Bealtaine Cottage is luscious, especially if you like Irish cottages, and midwinter.
On the eighth day of Christmas: The Teacup Chronicles
Because I like good stories about ordinary things, fine photographs, unusual recipes, and anything with “teacup” in the title.
On the seventh day of Christmas: Los Rodriguez Life
Los Rodriguez Life always makes me happy when I visit. Bilingual, so I can practice reading Spanish, and it feels like a grand celebration of family and being alive. There’s gardening, food, travel, photography, music and lots of personality.
I think you’ll enjoy “Fly On.” (Scroll down to the music video.) I love fiddle music.
December morning photo by Putneypics under CC By-NC 2.0
On the sixth day of Christmas: Letters of Note
Letters of Note is, in the words of its editor, Shaun Usher, “an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos.”
They are the extraordinary words of real people. Here are a few of my favorites:
There is a Letters of Note book, too!
Northern Cardinal photo by Putneypics under CC By-NC 2.0
On the fifth day of Christmas: The Quivering Pen
The Quivering Pen has been my happiest blog discovery of late. It’s a rich, beautifully written site about books, writing, and the literary life by David Abrams, a former Army journalist and author of The Fobbit, a comic novel about the Iraq War.
David is an expansive, passionate reader who writes eloquently about new, backlist, classic, and “lost gem” titles. You’ll find unusual and off-the-beaten-path books to add to your to-read list, and if you’re a writer, you’ll appreciate David’s generous sharing of his own journey and the wisdom of other writers.
I’m looking forward to reading David’s enticing backlist of posts. Among other attractions, he features Trailer Park Tuesday (new book trailers), Friday Freebie (a book giveaway), Sunday Sentence (the best sentences he’s read that week), My First Time (writers talk about virgin experiences in their writing and publishing careers), and Bookstore of the Month.
The Twelve Days of Christmas Song Poster by Xavier-Romero Frias is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
On the fourth day of Christmas: Ephemeral New York
You could spend hours browsing the photos and traveling back in time at Ephemeral New York.
The photo above is from “Which city park hosted the first Christmas tree?” New York City during the holidays is transcendent, no matter what the century.
Years ago, I jogged past Carl Shurtz Park every day, but I never knew Peter Pan lived there.
Nine Barrow Street in Greenwich Village bears a version of my husband’s family name, in honor of an inventive Irish blacksmith. I found that out when I read, “A village monument to a 19th century blacksmith.”
There are 75 posts about out-of-date guidebooks.
And 45 posts about defunct department stores.
Many a bittersweet tale, as well: “The Tragedy of the Loveliest Woman in America” and “Notes Pinned to Babies at the Foundling Asylum.”
You could write a book about each and every post at Ephemeral New York.
Photo: Bain News Service
On the third day of Christmas: Pen in Hand
Karen Sandstrom blogs at Pen in Hand. I love her drawings, her little stories, her commentary, and her wry sense of humor. She’s a writer, journalist and illustrator who lives in Cleveland, my hometown.
Karen created something called “I Must Remember This,” about the daily habit of creativity, which is posted in my home office and gets me back on the writing track when I need it.
Visit her website and take a look at the woman standing in the rowboat clutching a book – I love that picture.
Here are a few of my favorite Pen in Hand posts:
I like “Cut Flowers” because I grew up in a flower shop and because I also love Molly Peacock’s book, The Paper Garden. Now I don’t have to write about the book on Books Can Save a Life, I’ll just link to Karen’s fascinating and informed post.
This one’s about a Cleveland suburb on Lake Erie that I visit from time to time.
I like “An Artist’s Stool” because I will always remember listening to jazz in the Flats on the Cuyahoga River when I was in high school. Yes, that’s the river that caught fire.
Gimme Some of Dat Bitter, Bitter Love
This one, because I belong to that tribe, too.
