I will make note of all these though who knows which will climb to the top. Having recently been diagnosed with stage four cancer I’ve been doing more than my fair share of reading and most recently like yesterday finished a book called Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad. Although I felt it could’ve been edited down a little bit. I truly liked the book and found Sol to be a beautiful, beautiful writer. She is so insightful and I felt like I’ve been rather dim with it about my own cancer or at least I don’t seem to have the brilliant reflections that she does and yet I recognize them all.
Going back to old favorites, like Margaret Atwood, and picked up a book of her essays called Burning Questions and another favorite, Joan Didion. I purchased a copy of one of her notebooks called South and west. I’m excited to dive in.
Thank you. In spite of diagnosis, my prognosis is excellent. They’ve come a long way with the treatments for my cancer but the chemo is aggressive. What would we do without books.
I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis Jill. I hope you are getting the care you need. Books are a gift in difficult times aren't they? And how wonderful that you've found such support in the book you read. Sending my best wishes for you
Having got my highest and lowest mark for two MA modules, I sympathise with difficulties of the creative process! However, I have been saved by Derek Jarman’s film Blue , his book Chroma, Elizabeth Barrett Browning Aurora Leigh and Enlightenment by Sarah Perry. Guess I was ‘nt well over the last modules. Just the Dissertation left. Have just bought peonies to sooth my brain .
I have decided to start collaging again! I used to scrapbook as a child, almost like moodboards and now I'm going to try creating something new, and have signed up to National Geographic- totally inspired by Charlie Rewilding.
I love that you’ve discovered Brian Doyle! He was such a lovely man with a spirit as generous as his writing. All of Portland Oregon grieved when he died. I was fortunate to meet him several times (he’d come to local book groups or speak at an event, and only ask for a bottle or two of good Pinot Noir as payment). He spoke like he wrote—in galloping, lyrical sentences, and he was so so funny. As you are raising an adolescent son, you might especially appreciate Martin Marten, a beautiful coming of age story (often put in the YA category). Any of his novels will take you on a beautiful journey. Mink River is a great place to start.
Love all the recommendations. I’m going to look for Fierce Appetites. And thanks for sharing the link to the Tracey Emin interview—what a force she is, even with so many health struggles. I can feel the green fuse burning through her art.
Just finished Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. A spiky older woman narrator is at the heart of this strange tale set on a windy mountain plateau in Poland. I laughed more than once, even though the story can also be painful. It’s billed as a thriller, but it’s also a book about nature and wildlife, a manifesto against patriarchy and hunting. With lots of quotes from William Blake!
Stray attention: my garden as it inches upward in our welcome, persistent Pacific NW spring rain. Reclaimed a weedy, rocky, dead-plant patch yesterday for a water feature and reading chair. Reading: Just finished “First Love: Essays on Friendship” by Lilly Dancyger. Next up: “Sipsworth” by Simon Van Booy. Creative process: Started Jami Attenberg’s 1000 Words of Summer writing project (second time for me). Effective and inspiring! P.S. I love that you are reading the lovely Brian Doyle, Katherine. That makes me happy.
Thanks for the titles! I just ordered the Doyle from the library. Twelve Words for Moss sounds lovely, but looks like it isn’t available in the US, or not yet. My tower of to-be-reads is starting to lean and wobble so I’m not at a loss for choices.
I read Tim Ingold's book Lines and it is one of those books that I instantly had to type up a thousand notes and re-read it, essentially, because of how fantastic it is--thinking about the history/anthropology/philosophy of lines, threads, traces... but then also wayfaring vs. navigating, paths, trails, threads and weaving, and the history of writing. And coincidentally, came across a documentary on the secret history of writing that was thrilling and fascinating--how earlier people thought of the power that words and writing holds, and the care that was given in early scripts before the printing press.
Tim Ingold is one of those writers I've always wanted to take a closer look at. I've come across him mostly in the context of the high North. It seems like Lines might be a place to start. Robert Macfarlane writes about paths and wayfaring too. It always gets my imagination moving.
I really loved it for how it turns the lens on such language and ideas we of course take for granted. And did think of Macfarlane a bit reading it too. ;)
I devoured 'The vaster wild' by Lauren Geoff. It is really atmospheric as well as thought provoking. I laughed my ribs sore at Count Arthur Strong on Thursday night; a genius comedian (in my view) and am still reeling from 'Love lies bleeding', a filthy, pulpy movie which I recommend, even if, like me, you have to cover your eyes for the gory bits!
