Autumn arrived in Tulsa last week. I'm sad to part with the long days and
warm nights but the chill in the air and falling leaves can't be denied.
Walter and I turned on our heat yesterday.
A true sign that summer is over.
This summer had great reads! I had books that I
looked forward too and got excited to steal time from my evening
and precious weekends to cover a few more pages.
As I list these titles, a few themes emerge.
The summer of 2013 was the summer of Flowers and Women and Women who loved Flowers.
I just might be one of them.
- Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp - I'm actually about 3/4 into this book. My interest in her life got fired up by a trip to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe and her home/studio in Abiquiu, New Mexico this September. Fascinating and unique person, particularly for her time.
- The Paper Garden: An Artist Begins her Life Work at 72 by Molly Peacock - This is a beautiful book. The author parallels and intermingles her life story with that of Mary Delany who found her craft (mixed-media collage of flowers) at the age of 72 in the 1700's. The 985 botanically correct cut paper flowers are now housed in the British Museum.
- Where the Peacock Sing: A Palace, A Prince and the Search for Home by Alison Singh Gee - A sweet memoir about finding love, a home and what is most important. It left me wanting for more detail about the family palace in India - I love ramshackle mansions.
- Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff- Fascinated by this woman, her remarkable life and times.
- Best Friends by Martha Moody- This is the only fiction I read this summer! But it is an epic story about long term friends, their lives and their relationships.
- The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber - This read doesn't fit my theme per se, although a heroic woman does play a role in taking down this current day psychopath. This book was a thriller!
- Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe - I learned more about her, her life, the players and her death. Ask me more and I'll tell you what I now believe about what happened to Marilyn.
- Coming Clean: A Memoir by Kimberly Rae Miller - Interesting book, it was hard to read at times, the descriptions of the piles and piles of stuff was overwhelming. The story felt a little green - I don't think the author had gained enough perspective on her experiences to tell a full, round, ripe story.
- Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman - Read this book and then watched the Netflix series. I was intrigued by this world and the culture behind prison walls as it exists for women.
- Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds - A fluff read, got through it in 1-2 days. Debbie Reynolds is a spitfire!