I Love Your Style

"[I Love Your Style] will both empower and inspire women to dive into the challenge of defining, or refining, their personal style".

I've been seeing this book everywhere these days and I really love the concept behind it. So often I see women flailing, trying to keep up with trends instead of dressing for their bodies and their minds and their comfort.

My personal style is sort of difficult to pinpoint but knowing myself pretty well I'd say it's a mix between a fisherman (breton stripes and blues), a spy (trench coats, lots of black, big sunglasses), and a victorian (modest frocks, high collars, and lace). Kind of funny, huh? But I buy what I love and try not to be too influenced by fashion editorials.

Hanging Rock

I will almost always vote for a book over a movie, but in the case of Picnic at Hanging Rock's 1975 film adaptation, my heart is glad it didn't miss out on the gothic dreaminess that accompanied each scene. The high starched collars and white eyelet, the giggling college girls, the eerie quietness, and the rural Australian landscape.

little darling, start again

Did you know that when explorers first came to the East coast of America, they believed they had discovered the Garden of Eden?

Speaking of which, you can read an interesting narration on the exile of Adam and Eve in David Maine's Fallen.

a letter to Tumnus

Saw this and nearly died.

The Chronicles of Narnia was one of my favorite series when I was little. Do you remember being so engrossed in fairy tales that you were sure they were real?

image via weheartit

the perfect marriage

When I was 14 I fell madly in love with author Patricia Mckillip. Her fantasy prose touched me in a way that Tolkien or Rowling never could. I have since read everything she's written and my already colorful imagination will never be the same.

While reading my first Mckillip book (Alphabet of Thorne) I was lucky enough to stumble upon the band Eisley whose fanciful melodies were the perfect marriage to the rich worlds introduced to me by Mckillip. With my overly sentimental heart I always look back on that time as something really extraordinary and harmonious to which I like to return now and then for peace of mind.

Eisley - Marvelous Things

Oh what marvelous things but they are giving me the creeps.

Books for the cynic

Or anyone feeling less than starry-eyed this V-day.


The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir


Three stories of failing relationships. It won't make you laugh or feel good about being single but it does offer some sense of comraderie to anyone who has ever had their heart broken. Beautifully written and honest.



Painted Elephant by Jill Hartman


Unrequited love, the saddest kind. An Indian elephant falls in love with a Wooden Maytag Man statue. With guest appearances from Nina Simone, Canadian poets and Greek myth, this book of poems can be read cover to cover in under an hour, but set aside 2 because you will want to read it again.



Women by Charles Bukowski


Portrays men as women trading dirtbags and women as wetnaps who allow it to happen. Nuff said.



Candide by Voltaire


A classic, mocks romance and its effect on people. Though romance is not the center of the plot which makes this a great/must read for anyone.



The Book of Samson by David Maine


Because don't we all want to tear down a city after someone we love betrays us? This is, in no way, a biblical tale. David Maine takes the story of Samson and makes him a monstrous brute with a self distructing temper that erupts shortly after the beguiling Delilah enters his life.

Did you write the Book of Love?

Each of these page-turners will have you reaching for the tissue box and the nearest boy (or girl) to kiss. I'll spare you the synopsese since you can find those on any book site, but here are my thoughts on each:



Katherine by Anya Seton

The story of Katherine Swynford and her love affair with the Duke of Lancaster. Filled with honest longing and uplifting surrender.



Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

This book is so beautifully written that the story could be terrible and no one would be the wiser. Not a typical romance but it illustrates the limits of love and devotion in a way that will tug at your heartstrings.



Green City in the Sun by Barbara Wood

Chronicles several generations of misguided love. Set in Kenya this epic will make you reevaluate all of your thoughts on real love.



The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Exploding with sexual tension and repressed passion, be prepared to cry every other page and promise yourself that you will never settle for anyone other than your true love.



The Ice People by Rene Barjavel

This is one of my favorite books of all time, I rarely lend it out because of my tremendous fear that I'll never get it back(it's out of print). The 1960s science fiction novel recalls an old world love, literally frozen in time. Beautifully written, racy, and utterly romantic.



Love Poems by Pablo Neruda

The Chilean Nobel Prize Winner defines the love poem. Truely.


Other notable reads:
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and Witness to my Life: Letters from Jean Paul Sartre to Simone de Beauvoir.

If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear!

"An Inexplicably Big Deal"

In his latest project, Uncovered: Women in Word and Image, photographer Jordan Matter asks women to pose with exposed breasts in public locations. Next to each photo is a brief testimonial and while most of the women claimed an initial shyness, afterwards they felt (surprise surprise) euphoric!

The book's website said this, "In her foreword, author Susan Seligson states what all men and women already know: 'Breasts are an inexplicably big deal.' Whether hidden under layers of clothing, half-revealed in the service of fashion (and flirtation) or laid brazenly bare, breasts matter. They demand response, provoke moral questions and force confrontation with the very notion of taboo." - Jordan Matter Photography - Uncovered


Margaret

Laura

Sonja

Besides these photos being beautiful, I love the cognitive dissonance they evoke. They are sexual without offense and the women seem so...cool!

What do you think? Would you have the guts to bare (almost) all?
More photos here and here.


Via Smitten

Where The Wild Things Are

One of my favorite childhood books coming to the big screen. It looks so dreamy.

Based on the books by Maurice Sendak. I have a Wild Things stuffed doll that I call The King of the Monsters.