An essayistic list of favourites this month, including book recommendations, thoughts on magnolias and Cattier hand cream, a recipe for blood orange cake and more.
The first part made me feel so intensely homesick, you wouldn't believe.
I live in a different country now, where the seasons play out a little differently from what I've grown-up with. Reading about your impressions of the hawthorn and magnolias brought me right back. Especially the magnolias! So often I would go on one of my evening walks and to my surprise find the magnolias already in bloom. A gentle reminder of the seasons passing.
Music has been a big part of March for me, so the biographies that came to mind easily are composers: Claude Debussy and Béla Bartók. For the other three, I had to think a bit. Vivienne Westwood would interest me.... Who else? I got to thinking what biographies I enjoyed in the past. I like ones that are about ordinary people and I remembered a beautiful collection I read once called "Seit dieser Nacht war ich wie verzaubert", where 'frauenliebende Frauen' above seventy talk about their experiences. So a re-read of that one. And for number 5..... Someone involved in the behind-the-scenes of some professional sport. The logistics behind the circus of athletics must be crazy! While I don't watch much sports, they fascinate me as a sociological phenomenon. Woe that I don't know enough to pinpoint a specific individual who I think would have interesting insights..... I should do some research. I loved your essay, I hope you continue doing these :)
This was such an inspiring read!! I immediately added "Seit dieser Nacht war ich wie verzaubert" to my "to hunt down" list and put on some Bartók! I know very little about either him or Debussy, which is also both a shame and inspiring.
Unfortunately, I know just as little about professional sports, so I don't know where to start either! ...apart from Artemis' article on Tennis, which honestly fascinated me as an outsider so much (https://itsallinyourhead.substack.com/p/nerves-of-steel-nerves-of-cotton). Maybe Tennis is the place to start with me? You also had me start wondering how the sport industry changed in the last 100+ years. Pavlova and modern ballet schools, the doping as a concept, more and more money being earned, etc. Huh!! Btw, I love "the logistics behind the circus of athletics". Such an intriguing way to put it, it's been stuck in my head.
Finally... it's funny that you'd mention Vivienne! I recently found out she had a blog (I'm not up to date at all...) and some of her entries/essays have been collected in the book "Get a Life". Not quite a biography, but definitely a different way to learn more about a person!
Thank you for your kind words AND inspiring message!! :) I'm really glad you had fun reading, I definitely had fun writing! <3
The first part made me feel so intensely homesick, you wouldn't believe.
I live in a different country now, where the seasons play out a little differently from what I've grown-up with. Reading about your impressions of the hawthorn and magnolias brought me right back. Especially the magnolias! So often I would go on one of my evening walks and to my surprise find the magnolias already in bloom. A gentle reminder of the seasons passing.
Music has been a big part of March for me, so the biographies that came to mind easily are composers: Claude Debussy and Béla Bartók. For the other three, I had to think a bit. Vivienne Westwood would interest me.... Who else? I got to thinking what biographies I enjoyed in the past. I like ones that are about ordinary people and I remembered a beautiful collection I read once called "Seit dieser Nacht war ich wie verzaubert", where 'frauenliebende Frauen' above seventy talk about their experiences. So a re-read of that one. And for number 5..... Someone involved in the behind-the-scenes of some professional sport. The logistics behind the circus of athletics must be crazy! While I don't watch much sports, they fascinate me as a sociological phenomenon. Woe that I don't know enough to pinpoint a specific individual who I think would have interesting insights..... I should do some research. I loved your essay, I hope you continue doing these :)
This was such an inspiring read!! I immediately added "Seit dieser Nacht war ich wie verzaubert" to my "to hunt down" list and put on some Bartók! I know very little about either him or Debussy, which is also both a shame and inspiring.
Unfortunately, I know just as little about professional sports, so I don't know where to start either! ...apart from Artemis' article on Tennis, which honestly fascinated me as an outsider so much (https://itsallinyourhead.substack.com/p/nerves-of-steel-nerves-of-cotton). Maybe Tennis is the place to start with me? You also had me start wondering how the sport industry changed in the last 100+ years. Pavlova and modern ballet schools, the doping as a concept, more and more money being earned, etc. Huh!! Btw, I love "the logistics behind the circus of athletics". Such an intriguing way to put it, it's been stuck in my head.
Finally... it's funny that you'd mention Vivienne! I recently found out she had a blog (I'm not up to date at all...) and some of her entries/essays have been collected in the book "Get a Life". Not quite a biography, but definitely a different way to learn more about a person!
Thank you for your kind words AND inspiring message!! :) I'm really glad you had fun reading, I definitely had fun writing! <3