bazaar style

I just got a copy of Selina Lake's Bazaar Style, originally published in 2008 by Ryland Peters & Small but in a new printing as of last month.  I love the book and I think that if you're meant to love it as well, you'll know right away when you first take a glance at the many wonderful color photos.  You're either a Bazaar Style person or you're not -- I can see this in the reactions of certain people when they first see my...well, let's call it decor for now -- if their eyes dilate sharply or they aren't quite sure where to look, then they are not fans of the eclectic and colorful.  Bazaar Style is not for champions of regimented pastel tones or people who cringe at mixing florals with stripes, or for anyone who might not put a modernist painting on a toile-papered wall.  Or for those who don't find any personal gratification in rescuing a discarded coffee table from an alley and painting it Bombay Red.  We are all different, there's nothing wrong with that, but for those of us who do like the flea markets and thrift stores and rummage sales of the world and all the treasures they hold, or for those of us who like to celebrate the past alongside the present/future in quirky yet meaningful formations, this is a lovely read that will spark your decorating imagination.  And I quote:  "The bazaar look cannot be bought on one shopping trip.  It grows organically over the years...[i]t celebrates the beauty of our everyday possessions...and loves colour."  Indeed.

You might even want to leave the book itself prominently displayed, just to show that particular sister-in-law or whoever in your life that yes, you can use an old gilt-edged soup tureen as a place to keep your house keys or you can also string twinkly Christmas lights around a print of Van Gogh's Cafe Terrace at Night.  You can most certainly put a Mexican religious candle of the Virgen de Guadalupe next to your grandparents' wedding photo -- if it feels right, yes, you really can.         

the lady killer

Masako Togawa, author, actress and chanteuse, was born in Tokyo in 1933 and it appears she will be rounding age eighty in March of this year.  (Imdb.com cites a birth year of 1931, but Wikipedia counters with 1933 -- whichever may be true, continued health and happiness to her.)  Among Togawa's novels is the mystery The Lady Killer, nominated for Japan's Naoki Prize when it first came out in 1963.  This is a twisted tale, and one that I found especially enjoyable since I'm a fan of things Japanese -- I kept visualizing it as a Japanese new wave film like Pale Flower or Crazed Fruit.  And an old 1989 item from the L.A. Times notes how The Lady Killer was once slated for filmdom, but it doesn't seem that this ever came to be:

Lewis B. Chesler, executive producer and creator of pay-TV's "The Hitchhiker," has purchased film rights to 1963 Japanese novel, "The Lady Killer" by Masako Togawa, a highly controversial and erotic thriller that dealt with role of women in that society. Screenwriter Robert J. Avrech ("Body Double") will adapt the book, and Carl Schenkel ("The Mighty Quinn") will direct. "Crimson Cabaret," the title of the film version, will film in Japan and possibly Hong Kong this spring. . . .

Well, that's a shame.  The 1985 Dodd Mead American edition was translated from the original Japanese by Simon Grove, who seems to have done an excellent job in keeping the cultural backdrop and tone of early 1960s Tokyo while also maintaining the intrigue of the plot.

oh henry

We should read to give our souls a chance to luxuriate. -- Henry Miller (December 26, 1891 -- June 7, 1980)

lily and rosedale

One of my favorite novels is Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, which tells the fateful tale of lovely Lily Bart and her quest for a husband.  And not just any husband, because Lily is part of New York society and must make the best match possible, but even though she has the right instincts, she isn't shrewd enough to close the deal.  To complicate matters, Lily has strong feelings for a typical Wharton hero, Lawrence Selden, who chafes at social confines but is never quite able to break free of them.  Lily plays her cards with a kind of narcissistic honor, and if you've read the book you know how that ends up -- and if you haven't, I won't give anything away.  Among Lily's admirers is a gentleman named Simon Rosedale, described by Wharton as "a plump rosy man of the blond Jewish type, with smart London clothes fitting him like upholstery, and small sidelong eyes which gave him the air of appraising people as if they were bric-a-brac."  Rosedale is of a different breed of wealthy New Yorkers, coming in with the then-impending 20th century and eager to work his way into higher social circles.

Since The House of Mirth was written in 1905, Rosedale and Lily never had a chance romantically and Rosedale himself was never going to be more than just a pivotal side character.  Rosedale is sympathetic at the novel's end, in his own way, but essentially Lily's resisting him and all he stands for as a nouveau riche Jew only adds to her tragic lily-like honor.  Lev Raphael's Rosedale in Love, however, takes Mr. Simon Rosedale and anyone who happens to be intrigued by him to a new fictional level that is quite enjoyable and well worth reading.  Written over a hundred years later, Rosedale in Love still remains faithful to its Gilded Age setting and allows us to see Lily through Rosedale's eyes, yet also offers a portrait of Rosedale beyond Lily's limited view.

tarot cuisine

Technically a Tarot deck isn't a book, but if you find Tarot cards intriguing and you have a dash of culinary passion, The Epicurean Tarot (U.S. Games, 2001) will be a great addition to your cookbook shelf.  The Epicurean Tarot's creator Corrinne Kenner has concocted 78 inventive and tasty recipes that take their own special meaning from each traditional Tarot card, and this particular deck is functionally oversized and laminated for hands-on kitchen adventures.  Also included is a companion booklet for more detail on both the cards and recipes, with the only problem being is that a quick survey of Amazon and Barnes & Noble shows that The Epicurean Tarot is out of print and the copies currently out there for purchase are pretty pricey.  Good news if you want to part with your boxed set and sell it, but not so good if you're looking for an Epicurean Tarot of your own -- especially if you want to whip up some of Death's Stuffed Mushrooms and The Devil's Deviled Eggs (what else?) for your Halloween party. 

royal care

Chicago veterinarian Dr. Barbara Royal has a new book out called The Royal Treatment:  A Natural Approach to Wildly Healthy Pets -- and I highly recommend it.  Dr. Royal can claim some celebrity pet clients indeed, but she treats each dog, cat, or whatever animal she sees with an amazing level of care and attention, and you do not have to be rich or famous to visit her warm, friendly clinic on Chicago's north side.  I know because my cat was a patient of Dr. Royal's and she helped me -- and especially him -- through the last month of his life with true compassion.  (Yes, he was an exceptional cat among a world of exceptional cats but maybe I'm somewhat biased!)  Her book details the holistic and conventional elements to her practice, and her words emphasize her level of feeling for all creatures great and small.  And as a wildlife, zoo and domestic animal vet, she really knows her creatures.  There are also recipes for natural diets and therapeutic options to help our indoor pets live with more outdoor vigor.  With the holidays just around the corner, this would be a great gift for any pet lover on your list.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.  -- Anatole France

it's national book month!

What will you be reading??


(Pictured:  The Novel Reader -- Vincent van Gogh, 1888)