Beautiful book covers and great titles

There is ample time and opportunity for creative expression in whatever area I choose. a louise hay daily affirmation

Gröna visboken

I’ve been outside almost the entire day.

I impregnated the outdoor floors in my parents garden. Painting transparent oil, smelling its sharp ingredients, listening to the birds around me.

Outdoor patio floor photo - structure texture color love

I also had my coffee outside laying in the new white bench that has a carved rose motive to lean against. Then I finally took out a blanket and crafted a bit – outdoors. Feeling like summer is on its way. I cut and glued some in my inspiration book and added imagery to write on in my diary. Organizing recent clippings in folders and books. Reading.

I’m reading The Time traveler’s wife right now. I started reading it last week on my birthday and it was such a treat to give myself. This book is a wonderful romance novel, where the “first meting” is repeated more than usual because Henry, the long thin librarian, travels in time and comes to visit his wife both as a child and as a grown up.

Thrifted novels The first half of the book was sweet, fun and cute. The second half is just as well written but has that bittersweet feeling that all will not end well. Reading this book reminds me of when I was reading Anna Gavalda’s Hunting and Gathering (which has a much better title in Swedish; Tillsammans är man mindre ensam). I was feeling this book in my gut, that tickling feeling you get when you’re falling in love with someone or something. I recommend both of these books very much.

Please feel free to share your tips on Great Books for Summer Reading below!

This week end I thrifted a huge pile at my cousin’s school where the kids had arranged all kinds of activities to collect money for a prom and trip.

Five (5!) novels for ten (10!) SEK, plus a meditation guide with daily thoughts for self-help developing for women! Which one should I start reading?

I also thrifted a music book that I just couldn’t resist because of the wonderful cover and cute illustrations (see below). I will have to take it to my grandmother’s piano soon and take it for a test drive there…

Bonden och kråkan
Illustration from my new song book called Gröna visboken (Green songbook).

Pink music book
Inside the cover of the music book. Love these illustrations and the simple lines. Inspiration!

Don’t forget to give me some reading tips for the coming summer! Thanks!

21 Responses

  1. Have you every read Ann of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery? Dd went and bought the movie with Megan Follows starring as Anne. She rented Anne of Avonlea. I picked up Anne of Green Gables The Continuing Story at the Library and watched it.

    Is your birthday passed? Did I miss it? If so Happy Belated Birthday! I’ll play a tune on my Violin and Mandolin in Honor of your Birthday too!

    God Bless Your Creative Life!!!

  2. Happy birthday! *^v^*
    I’ve just joined the local library and rented “The Time traveler?s wife” you recommended, I’m going to start reading it soon. Have you read “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon? It’s a great book, I’ve just finished it and I’m enchanted with the story.

  3. First: thank you for sharing your creativity!

    On my reading list for the summer are, among others, Olav Duun and Knut Hamsun (Norwegian classics), “Skyskrapertrilogien” by Tove Nilsen, “Jerusalem” by Selma Lagerl?f, any book by John Irving… I’ve been into Scandinavian litterature lately, and have sooo many books on my list… It’s a good thing to be a teacher with a nice summer vacation… :p

  4. Here’s a romance that brought tears to my eyes. What a love story: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. WUAHHH

  5. Hi Hannah– Love the patina of the wood in the photo and the imagery of your day in the yard. I’m so glad you opened the floor for book suggestions as I’m in need of some good fiction lately.
    Monica

  6. Ooh! Flassie, I agree. I loved the Anne of Green Gables books as a child and have been lately wanting to re-read them. And Scrowlscrowl, I read the Pearl as a child too. A wonderful quick read.

  7. Oooh The Time Traveler’s Wife is LOVELY. That’s a very good read!

    I highly recommend:
    Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
    Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
    Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho

    Great summer reading. ;)

  8. So when are you publishing your second book Hanna?

    My reading tips are:
    To a God Unknown (John Steinbeck)
    Hiam (Eva Sallis)
    Beowulf, with footnotes!
    Mrs Dalloway (Woolf) + The Hours (Cunningham)

    I’m going to read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, which I believe is great but I can’t really say yet.

    XOXO

  9. Have you read I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith? I love it. If you have and enjoyed it then maybe The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice would appeal – it had a similar feel to me. Have you seen BookMooch.com? Great book swap site.

  10. Hej!
    Tack sn?lla f?r bes?ket hos mig!
    Jod? jag har gjort tv?larna sj?lv, tycker det ?r mysigt att ha dem framme, f?r de ?r b?de fina att se p? och luktar gott :)
    Vilken h?rlig blogg du har..har tittat bak?t bland inl?ggen, skall kolla lite mer t?nkte jag :)
    Kram
    Mia

  11. I second all the recommendations for Steinbeck- he’s one of my favourite authors of all time- I love his book ‘Travels with Charley’ where he journeys around the US with his dog, kind of like an early Bill Bryson.

    I always return to the childrens books by Laura Ingalls Wilder when I am feeling in need for some cozy reading.

    Any book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Angela Carter or Kurt Vonnegut will keep me happy!

  12. My current crime addiction is Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallender series. Also like Anita Shreve. Have recently read Anne Enright’s The Gathering, and John Banville’s The Sea.

    The music book looks absolutely wonderful, what a great find.

  13. I loved The Time Traveller?s Wife too. I am reading If You Could See Me Now by Cecilia Aher and on my bookshelf waiting to be read are Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones and Life Of Pi by Yann Martel.

  14. I just started reading Heart of Darkness, the book on which Francis Ford Coppola based the film Apocalypse Now on. I loved the movie, so I hope I like the book to.

    Otherwise I would recommend:
    Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
    Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
    Ett Nytt Land Utanf?r Mitt F?nster by Theodor Kalifatides

    Enjoy!

  15. James Conrad….very dark stuff.

    “Loitering with Intent” by Muriel Spark is my latest completed read. Humorous & mysterious, it gives a bit of insight into the writer’s creative process. Did the heroine steal her characters from real life or did the characters steal their lives from her novel?

    I also enjoyed “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” a few years back and more recently “I Had Brain Surgery, What’s Your Excuse?” (What is it with me and altered brains?)

  16. Hi, I just popped over from Craftypod (uh. . . I think? I’ve been surfin’ today! :)
    If you enjoyed The Time Traveller’s Wife, I can suggest the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldan. Great reading and, although there are 6 books in series, you will be sad when the last one ends. Great for long cold winters as the main character’s lover is capable of warming the coldest afternoon. :)
    I love your blog and will be back. Thank you for sharing.
    Suzanne G in NC

  17. Hej jag ?r svensk!, jag har inte l?st n?gra av de b?ckerna men kanske ska eftersom du rekommenderar dom!

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