Books: The Melancholic Mermaid

I was sorting some of my kids' books the other day. Books sure are tough to part with. As we add to our collection, we need to be sure we're letting just as many go.

Titles acquired this week: Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You and The Daring Book for Girls. I couldn't resist. They are beautiful used copies in great shape - and great reference material.

My youngest and I typically check out about 40 books at a time from our local library. She is a massive book lover. We encountered one of our favorites during the most recent visit; a title that made it on the all-time-favorites list for me and my nearly 9-yr.old. A beautiful story.

The Melancholic Mermaid written by Kallie George,

stunningly illustrated by Abigail Halpin.

new reads

It's about time. I'm back into a good book.

And several new books at the ready.

On my nightstand...

And slowly digesting this one in small bites:

new on my bookshelf

This weekend has been extremely wet. Hard for the kids in that they go a bit stir crazy. Although they don't think the lack of outside time impacts them, it clearly does. A puppet show today, Adventures of the Monkey King, was a helpful diversion but not the same as good physical activity. If only I could put out of my mind all that I need to get done (and quit doing the little bit of it that I am doing - lethargy has set it, bigtime) and keep the kids occupied, the weather has called for reading and napping. I guess that happens when the kids are older.

Currently, I'm reading Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. I am hooked but don't like to comment much about this sort of novel until I've finished it. Next up - although the order is always subject to change - comes If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. I'm eager to get going with this one. Calvino is totally new to me. I plan to follow it up with The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet: A Novel by Reif Larson, also new to me. I do love maps, which may or may not be helpful, but there's a decent chance that the visuals of the book will drive me nuts. I'm game to give it a go.

Worth a read: Drawn to Stitch by Gwen Hedley

A random gift from my husband, a couple of months back, was Gwen Hedley's Drawn to Stitch: Line, Drawing, and Mark-Making in Textile Art. I had hoped to get a copy eventually and was surprised and happy that hubby follow his whim. I've been exploring the book a bit at a time. It's quite a unique find among the textile art books I've seen.

For the past couple of years - I've been smitten with stitched lines in apparel, pillows and such. I do some stitching on paper and keep needles dedicated to paper only at the ready in my cork board. I suppose an interest in line is at the root of my love for pintucks. There are countless fabric manipulation techniques I would like to explore more in-depth. In the past days it's been shirring. However, I am trying to better surrender myself to the limitations of any given day and get better rest. Oops. Big digression there.

Back to the book... It was a privilege to read of the artist's interpretation of lines and processes to employ in achieving various textural qualities. I believe this book is just another boost for me toward more readily recognizing the lines that surround me every day. Gwen's page-long discussion of pebbles as a source of visual reference raised my brow in that I am always struck by the bands around and surface marks on stones. The stone pictured below was a gift from my oldest daughter. Given that my inspiration board has been stagnant - largely untouched - for too long, this little piece of nature and others like it might creep more and more into my designs.

Life is a Verb

The time has come to remove the stack of books within reach of my bed. They have been mostly read. This week I'll replenish my stock. One book that I plan to start this week just arrived in the mail. Last week, on the indie-pendent, I caught Beth Lord's post about Patti Digh's Life is a Verb. For nearly 2 years, this book has been on my wish list. Beth's endorsement was just the push I needed to prompt a purchase. Who among us couldn't benefit from being more mindful and living with intention?!

Worth a read: books by William Boyd, Junot Diaz & Sue Monk Kidd

I've been wanting to make mention of several books since I started this little blog, but life continues to get in the way of more consistent blogging with regular features. I'm ok with that for now and will just continue with my non-format approach and throw in whatever piques my interest.

Over the past 2 years I have been reading far less than what was formerly my norm. Seldom was I able to sleep without first reading - sometimes 20 minutes, other times a couple of hours. But, when I hit the sack at 3am these days knowing the kids will be up at 7 I tend to just want to collapse into the darkness. I've been experiencing more sleeplessness in recent weeks - insomnia perhaps - and am getting back to regular reading in hopes of better winding down for sleep. A few recent reads that have taken me away to places I might never have known (the mark of a worthwhile read)...

image via KIKA.LA

Any Human Heart, by William Boyd.

I stretched this read out over a few months. Boyd's story of the life of Logan Monstuart, a literary critic and novelist, is written as series of diaries. As a young man, Monstaurt is a scholarly, arrogant and highly flawed character who caused me much irritation. After following his life - missteps, successes, losses and encounters with figures of the time such as Hemmingway and Virginia Wolfe - I felt compassion for the mellowed, gentler Monstuart. It was a long journey; one that I did not want it to end.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz.

I read this one quickly. What a unique voice Mr. Diaz offers with a constant mix of colloquialisms, Dominican-American street slang, and Spanish terms and phrases often absent a context to sufficiently understand the meaning without the use of a translation dictionary. I am no fan of extensive footnoting as used by Diaz in this book. At the same time, I appreciated the Dominican history interspersed throughout - footnote elaboration and all. Profanity-laden, sometimes hilarious and ultimately tragic, the life story of the de Leon Family is a compelling read.

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.

I'm still reading this one. How much we can learn from life in (and out of) the hive! Rich characters, captivating and moving story from page one. I've heard the book is now a movie. I have to say, with the tiniest bit of disappointment, that it feels written for the movies. No interest in seeing the movie, but I am eager to finish the book.

More book mentions to come.

An Awesome Book

In thinking about books I might buy my youngest daughter for her upcoming birthday, An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton was the first that came to mind. My sister sent me a message about the book perhaps a year back, and I'm so glad she did. Why I didn't order it sooner escapes me. Dallas wrote the book for his son. It's a beautiful reminder to dream big. If you don't have kids, please just read it for yourself online here. Buy it here. Check out this video about Dallas's new Awesome World Foundation, and you'll be hard-pressed to resist ordering several copies.

Awesome Book Tour from Dallas Clayton on Vimeo.