The incurable bookworm I am, I have a stack of (non-fiction) books piled high on a corner of our lounge, about 30 or so that I've on loan from the local library. Currently the said reading pile includes a curious mix of books... of course there are the various baby-info books, the favoured cookbooks of the moment, and an assortment of Brisbane-info books about local hiking trails, cafe/restaurant guides, and that sort of thing... but more intriguingly I've noticed I am reading an eclectic assortment of books that fall into one of two somewhat opposite categories: 'wanderlust' and 'nesting'. I often refer to this dichotomy as "Wings vs Roots".
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'WINGS'
(left to right:
The Stylist's Guide to NYC by Sibella Court;
My Heart Wanders by Pia Jane Bijkerk;
Fnish ths Bk by Keri Smith)
The 'wanderlust' books all seem to relate to aspects of travel/exploration, dream-chasing trips abroad, and exciting foreign destinations. It is even more curious for me to have picked these out since presently I'm not in the market for such grand overseas adventures (with my life firmly entrenched in early motherhood and looking to buy a family home and all that). But all the same, I find them incredibly inspiring, and they help remind me that although the 'wings' may be packed away for a little while, soon enough I'll be dusting them off again, and the opportunities for travelling will abound once more.
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My favourite, for all its visual gorgeousness and the fact it delightfully documents New York (one of my most dreamed-about cities), is Sibella Court's 'The Stylist's Guide to NYC'. The sheer tactility of this book is awe-inspiring, from its debossed cover to the texture of its pages and fold-out brown-paper maps. I think I audibly swooooooned when I first saw it in a bookshop on Oxford St in Bulimba. To me, it's practically book-design perfection.
(Image courtesy of The Striped Tee, who've also written an excellent and befitting review of the book over here)
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My other very-close-behind favourite is Pia Jane Bijkerk's lovely memoir of Paris/Amsterdam, 'My Heart Wanders', which I am currently half-way through reading. This book has been on my radar for some time, ever since its launch in Bris earlier this year, so I'm pleased to finally be able to curl up on the couch with it in the evenings after the boy has gone to bed. This book encapsulates both beauty and soul - its words, images, and even its author, are all simply beautiful to behold. And Pia's blog and website are similarly delightful, and well worth a long lingering perusal as well.
(Image courtesy of Hila Shachar)
Visit her blog here for a great review of My Heart Wanders
(images courtesy of Pia Jane Bijkerk's website)
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Ok, this one's not about travel so much as it's about exploring, but I'm still counting it in the 'wanderlust' category. 'Fnish ths Bk' is the latest offering from my super-creative-hero, Keri Smith. And as much as I promised myself that I wouldn't buy a single book until we move into a more-permanent family home (and God knows when that'll be...), I couldn't resist buying this one - Keri Smith's books are like crack to my creative sensibilities...
(image courtesy of WreckThisGirl)
Fnish Ths Bk invites its reader on a mission to become the new author of the book by continuing the research (to do with the mystery of an unexpected discovery) and providing the content, with a bit of Secret Intelligence Training thrown in. Classic Keri Smith fun and good humour :)
As I mentioned, I'm somewhat of a fan of Keri Smith, so here's a nice selection of her previous books in case your interest has been piqued:
Guerilla Art Kit; Non-Planner Datebook; Living Out Loud; How to be an Explorer of the World; Wreck This Journal; This is not a Book; Mess; Wreck This Box
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'ROOTS'
(left to right:
Etcetera by Sibella Court;
82 Modern Style Ideas by Tamara Maynes/Inside Out magazine;
Keepsakes by Frances Hanson;
Kevin McCloud's 43 Principles of Home by Kevin McCloud)
The books that relate to 'nesting' are scattered about my house in far greater numbers than the books about travel, etc, which is hardly surprising since that's the stage-of-life I presently find myself in. I seem to be currently fascinated with anything to do with home-making/interior design/architecture. I guess after so many years of being in transience in another city (and renting no less), I am craving a home that we can truly settle into and make our own, where I can unpack the myriad boxes of vintage ephemera that I've gathered over the years and where we can have a little fun with some interior design elements. No wonder I find myself so attracted to Sibella Court books at the moment - have you seen this lady's amazing flair styling home interiors with vintage/found objects and paraphenalia?! A-maz-ing..!
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(Image courtesy The Women's Room)
Which brings me to the first and favourite book: Sibella Court's Etcetera. Another ultra swoon-worthy book design in my opinion - I just love it all, from the colour palettes to the brown paper textures and everything about the quirky, eclectic style this book illustrates.
Check out Sibella Court's website: The Society Inc for loads more information/imagery/inspiration - I could be lost on there for hours... and needless to say, a lot of Sibella-inspired imagery ends up on my Pinterest boards!
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I picked up this book, 82 Modern Style Ideas to Create a Home, when I was last in at the lovely store New Farm Editions, and then later tracked it down in the library. Lots of nice typographic numbers and a few cool ideas, but admittedly also a lot of fluff ideas (i.e. not so great, and some decidely lame ones).
I did however appreciate #13's postcard wall; #14's two-pack refurbed vintage cabinet; #51's wallpapering with pages from a Chinese calendar; #66's gallery wall of children's books; #72's advent calendar made from decorated Ikea drawer units; and #79's paper sculpture wreath. Not too surprisingly, it's all very Inside Out magazine-like, so if you're into Inside Out (and I am), you'll probably like a lot of what's in this book too.
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Spotting this collaged, textured, vintage-y, ephemera-embellished book in the store, who could resist picking it up for a closer look and feel? There's most certainly a trend at the moment for these 'visually tactile' books, and I suspect it's likely keying into the hand-made and crafty "revolution" everyone keeps talking about. Keepsakes is a collection of recipes gathered from the author's friends and family, and is essentially a scrapbook come recipe book. But the thing I found most frustrating about it is that the (often handwritten) recipes are bloody hard to read! The layered collage pages look utterly romantic and lovely, but its usefulness as a cookbook is seriously undermined.
So I flicked through and aesthetically appreciated the imagery and colours and 'feel' of the book, tried one or two recipes, and then ended up taking it back to the library in frustration. My conclusion: nice to look at, not so great to actually use..!
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Kevin McCloud's 43 Principles of Home is a seriously massive tome, so large that I couldn't help but see it on the library shelf. It practically screamed HOME at me, and I am somewhat attuned to that word/concept/hope right now. Home, yes please, I fancy I would like to know each and every one of your 43 principles about making a home, Mr McCloud...
Admittedly, its sheer scale meant I only found the time to 'skim' through it, but it was obvious from the outset that this book was heavily philosophical/intellectual rather than lightly beautiful/visual like the others I've talked about here. It had a real eco-architecture bent, very masculine-focused, not at all the soft and warm and full of the feminine 'homemaking' concepts I was expecting. Perhaps the title is a bit deceptive!?
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And then I received an email from my local library telling me that some of my holds had (finally!) arrived. With tremendous anticipation I went in to collect my copies of Sibella Court's third book, Nomad, and Grace Bonney's new book, Design*Sponge at Home. Oh goodness, I sure was in for a treat!
Can someone please take my baby for a few hours, I have some reading/daydreaming to do... ;)
Michelle
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