On Treasure Palaces and Drawing Cute Birds

So many museums, so little time. 

That's why I was thrilled to read about a newly published book, Treasure Palaces: Great Writers Visit Great Museums. I quickly reserved it from my library and picked it up on Wednesday. I think I must be the first to check it out - the date stamped on the top edge (the date it was processed) is December 16. 

I was a little taken aback as I was expecting a book with photos that accompanied the essays, but no, it is simply a quality paperback. I guess I will be doing some Googling for images. There are however, to introduce each selection, small black and white illustrations that represent some aspect of the museum - an entrance, an object, a courtyard.

Lack of photos aside, what a wonderful way to visit museums that I might never get a chance to see. And what a joy to be introduced to them by such writers as Ann Patchett (The Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge, Massachusetts); Ali Smith (Villa San Michele, Capri); and Julian Barnes (Jean Sibelius's home in Helsinki).

I determined that I have visited only two of the twenty-four museums included (Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence and Musée Rodin, Paris) so the book promises to be a heady reading experience. I am especially intrigued by The Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, William Wordsworth's Dove Cottage in Grasmere, and the exhibit of shrunken heads at Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.

And just think, my feet won't get tired.

Dove Cottage

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Because I can't simply pick up one book and leave the library, I took a look at the new non-fiction shelf and my eye was caught by the colorful cover of Drawing Cute Birds by Japanese artist Ai Akikusa. She uses colored pencils to render the sweetest feathered fellows. I am forever dissatisfied with my bird drawings and since I have many (it seems like thousands) of colored pencils, this is just the instruction book I need. 

The drawings are not too complex. She offers a very short lesson, (how to render the shape of the head, the feet, the feathers), the color palette she used, and information about each bird - the species order and family, where it lives, what it eats, its size, and any unusual habits. I love this book already and can hardly wait to get started.

Her drawings run the gamut from the small sparrow to the powerful eagle to plumy parrots and peaceful penguins. The hummingbird and the peacock are outstanding. 

Now these are 'tweets' I can wrap my head around.

Proud as a peacock.

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Wishing you all safe and happy holidays!

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The Witch of Exmoor by Margaret Drabble

I have not read anything by British author Margaret Drabble so when I saw her book The Witch of Exmoor at The Village Bookstore I thought, well, why not give her a try.

I have read about 50 pages and so far it appears to be the type of story where people sit around the dinner table discussing things. I have already attended two dinners. The main topic of discussion is Mom. Her three children and their spouses are all wondering why, in her sixties, Frieda decided to sell the family home and buy an isolated, crumbling castle at the edge of the sea. (After listening to her children prattle on, I can make a good guess...)

Anyway, is she going a bit mad or has she just become even more eccentric, they wonder. And what is going to happen to her money? When she dies, will there be enough left to leave her already successful children and their families?

I need a bit more action and fewer psychological musings. Ms. Drabble does offer some smart, caustic observations about Britain's middle class (or so the dust cover tells me) so I may sit through one more dinner.

I was hoping for more 'witching' and less 'bitching'. And I don't mean magic, but more about Frieda, retired writer, and less about her self-satisfied, selfish children.

Ta Da!

Here are the books I bought at The Village Bookstore on my recent travels to America's Heartland:

Founding Brothers (2000) by Joseph J. Ellis 
I sometimes get excited about reading books on American history. Mr. Ellis is coming to the library this month to speak so I was glad to find one of his books and hope to get it read in time to hear him. This book takes a look at seven of the guys who got America going: Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison. All in 250 pages. Not extended biographies but a look at telling events involving each. First up - The Duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (1954) by P.G. Wodehouse
I don't even need to explain this selection. I love Wodehouse!

Nights of Rain and Stars (2004)  by Maeve Binchy
I have not read anything by this popular author so I will give this one a try. It is a nice clean hardcover copy. The story takes place on a Greek island and involves travelers to and residents of a small village there.

The Reluctant Tuscan: How I Discovered My Inner Italian (2005) by Phil Doran
This was actually on my ToBeRead List and I was thrilled to find a hardcover edition. The sort of real-life tale I enjoy - Hollywood sitcom writer and producer pulls up stakes and moves to Tuscany. 

The Vintage Caper (2009) by Peter Mayle
I have been wanting to read one of Peter Mayle's mysteries. I read earlier this year one of his real-life accounts of his life in Provence. This crime novel involves a wine heist and knowing Mr. Mayle it will be a delight. A nice hardcover edition.

The Witch of Exmoor (1996) by Margaret Drabble
Another author I have not read and I was glad to find this hardcover edition. The story has to do with Frieda, an author and thinker who has run away from home and hearth and lives in a hotel by the sea in Exmoor. She sounds like a woman I would like to get to know. 

At this rate, I will need to ask for an extension to summer if I am to get all my reading done. Who, pray tell, is in charge of that?