The Summer Stack

The following book selections are from my own collection and include personal purchases as well as publisher preview copies.
All book links are Amazon affiliate links -- thanks for supporting A Nest for All Seasons!

As summer looms closer and closer my stack of books to read grows larger and larger.
 It is only April and already the stack is solid.  Let's start at the TOP, shall we?

Hiding on the top of the stack is a beautiful new children's book titled Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson.  The story is cute and quirky, but the illustrations are the real draw. I always love a well illustrated children's book because it gives the adult something to lean into while reading over and over and over again. Katy Hudson's work reminds me of Tasha Tudor's books -- full of charm and everyday beauty that makes you appreciate the little world around you.  You might be interested in Katy's studio space and work process in the video below -- I found her to be just as charming and sweet as her illustrations:

Next on the kid's list are two series for our 7 and 10 year olds.  

Kids Picks at The Nest Book Club   :::    Artwork on the right featured in the book below "Follies"

The Nate the Great books have been perfect for our 2nd grader -- he reads them up like candy and they give him a lot of reading confidence.  We REALLY need our American libraries back for Nate the Greats because we are going to go broke buying them at the pace he is reading!  For our 10 year old, we have been introducing him to various chapter books (Eragon, Narnia, Harry Potter) and I heard the Wingfeather Saga Books by Andrew Peterson recommended on Tsh Oxenredier's podcast, so we decided to give them a whirl.  She recommended them as a read-aloud for the whole family and I haven't decided whether we will do that or just read it straight.

Now onto the adult books -- top of my list?  Gardening.   

The book on the left is my FAVORITE recent gardening book and the book on the right is my girl Jan Berry's title that she wrote with Page St Publishing.  Jan and I were writing our books with Page St. almost on the exact same schedule, so she and I were able to commiserate a bit during edits and such.  I consider her a friend and you should definitely check out her book -- FULL of really interesting homemade products from the garden!

Isn't this pretty?  Just 1 of many beautiful lotions Jan shows you how to make in 101 Homemade Products.

Now onto Gardens of Awe and Folly.  Garden friends?  You will LOVE this one.  It is like taking a stroll with your favorite jet-setting garden friend and getting the DL on her favorite gardens.  There are 9 gardens featured, starting with Paris where a little 2/3 acre garden juts out in the very middle of the Seine.  Each garden walk is full of sketches, pointing out little details and mundane magicalities. I wish I had written this book -- not only because it is SO GOOD, but because it would also mean I would have traveled to these most magical gardens.  Reading Awe and Folly is the next best thing.

Then there is the Scotland part:

Scotland has captured my imagination lately and Vivian Swift truly makes this pocket of the world come to life (as does Ronald D. Moore, to be fair).

She describes Scotland as introverted and writes:
"I am a connoisseur of rain (all us introverts are), and Jaunary rain in Edinburgh is the rain of romance. It's for those of us who love
 the quiet of libraries, the minor third of a sad song, and the aloneness of a 4 o'clock twilight."  ~ Vivian Swift in Gardens of Awe and Folly

I didn't even know how much Scotland resonated with me.  I didn't even know.
I have convinced my husband to use our airline miles for a trip this fall to the land of my dreams. Je. Suis ALORS Prest.

Alba gu bràth

Last o' the stack is FOOD! Maggie Battista's new book Food, Gift, Love is first up.  I am going to admit that the derivative title made me slightly hesitant, but once I cracked open Maggie's beautiful book, I was hooked.  The photography is stunning, the recipes are tried and tested and the packaging ideas are that combination of simple and sophisticated that I always try to emulate. I am dreaming of a rhubarb and asparagus plot down by the creek so that I can make some of these rhubarb concoctions.

Chocolate dipped spoons (REAL spoons) are also on my list of MUST MAKES along with about 20 other ideas -- note my liberal
use of dog-earring on the right. It is no sign of disrepect -- just a sign of love when I dog-ear a book that much!

Last title of the stack is the THM (Trim Healthy Mama) Cookbook.

Again, the title was a stumbling block for about a year on this one.  I really dislike "trim healthy mama", but it really does describe the plan accurately and I am really into the recipes in this new cookbook by Pearl and Serene. THM deserves its own post though, so I will end here by saying the following two recipes are on my MAKE TOMORROW, NO TODAY list:

Happy Reading!