READ:
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Here is the truth, I bought this book because I was bored of needlepointing in an airport this fall and I liked the cover. We have a trip to Greece on the calendar for 2022 after having to push it forward over and over during the past two years due to Covid. I have been thinking I need a big refresher on Greek mythology to really get the full effect of sailing the Greek isles. The inside cover of this novel gave me the impression that there would be Greek mythology woven through the pages and small reminders of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, an American mystery set at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont.
Alex Michaelides, the author of The Silent Patient did not disappoint. I was thrilled to discover he had developed another intriguing modern day British “who done it”. Set in a small British women’s college in Cambridge, the author presents his readers with layer after layer of character history, interpersonal intrigue, and drama to keep us following clues, round and round, and around again, trying to get ahead of the therapist and detectives trying to solve this case.
In the world of fast information, I found myself once again tucked in quiet corners reading this book. I kept it in my purse and pulled it out at every opportunity until I found the answers I was looking for. I loved this book.
After finishing The Maidens, I delivered it to my 92 year old veracious reader aunt. On the inside blank page I wrote the numbers descending from 1-10 and put my name on number 1. I told my Auntie Carol to put her name down on number two when she reads it and pass it on to the number 3 of her choice. She got a big kick out of that. The women in our family used to be huge book sharers back in the day before we switched to electronics and I would love to bring that back. I remember my grandmother loved an occasion to go to my aunt’s for a visit to bring favorite books she knew would be passed around the family. There is something glorious about a well worn novel that has been held and enjoyed by a friend or relative! The Maidens is a perfect novel to share with friends and family!
LISTEN:
The Last Thing He Said to Me written by Lauren Dave, narrated by Rebecca Lowman.
Don’t you just love stumbling upon a gem? This happened to my daughter Birdie and I recently on a long car ride. We love to listen to books on Audible while driving for hours upon hours per day crossing state lines as we explore our way around America, often with two fuzzy friends in the backseat.
I downloaded this new novel I found on Rees Witherspoon’s bookclub reading list and hoped for the best. I have read several of Rees’ selections and have always enjoyed her choices. Birdie and I knew absolutely NOTHING about this particular book before hitting play.
By the best of luck I happened to have chosen The Last Thing He Said to Me written by Lauren Dare, narrated by Rebecca Lowman. A 22 year old university student and her 56 year old mother were both enthralled with this story. We loved the writing, the character development, narrators voice and style, and the absolutely unexpected and fabulous mystery.
Without giving away too much, because going into this without knowing much is simply divine, I will tell you this….
When your life is going swimmingly, with just small waves of goodness and complication, and you are hit with a tsunami of What the Fuck, you need to dig deep. Two women, one in the prime of her life and one just becoming a woman are hit with a huge confusing, upsetting, and shocking news. They are faced with the need to dig deep, into what they know, what they suspect, and what may be. This journey takes them places they never imagined and uncovers truths they were unaware of. This book is really really good, and I promise, you don’t want me to tell you anymore.
We absolutely loved the audible edition. We enjoyed hitting pause, turning to each other, and trying to solve the puzzles on our own, and then quickly hit play again.
WATCH:
Rita Konig’s The Ultimate Guide to Interior Design by Create Academy
My selection for “watch” this month a little different. It’s a class.
For some reason I can not remember how I discovered Create Academy. A tad similar to the American Masterclass series, the British Create Academy is an online school for creative endeavors. I have become quite enamored with this Create Academy and enjoy it immensely.
My fist dabble into this program was when I discovered that famed British designer Rita Konig was teaching a series on interior design. With zero formal training, and an inability to identify my personal style or narrow down a favorite color, I began my pretend designing process with a dollhouse I inherited from my mother and older sister as a small child. I have set up many homes over the years and made too many mistakes to count. There were some wacky ass colored walls, and some wonky homemade window treatments. My love of antique and consignment shops combined with a nod to my paternal grandmother were the foundations of my early beginnings. I did develop a good eye for antiques, lamp and lampshade collections, and a deep passion for decorative table top items, art, and table settings. These skills only go so far, you do need a sense of color, fabric, and bedroom design, areas I continue to stumble through, in part because it means narrowing down the many things I like…and Voila! Enter Rita Konig’s Create Academy program into my life. The opportunity to take a class with a master designer was presented and I jumped at it.
I absolutely LOVED this online class with Rita. I watched it more times than I will ever admit. Seriously, the amount of times I have watched this is embarrassing. I loved this about Create Academy, once you buy the class, it is yours to review whenever you want.
World class interior designer Rita Konig provides about a half a dozen hours of very detailed and enormously helpful strategies for interior design. There was so much information in this program that I had zero previous knowledge of. It is enormously helpful if you are building a home from the ground up, moving into a new house or apartment, or revamping an old one you are at wits end with. Much of the class is taught in her own home in the English countryside. She covers all the basic “how to’s” and also many different strategies to bring your home to the next level. She addresses educating yourself about antiques, understanding auction houses, and discovering your style. I learned a lot about creating a budget, the benefits of furniture placement, and the ins and outs of house set up. She takes a trip to an auction house to talk about purchases and visits Amanda Cutter Brook’s gorgeous Costwald shop. I had the opportunity to visit Cutter Brooks right before lockdown and it’s fun for me to watch Rita do the same. I grew up in a town with a fabulous gift shop (Cliffhangers in Bronxville, New York) and I am a decorative items shop enthusiast. It was immensely joyful for me to hear Rita talk about setting up desks and bathrooms with beautiful items.
Enjoy friends! Please feel free to send me your recommendations. I would love to hear them!