Enjoying all the recommendations here. I've been listening to Gabor Mate's The Myth of Normal in the car, and reading Pearl Buck's Good Earth trilogy. Having visited my son-in-law's grandparents in the countryside in NW China (his grandmother had bound feet) I can picture the settings described in the books and get a feeling for what it must have been like around the time of the revolution.
Skylarks flying over the Long Mynd, crows mobbing a red kite, a rusty river, calves and lambs curious in a world of greenery, ox eyed daisies and so many buttercups … I’m away from my usual landscape and stretching my eyes and legs!
I forgot to mention that I just finished reading Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks— wow! Very powerful story that gave me a whole new perspective on what it may have been like at times for some people in the Black community to live during the Civil Rights movement, as opposed to those of us in the US who raised voices and marched. I can’t recall if the book was recommended in this community or elsewhere but it was worth the search!
I’m enjoying Nina MacLaughlin’s Summer Solstice essay, which I found through you, Katherine. Her writing is beautiful and so evocative of summer. I’m sending copies to two friends who I think will also enjoy it. I have a bunch of peonies on the table in front of me. I love how they start off looking something like a sprout and then burst into unabashed blowsiness (and think this probably also says something about where I am in my creative process right now!)
I will make note of all these though who knows which will climb to the top. Having recently been diagnosed with stage four cancer I’ve been doing more than my fair share of reading and most recently like yesterday finished a book called Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad. Although I felt it could’ve been edited down a little bit. I truly liked the book and found Sol to be a beautiful, beautiful writer. She is so insightful and I felt like I’ve been rather dim with it about my own cancer or at least I don’t seem to have the brilliant reflections that she does and yet I recognize them all.
Going back to old favorites, like Margaret Atwood, and picked up a book of her essays called Burning Questions and another favorite, Joan Didion. I purchased a copy of one of her notebooks called South and west. I’m excited to dive in.
So sorry to hear about your diagnosis Jill 🤍 I’ve heard so many good things about Suleika Jaouad’s book and I must read it!
Thank you. In spite of diagnosis, my prognosis is excellent. They’ve come a long way with the treatments for my cancer but the chemo is aggressive. What would we do without books.
Well worth reading
I am sorry for your diagnosis. I did just read & shared this very difficult read with my friend who has stage four (for the past 6 years, she's doing remarkably well). Please do not read if it feels too difficult. Her honesty and courage are astonishing.https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/may/29/the-radical-ravishing-rebirth-of-tracey-emin-i-didnt-want-to-die-as-some-mediocre-yba
I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis Jill. I hope you are getting the care you need. Books are a gift in difficult times aren't they? And how wonderful that you've found such support in the book you read. Sending my best wishes for you
Having got my highest and lowest mark for two MA modules, I sympathise with difficulties of the creative process! However, I have been saved by Derek Jarman’s film Blue , his book Chroma, Elizabeth Barrett Browning Aurora Leigh and Enlightenment by Sarah Perry. Guess I was ‘nt well over the last modules. Just the Dissertation left. Have just bought peonies to sooth my brain .
Peonies help with the creative process for sure!
Have 4 peony bushes in full bud, every morning go out with bated breath, is this the day they pop?
ha, I do the same! 🌸
Aurora Leigh! That book has so much fire in it, I was not expecting how brilliant it is! 💜
Yep knocked me for 6. A novel as poem! Also so strong and not what you expect , powerful stuff
I have decided to start collaging again! I used to scrapbook as a child, almost like moodboards and now I'm going to try creating something new, and have signed up to National Geographic- totally inspired by Charlie Rewilding.
Oh, and I watched a great music documentary called Camden.
How lovely!
I love that you’ve discovered Brian Doyle! He was such a lovely man with a spirit as generous as his writing. All of Portland Oregon grieved when he died. I was fortunate to meet him several times (he’d come to local book groups or speak at an event, and only ask for a bottle or two of good Pinot Noir as payment). He spoke like he wrote—in galloping, lyrical sentences, and he was so so funny. As you are raising an adolescent son, you might especially appreciate Martin Marten, a beautiful coming of age story (often put in the YA category). Any of his novels will take you on a beautiful journey. Mink River is a great place to start.
hello fellow Pacific NW. and yes to Martin Marten for YA...or anyone. yes, Brian was a treasure.
Thank you - I’m excited to have found him!
