My Book Wishlist on Amazon

It was a long time ago that my default Amazon wish list was renamed ‘Book Wish List’ and colonized by- you guessed it- books.
But not just any books- the books that my library doesn’t carry.  I’m aware that I pretty frequently sings the praises of the Boston Public Library conglomerate/system, which allows you to check out any book in the Greater Boston area and have it shipped to your local library.  But that doesn’t mean they have every book I have ever wanted to read. Almost, but not quite.

I don’t usually buy books. I also don’t usually shop on Amazon anymore (given that they still advertise on Breitbart and I find it problematic). But Mom (who originated this politically-minded ethic) recently told me that we have a fair number of Amazon points. So maybe I’ll make an exception for some new used books around my birthday time…

And that inspired a visit to my list, and then, as per my usual compulsions, some much needed pruning.  The oldest book had been added to the list two years ago.  Which isn’t too bad, but still almost 1/10th of my life.  So some stuff was eliminated and some had been acquired by the library (!).

Here’s what remains:

• Mad About the House: A Decorating Handbook
  It hasn’t been published yet, so finding it used on Amazon is not an option, as of now.
• Paris in Stride: An Insider’s Walking Guide
  I recently started following this illustrator on Instagram and am always on the lookout for Paris recs.
• Home Sweet Maison: The French Art of Making a Home
• Parisian Chic Lookbook: What Should I Wear Today?
  I enjoyed the original Parisian Chic by Ines de la Fressange. I’ve heard that this one isn’t nearly as good, but I’m still interested.
• My Little Paris
  I subscribe to the My Little Paris newsletter via email. They share lots of fun news about the city and favorite locations.
• Une Femme Francaise: The Seductive Style of French Women
  Clearly books about Paris, style, and the intersection of the two are one of my pets.
• Don’t Be a Tourist in Paris: the Messy Nessy Chic Guide
• The New Paris
• Impressions of Paris: An Artist’s Sketchbook
• Am I There Yet?: The Loop-de-loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood
  Mari Andrew, whose illustrations I sometimes share in links posts, published a book!
• Yours Always: Letters of Longing
• The Book Lovers’ Miscellany
• The Milk of Dreams
  Children’s stories by an excellent surrealist author.
• How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life
• The She-Devils
  So hard finding this one in English (Les Diaboliques in French).
• Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman
  Stefan Zweig.
• The Story Cure: An A-Z of Books to Keep Kids Happy, Healthy and Wise
  I liked The Novel Cure, and as a big fan of children’s literature I feel like this one seems pretty promising.
• How to Live Like Your Cat
• What Flowers say: And Other Stories
  George Sand short stories.
• Book of My Mother
• A Book of Book Lists: A Bibliophile’s Compendium
• The Book of Forgotten Authors
• The Joy of the Snow
  Elizabeth Goudge, noted children’s author.
• Gio_Graphy: Fun in the World of Fashion
• The Place to Be
  The best destinations for different moods, according to Lonely Planet.
• Dress Scandinavian
• I’d Rather be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers
• The Art of Discarding: How to Get Rid of Clutter and Find Joy
  The original KonMari method.
• Siddhartha’s Brain: Unlocking the Ancient Science of Enlightenment
  Buddhism and neuroscience- pretty up my alley.
• Tryst
  A mid-20th century ghost story like The Uninvited and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.  hard to find.
• Ladurée Savoir Vivre: The Art of Fine Living
• Quiet Houses
  Intertwining yet distinct ghost stories.
• A Child Again
  Robert Coover cynically and nostalgically retells childhood fables and tales.
• The Name Therapist: How Growing Up with My Odd Name Taught Me Everything You Need to Know about Yours
• The Diary of Lady Murasaki
• The Library
  Zoran Zivkovic is an excellent name.
• The Blood of the Vampire
  Like Dracula, one of the original Gothic vampire novels. Also check out Sheridan’s Carmella.
• Perfume Legends: French Feminine Fragrances

It’s kind of funny because the books tend to fall on one of two extremes.  the library doesn’t carry them because they’re more obscure, but half are more light/frivolous obscure while the others are foreign/old/scholarly.

Links from the USA

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! I arrived home yesterday afternoon and am super jet lagged and being treated to a very New England ice storm.

It’s excellent.  We’re going to see The Last Jedi tonight and I think my excitement will be such that I will stay awake.  I’ve heard lots of interesting things about it but have so far avoided any spoilers.

I have a healthy (and scented!) collection of links this week!

• Quentin Bisch on “a journey to dreams and emotions” and what it means to be a Givaudan-trained perfumer.
• Why perfume descriptions are never about smell (hint- it involves the close link between fragrance and memory)
• The Cult of Le Labo Santal 33. I think it smells like cucumber.
• Zoologist has some new releases– I think Camel sounds very appealing.