The Book Thief
“They say that war is death’s best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thing, incessantly: ‘Get it done, get it done.’ So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.” Death, in The Book Thief
Death is the narrator in The Book Thief, a young adult book about a German family during World War II that has a huge adult readership as well. It is one book not to be missed. The writing is outstanding. Published in 2005, The Book Thief won countless awards and honors, and has become a classic in YA fiction.
I recently reread the book before I saw the movie. I think the screen adaptation is a good one, although some viewers found it tame, and subtleties of the text can’t be captured on the screen. For example, Max, who is Jewish and hiding out in the home of Liesel and her foster parents, paints over every page of a copy of Mein Kampf and creates his own book, with illustrations. Max’s book is embedded within the pages of The Book Thief, and on the pages of Max’s book you can see faint traces of Hitler’s words. One of the pages in Max’s book is a drawing of a girl and a boy holding hands and standing on a pile of bodies. Inscribed on the sun that shines down on them is a swastika, and the girl is saying, “Isn’t it a lovely day?”
The author, Markus Zusack, uses the written word as a thematic motif. While the Germans burn books thought to be subversive, Liesel and Hans write words on the wall of their basement as Liesel learns to read, and Liesel steals a book whenever she has the chance, in defiance of the Nazis. Liesel then begins to write her own book in order to make sense of the world’s chaos and carnage.
I do think the movie captured the essence of the story, and it is well cast, especially Sophie Nélisse as Liesel Meminger and Geoffrey Rush as Hans, her foster father. Death is the narrator in the movie, as he is in the book, and in both he is an unsettling storyteller who confesses he is haunted by humans. Of course, in addition to being the narrator, Death has a starring role in the plot as well.
My father was wounded in the war, just inside the German border. Occasionally, my mother spoke of her family’s Victory Garden, the rationing of meat and gasoline, and the “man shortage.” I was born ten years after the war ended. As an adult, I eventually began to understand how the world turned upside down by war cast long shadows over my parents’ generation.
Have you seen the movie or read The Book Thief? What did you think?
On the second day of Christmas: 66 Square Feet
Originally from South Africa, 66 Square Feet blogger Marie Viljoen lived in Brooklyn for many years while cultivating an amazing garden (from which she harvested fruits and vegetables) on her small terrace. Recently, she moved to Harlem, and it will be interesting to see her new not-so-secret garden in progress. Marie calls herself a writer, gardener, forager, and cook.
I have her new book, 66 Square Feet: A Delicious Life, which I love. I’m a former New Yorker, and I especially enjoy her nature and foraging expeditions around the city. I don’t have much of a garden, but I garden vicariously when I visit 66 Square Feet.
If you only have time for a quick blog stop, 66 Square Feet is perfect – the photography is fabulous, and often there is just a bit of text. Marie has another blog, 66 Square Feet (The Food) where you’ll find her recipes.
It so happens Marie was in South Africa when Nelson Mandela passed away. Here is a link to her post, Madiba’s Garden, about Mandela cultivating a garden while he was in prison and what it meant to him.
(Vintage bird illustration, turtle doves, photo from Vintageprintable1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Twelve blogs for Christmas: Word by Word
I thought it would be fun to feature twelve of my favorite blogs, one each for the twelve days of Christmas. These are among my favorites because the authors are passionate about something – books, gardening, nature, cooking, art, spirituality – and they consistently draw me in, even if I know nothing about the topic. Always, I find renewal and a deeper appreciation for life thanks their insights and unique perspectives.
On the first day of Christmas I’ll highlight a book blog, Word by Word. Claire never fails to come up with a book I know I’ll love. Often it’s a book off the beaten path, one I wouldn’t encounter on my own, and her reading is international in scope. She lives in France, and I enjoy when she tells us about the literary scene in Paris, London, and other places she visits. Often, I learn something new about a writer or a moment in literary history.
I’ve never been to the Cité du livre, which must be a book lover’s dream. In this post Claire offers us a tour.
(“Partridge in a Pear Tree” photo by Cindy Mc is licensed under CC-by-NC 2.0)
Books Can Save A Life 