oh for a book and a shady nook.

with the return of my computer (thank you paul from the apple genius bar for your goodwill and patience) and the restoration of my rightful place in the world, i have been scouring the internet in search of the one thing i would like for christmas, a reading chair.

olivia rae, author of everyday musings, gave thanks a few days ago for her morning coffee nook. i was taken by the image immediately. and then the idea. and since i secretly want to be her (desperately, actually) i realized i too must have a morning coffee nook/all-day reading corner.

and so i'm scouring the internet for ideas. turns out, this is glamorous, is a veritable treasure trove of reading-nook templates.

oh for a book and a shady nook, either indoor or out.

with the green leaves whispering overhead,

or the street cries all about.

where i may read all at my ease,

both of the new and the old;

for a jolly good book whereon to look,

is better to me than gold.

john wilson

ps: my imposed regression to a time before technology actually allowed for the discovery of some lovely reads. suggestions to follow shortly.

clare and henry, revisited.

i am the first to tell you that i usually loathe the movies based off of my favorite books. 

and i do not cry easily.

but this trailer made me cry. 

and i, who has never swooned over eric bana, think that yes, mr. eric bana will be the perfect henry.

rain, rain, come and play...

there's a slight, steady rain here in new york today.

which means i'm destined for a walk through central park.

where, for just a moment, i'll allow myself the luxury of pretending it's the villa borghese in rome.

but for now i'm in bed.

listening to an ever so slight pitter-patter. lost in a book. and dreaming of an unknown future.

this photo is from 

a trip to rome in 2005

with my mom and dad.

my mom and i pictured outside

the villa borghese gallery.

for you.

It occurs to me that you all so generously offered up book suggestions and I never gave you anything in return.

This morning I "attempted" to update the Book Club section of the blog. I added all the books suggested in the comments of that post. However, the suggestions scattered throughout comments of different posts have yet to be added...fret not, they will be!

However, here, I will "attempt" (not sure why I'm using quotes, but I am) to offer up my own suggestions.

First, I adore Pat Conroy. I was introduced to his works going into my sophmore year of high-school. I had never, ever come across so many i-need-a-dictionary words all at once. But after fifteen pages of struggling to take it all in, I fell. I fell madly and deeply and desperately in love with his words. 

The Lords of Discipline

and

Beach Music

It doesn't matter which you read first. They are both his. I've read each upwards of three times. And I think I'm due for another run of Beach Music, very soon. 

Others will say Prince of Tides is his best. I would disagree. The two books I listed above are perhaps my favorites of all time.

Though, Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close just gave them a damn-fine run for their money. I'll have a review of this coming soon. This book is the most genius thing I've ever read. Period. Hands down. It may now share the stage with the above two as my favorite.

Another that keeps coming to mind is Anita Shreve's Light on Snow. It's an easy, fast read and undeniably lovely and moving. 

And finally, two books I've written about before, but must, must suggest again: The Time Traveler's Wife and Dancing on Thorns. 

As for books of poetry: The Forgiveness Parade and The Splinter Factory, both by Jeffrey McDaniel. 

There you have it. 

If you read any of these (or have read) you must let me know what you think.

photo via visualize.us

of course.

"Why do you think you're here, Oskar?""I'm here, Dr. Fein, because it upsets my mom that I'm having an impossible time with my life." "Should it upset her?" "Not really. Life is impossible." 

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

by Jonathan Safran Foer

i've never read anything more heartbreaking and funny and beautiful all at once. in fact, i think it may just be the most genius thing i've ever read. 

ever. 

book club updates coming soon...