The year-end photo compendiums are coming in, here are two favorites…

• The Most 2017 Photos Ever
• The Most Hilarious Wildlife Photos of 2017

On the fashion front:

• What did happen to jeans in 2017? Honestly, whatever it was, I kind of liked it.
• An Instagram account I’ve started following, which gorgeously marries art and fashion/cosmetics.
• Finding one’s sense of style really is a personal journey. I don’t think I could truly define my style beyond ‘things that make me happy and that I like wearing’.

And the more miscellaneous:

• What did you learn this year? I loved reading the comments.
• The Ocean’s 8 trailer has me excited.
• Pantone’s Spring 2018 color trend forecast.
• Some great gift ideas for francophiles (ahem, me) via My Little Paris.
• Excited to see Swing Time on this list of the world’s coolest playgrounds. It inspired me to search for Imagination Station and discover that it was in fact a thing and not just a figment of my childhood imagination. Now that was a playground.
• This clip of the original Fantasia just blew my mind.
• Keeping the NYC Vogue scene alive.
• How to wrap a cat.

Friday Links 11/17

I woke up too early for no reason so here’s a links post, on time for once!

• I’ve started following French Vogue online and I’m really enjoying their “Sunday with…” series. Credit to the Jeanne Damas one for introducing me to this song.
• Love this Classic Film Club idea. I’ve seen most of the film noir on the list, but this selection of Japanese film noir is completely new to me and really peaking my interest! Where to start?
• The Marrying Mr. Darcy board game. Because it is a truth universally acknowledged, etc…
  Truly I have mixed feelings, but I’m curious.
• The trailer for “A Quiet Place“. Spooky. I like.
• The structural inequality within the comedy industry. “The solution is putting people in positions of power who are not male, not straight, not cisgender, not white. This is not taking something away unfairly — it is restoring opportunities that have been historically withheld.”
• You’ve heard of latte art, but how about smoothie art?
• My chosen candidate for the 2020 presidential election.
• My nihilistic sense of humor strikes again, but this time with cats. Super relatable.
• The pajama trend has been taken to its only logical conclusion and we can all go home now.
• The subtle misogyny of male incompetence. I’m surrounded by idiots.
• In at least 34 cases, unusually long Postal Service delays resulted in rejections of DACA applications.
• Choosing a different sperm donor is choosing a different child and a different future. What surprised this couple about their experience.
• I’m sorry, Blake Shelton isn’t even Gwen Stefani’s sexiest husband.
• Karen Brit Chick (who you completely should follow, I’m in love with her) on her favorite vintage shops in NYC. Saving this for my next trip.
• Deadpool mixed with Bob Ross. What’s not to love?
• Honestly it is not Teen Vogue’s time. It’s more relevant now than ever and I wish it had been in my time the politically active and interesting publication that it has been for the past year or so.

Sorry for using up all of your free NYT articles!

Friday Links 6/9: Not So Many

It’s not so many links this week, so I’m going to supplement with some basic life facts; I just finished Vanity Fair, which I believe was on my list of long books I had and hadn’t read, and have moved on to The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
I watched The Testament of Youth recently and really enjoyed it- somehow I seem to be picking out a lot of WWI, so I put a hole on Gallipoli at the library. It’s time. Bracing myself.  I’m also debating watching It Comes at Night at the theater. It looks like a good suspenseful family drama, more than a horror film. Maybe Lily and I can watch it next weekend if it’s still playing.
Speaking of visiting friends, Gabriella is here for the weekend and she has four tiny tiny kittens! We’re planning fun and a potential visit to the Pride Parade at Boston tomorrow.  What else? Visiting my aunt and uncle tomorrow meaning and possibly seeing another aunt next weekend.  It’s a lovely confluence of people I care about.
Anything else? I took my first parkour lesson yesterday and it was great fun.

Onto the links!

My Last Ballroom Pieces

The end of an era.  Said era being my college life. This past Friday was the Yale Ballroom Team’s Spring Show, and quite possibly my last ballroom dance performance ever.  So, in the spirit of closure, this post will be a list of the two pieces I performed, the one piece I scrapped, and video links to youtube, where the team just uploaded them.

Also interesting is that in a month and a day this blog will turn one year old.  It’s my intention, on that day, to make this blog public to people following me on Facebook.  I wanted to know myself, know what I wanted to do, and know that I could maintain it before I shared it with people who know me as a person.  But honestly I am kind of proud of this pet project, and I do enjoy it. So. One month and one day. The countdown begins. (Also incidentally May 25th, the blogiversary, is two months until my birthday).

How Old Are You Now?

Yesterday was my birthday, in case you didn’t know (I turned 21) so today I’m planning a brief list of the gifts I opened/received/bought for myself.

Featuring Miss Minerva Peaches desperately trying to beat the heat.  It’s a losing battle.