Paris | Words And Peace

Picture found at: https://www.melindatognini.com.au

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
from wintering to tasting Paris

Time for another quirky variation on this meme.
From wintering to tasting Paris: sounds like a great life journey, isn’t it?
Plus, I end up in Paris, which is neat for Paris in July!
Please come walk with me.

Using my own rules for this fun meme hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest
(see there the origin of the meme and how it works
– posted the first Saturday of every month).

Here are my own quirky rules:

1. Use your list of books on Goodreads
2. Take the first word of the title (or in the subtitle) offered and find another title with that word in it – see the titles below the images to fully understand, as often the word could be in the second part of the title
3. Then use the first word of THAT title to find your text title
4. Or the second if the title starts with the same word, or you are stuck

Click on the covers
links will send you to my review or to the relevant page

This is the book we are supposed to start from.
I have not read it, and I am not planning to.

“An intimate, revelatory book exploring the ways we can care for and repair ourselves when life knocks us down.
Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a break up, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it offered.
A moving personal narrative shot through with lessons from literature, mythology, and the natural world, May’s story offers instruction on the transformative power of rest and retreat. Illumination emerges from many sources: solstice celebrations and dormice hibernation, C.S. Lewis and Sylvia Plath, swimming in icy waters and sailing arctic seas.
Ultimately Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times. May models an active acceptance of sadness and finds nourishment in deep retreat, joy in the hushed beauty of winter, and encouragement in understanding life as cyclical, not linear. A secular mystic, May forms a guiding philosophy for transforming the hardships that arise before the ushering in of a new season. ”

Click on the covers to read my review
or the relevant page

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

1. Wintering: A Season with Geese, by Stephen Rutt

If I have no intention of reading the Wintering title offered to start this chain, I do have this other Wintering book on my TBR:

“A celebration of winter and of the bird that heralds it; the perfect seasonal gift book for bird lovers.
The arrival of huge flocks of geese in the UK is one of the most evocative and powerful harbingers of winter; a vast natural phenomenon to capture the imagination. So Stephen Rutt found when he moved to Dumfries in the autumn of 2018, coinciding with the migration of thousands of pink-footed geese who spend their winter in the Firth.
Thus begins an extraordinary odyssey. From his new surroundings in the north to the wide open spaces of his childhood home in the south, Stephen traces the lives and habits of the most common species of goose in the UK and explores the place they have in our culture, our history and, occasionally, on our festive table.
Wintering takes you on a vivid tour of the in-between landscapes the geese inhabit, celebrating the short days, varied weathers and long nights of the season during which we share our home with these large, startling, garrulous and cooperative birds.“

2. The Wild Geese, by Ogai Mori

VERDICT: Short novel with a good social portrait of the time, but disappointing in its pace and ending.

3. A Brush With Birds: Paintings and Stories from the Wild, by Richard Weatherly

If you love art, travels, and birding, this is the most gorgeous book!

4. Travels with a Writing Brush: Classical Japanese Travel Writing from the Manyoshu to Basho, by Meredith McKinney (Editor / Translator).
Texts from Matsuo Bashō and many more.

I haven’t read it yet, but I have read excerpts from Basho and so want to read this one!

“A rich, exquisite and original anthology that illuminates Japanese travel writing over a thousand years.
‘Oh journey upon journey, my life is a brief moment, and I cannot hope that we will meet again’
Roaming over mountains and along perilous shores, this anthology illuminates over a thousand years of Japanese travel writing. It takes in songs, diaries, tales and poetry, and ranges from famous works including The Pillow Book and the works of Basho to pieces such as the diary of a young girl who longs to return to the capital and her beloved books, or the writings of travelling monks who sleep on pillows of grass. Together they illuminate a long literary tradition, with intense poetic experience at its heart. ”

5. Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes is the narrative of the 12 days Robert Louis Stevenson traveled with his donkey Modestine in this very isolated area of France, marked by fierce fights between Roman Catholics and Protestants. I really enjoyed his humor at describing the mentality of the area and the people he met. Some passages were really hilarious. Who would have thought!

6. A Taste of Paris: A History of the Parisian Love Affair with Food, by David Downie

VERDICT: A gourmet walking tour of Paris for all gastronomy and history buffs. Irresistible.
I highly encourage you to read my detailed review (click on the book cover to do so)

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Visit other chains here

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HAVE YOU READ AND ENJOYED ANY OF THESE BOOKS?
IF YOU HAVE CREATED A CHAIN,
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LINK IN A COMMENT

#ThrowbackThursday

Revisiting what I posted 10 years ago
(my blog was born on September 29, 2010)
following the idea I found at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog
(click on this link or the logo to see where the idea started from,
and to post the link to your own post).
On the first Thursday of the month available on my site,
I’m planning to post about the previous month, 10 years before.

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Today, I’ll be revisiting February 2012.
I published only 10 posts, 4 of these were reviews.

Of these books, here is the one that received most views:

Apparently, I enjoyed this book a lot. Unfortunately, even after reading my review, I have no memory of it at all. Probably due to the fact that I read a lot of similar books these last ten years.

A book I reviewed in February 2012, and that I remember much better, is this manga biography.
And if you might want to visit my more recent post on manga/graphic-“novel” nonfiction.