5 titles to take to the beach, read in a hammock or just peruse at home.
BEAUTIFY YOUR SURROUNDINGS
One of the easiest ways to add life and colour to your home is with flowers. With detailed botanical profiles and beautiful photography, this practical guide focuses on everything from saving seeds to planning your garden to harvesting and arranging.
In Bloom: Growing, Harvesting, and Arranging Homegrown Flowers All Year Round by Clare Nolan (CompanionHouse Books).
WISDOM OF THE AGES
Timeless prose from ancient India that has inspired philosophers and poets including Schopenhauer, Joseph Campbell, T.S. Eliot, and W. B. Yeats. Breath, fire, the sun, food, speech, the self, sacrifice and many other symbols provide the leitmotifs for exploring the essence of the universe, life, death and love.
The Upanishads Translated by Valerie Roebuck (Penguin Classics).
SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY
Through personal essays, interactive “paper goodies” such as posters and journals and artwork, this adult pop-up book aims to help you declutter your life, reduce your ecological footprint and reclaim, in the process, happiness and well being.
The Big Book of Less by Irene Smit and Astrid Van der Hulst (Workman).
MYTHMAKER
A take on the myth of Oedipus, this novel shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, explores identity, home fate and belonging. At its core though it is about mother-daughter relationships and womanhood.
Everything Under by Daisy Johnson (Johnathan Cape).
WELLNESS
If you are feeling unwell, just want a pick-me-up or if you are looking for alternative ways to treat your ailments, this is a comprehensive resource. Drawing on herbalist traditions from around the world, Pursell offers 375 tinctures, salves, teas, capsules, oils and washes you can make at home.
Master Recipes from the Herbal Apothecary by JJ Pursell (Timber Press).
This original arts article first appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
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