocean Ranger oil rig off the coast of Newfoundland during a terrible night storm where all 84 men were lost. The main character Helen is one of the widows left behind and this book deals with her struggles with the present and her memories of the past while giving us a human look at what happens within a small community after such an incident. Winner of 2013 Canada Reads.

O.K now for something completely different...

I was at a jumble sale and walked by this book, laughed at the title then went back 5 minutes later and picked it up for a quarter. I just had to buy it for the cover and part of the description on the back which states...."the nuns were up to their wimples in trouble." How could I resist?! Its a light, well written mystery that takes place amidst the back drop of a large abandoned estate donated to an order of nuns in upstate New York during the early '70's. Hippies have been squatting there, the mob is involved and yes, these nuns are up to their wimples in trouble! An easy read, an in between serious books read.

Anyway a few to mull over.

I'll come back with some of the titles by the bedside in a while...happy reading.

      

Book reviews...

Winter is definitely the season for reading.

While Griffin was convalescing, long, cold, rainy days by the fire made
for prime reading time.
Lets see if I can summerize the last few books I've read...



'The Little Giant of Aberdeen County' by Tiffany Baker
was a sad tale of two orphaned sisters growing up in
two different worlds in a small town.
The story spans over their lifetimes and how very different they are.
One sister, the perfect girl and the other, Truley, an enormous misfit.
Uncovering the secrets in a family hierloom, long a mystery in the town,
Truley finds her calling which becomes a blessing and a curse.
A tale of family history, love, murder, and betrayal.
Definitely worth a read.

'The Lost Garden' by Helen Humphreys

Gwen Davis flees the bombing of London in 1941 to the Devon countryside

and volunteers to supervise a group of young women known as The Land Girls.

Living together in the abandoned servants buildings on a large estate, 

they are there to grow potatoes for the war effort.

Living in the main estate house is regiment of Canadian soldiers waiting for orders

and these two groups become entangled in the confusion of wartime.

At the same time, Gwen discovers a garden that was seemingly left abandoned at 

the start of the previous war in 1917.

She begins to unravel the quiet history left behind in the head gardeners potting shed

but is haunted by the ghosts within the walled gardens.

I loved this short novel.

Both of them were picked up in the thrift shop for about $3 each.

I love when I can find good books for such a small investment!

My other two books I bought online with some birthday money.

They are both to do with felting....surprise surprise!

The first is simply called 'Felt' by Willow Mullins.

As the back cover states...

"From nomads to poodle skirts, from car parts to Christmas tree ornaments,

felt is one of the oldest and most understated textiles"

This book covers the wide-ranging history and development

of felt from the earliest of archaeological evidence in Siberia to

modern fiber arts and sculpture.

Largely a text book and chock full of yards of information but not without 

some witty writing, I love the lines from the opening pages...

"Unique among textile structures, felt does not rely on first turning raw fibers

into yarn as weaving and knitting do; 

rather felt harnesses the chaos of tangles. While those of us who weave

and knit may look upon the confused snarl of our yarn with frustration,

for those who felt, this confusion of fibers is a thing of beauty."

 The second book is a small 50 page gem called 'The Felt Industry' by Peter Walter.

Here we have a superb little book full of text as well as photos

of the story of the felt industry in Britain from 1840 to the modern age.

I had no idea what a huge industry this was and how innovative the 

pioneers of this massive movement were.

The impact of the felt industry both in its glory days and now as an art form

are documented very well in this small but mighty book.

Speaking of felt..just finished another 'experiment' in the 'lab'.

Just trying to get the felted bag to a desired state.

Miles to go, but getting there is almost all of the fun!