The frantic "toing and froing" of Christmas Day has passed, and the weather on this day of boxing and réchauffé culinary offerings promises to be cold and snow. When I pulled the draperies open a while ago, skies were deep sooty gray, and the village wore a glossy patina of jeweled ice - every lingering rosehip in the garden was a work of glistening art. Walking is sure to be a treacherous undertaking, and there is a fairly good chance that I will go posterior over tea kettle at the drop of a hat today if I venture forth (thus undoing all my surgeon's good work), so this is a good day to stay indoors and lounge about with several pots of tea and a good book.
I never need an excuse to park comfortably with a book and pot of tea, and the post Yule booky interval is a tradition of long and cherished standing. After the frantic exertions of Christmas, I am settling in happily for the remains of the holiday interval with a lovely great tottering stack of books, all of them already read (at least once) and all of them much loved. That carefully assembled heap of old friends will keep me amused for the rest of the winter, and the list below, by no means, includes all the dear companions who will find their way to the library table in the days and weeks ahead, but it is a start. There are at least three camera manuals to be added some time today, books on geology, forestry, astronomy, mythology and folklore. Perhaps a good word for this week's Friday ramble would be hibernation. Emulating the bears of the Lanark Highlands on such a wild, cold (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) and snowy day seems like a plan.FICTION
Coyote Cowgirl, Kim Antieau
The Church of the Old Mermaids, Kim Antieau
Tamsin, Peter Beagle
The Folk of the Air, Peter Beagle
The Hummingbird Wizard (3 volumes), Meredith Blevins
The Mists of Avalon, Marian Zimmer Bradley
The Dark is Rising (sequence), Susan Cooper
Little Big, John Crowley
City of Dark Magic, Magnus Flyte
Moonwise, Greer Gilman
Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
The Greenstone Grail (trilogy), Amanda Hemingway
Ysabel, Guy Gavriel Kay
A Distant Kingdom, Paul Kearney
The Beekeeper's Apprentice (series), Laurie R. King
The River Midnight, Lilian Nattel
Divine Circle of Ladies (series), Dolores Stewart Riccio
Prospero's Cell (trilogy) Jan Siegel
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan
The Fifth Sacred Thing, Starhawk
Eagle of the Ninth (sequence), Rosemary Sutcliff
The Woodwife, Terri Windling
NON-FICTION
A Hundred Names for Love, Diane Ackerman,
Dawn Light, Diane Ackerman
Deep Play, Diane Ackerman
The Spell of the Sensuous, David Abram
Becoming Animal, David Abram
Sacred Silence, Jean Arp
The Tree of Meaning, Robert Bringhurst
Everywhere Being Is Dancing, Robert Bringhurst
Beyond the Blue Horizon, E.C. Krupp
Skywatchers, Shamans and Kings, E.C. Krupp
The Zen of Creativity, John Daido Loori,
Odysseys, Freeman Patterson
Shadowlight, Freeman Patterson
Ordinarily Sacred, Linda Sexson
Finding Beauty in a Broken World, Terry Tempest Williams
4 comments:
This list gives me goosebumps. Some on this list were significantly life-changing for me. While contemplating the non-fiction list, I see titles that hold the promise of shifting yet another way of looking at my reality. ~more goosebumps~
As a regular reader, I would enjoy devouring a Friday Ramble that covers hibernation.
Thanks for the great list. Just when I was wondering what to read next!
Stay warm!
I'm so happy to be included in the list, but more than that, just happy to have connected with you through the blogosphere. Your photos, your thoughts, your heart, bring light to this world.
Oooo - me too - still needing to release all the frenetic energy of the holiday and settle into Quiet, and dig into my pile of books as well. I *love* hibernating and can't seem to get enough! Be warm!
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