Love all the recommendations. I’m going to look for Fierce Appetites. And thanks for sharing the link to the Tracey Emin interview—what a force she is, even with so many health struggles. I can feel the green fuse burning through her art.
Just finished Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. A spiky older woman narrator is at the heart of this strange tale set on a windy mountain plateau in Poland. I laughed more than once, even though the story can also be painful. It’s billed as a thriller, but it’s also a book about nature and wildlife, a manifesto against patriarchy and hunting. With lots of quotes from William Blake!
I LOVE Drive Your Plow
One of my favorites of all time. I JUST finished “Flights” and appreciated it, but can’t say I’m in love with it the way I am with Plow.
Stray attention: my garden as it inches upward in our welcome, persistent Pacific NW spring rain. Reclaimed a weedy, rocky, dead-plant patch yesterday for a water feature and reading chair. Reading: Just finished “First Love: Essays on Friendship” by Lilly Dancyger. Next up: “Sipsworth” by Simon Van Booy. Creative process: Started Jami Attenberg’s 1000 Words of Summer writing project (second time for me). Effective and inspiring! P.S. I love that you are reading the lovely Brian Doyle, Katherine. That makes me happy.
😊
Thanks for the titles! I just ordered the Doyle from the library. Twelve Words for Moss sounds lovely, but looks like it isn’t available in the US, or not yet. My tower of to-be-reads is starting to lean and wobble so I’m not at a loss for choices.
Oh, I know that feeling!
Brian Doyle's essays are extremely underrated, even in here in the States. Glad you're spreading his name!
He needs to be re-published I think!
I read Tim Ingold's book Lines and it is one of those books that I instantly had to type up a thousand notes and re-read it, essentially, because of how fantastic it is--thinking about the history/anthropology/philosophy of lines, threads, traces... but then also wayfaring vs. navigating, paths, trails, threads and weaving, and the history of writing. And coincidentally, came across a documentary on the secret history of writing that was thrilling and fascinating--how earlier people thought of the power that words and writing holds, and the care that was given in early scripts before the printing press.
Yes it’s brilliant - such a perspective-shifter!
💜
Tim Ingold is one of those writers I've always wanted to take a closer look at. I've come across him mostly in the context of the high North. It seems like Lines might be a place to start. Robert Macfarlane writes about paths and wayfaring too. It always gets my imagination moving.
I really loved it for how it turns the lens on such language and ideas we of course take for granted. And did think of Macfarlane a bit reading it too. ;)
I devoured 'The vaster wild' by Lauren Geoff. It is really atmospheric as well as thought provoking. I laughed my ribs sore at Count Arthur Strong on Thursday night; a genius comedian (in my view) and am still reeling from 'Love lies bleeding', a filthy, pulpy movie which I recommend, even if, like me, you have to cover your eyes for the gory bits!
I really want to read The Vaster Wild
Read recently, gripping, sad and beautiful much to reflect on
Vaster Wild ❤️
Enjoying all the recommendations here. I've been listening to Gabor Mate's The Myth of Normal in the car, and reading Pearl Buck's Good Earth trilogy. Having visited my son-in-law's grandparents in the countryside in NW China (his grandmother had bound feet) I can picture the settings described in the books and get a feeling for what it must have been like around the time of the revolution.
My god, history is so close!
Reading: Bright Shining - Julia Baird. Looking at - houses: https://www.artsy.net/artist/seth-armstrong
Just read Bright Shining this weekend
Yes I have read this recently, beautiful writing from a courageous and wise heart.
Skylarks flying over the Long Mynd, crows mobbing a red kite, a rusty river, calves and lambs curious in a world of greenery, ox eyed daisies and so many buttercups … I’m away from my usual landscape and stretching my eyes and legs!
How lovely!
Death of An Artist podcast - fantastic!
I forgot to mention that I just finished reading Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks— wow! Very powerful story that gave me a whole new perspective on what it may have been like at times for some people in the Black community to live during the Civil Rights movement, as opposed to those of us in the US who raised voices and marched. I can’t recall if the book was recommended in this community or elsewhere but it was worth the search!
How interesting!
I’m enjoying Nina MacLaughlin’s Summer Solstice essay, which I found through you, Katherine. Her writing is beautiful and so evocative of summer. I’m sending copies to two friends who I think will also enjoy it. I have a bunch of peonies on the table in front of me. I love how they start off looking something like a sprout and then burst into unabashed blowsiness (and think this probably also says something about where I am in my creative process right now!)
Perfect!