I love Charles Darwin. I love his sweet, flawed humanity; his affection for his family; his books, his quirky letters, his diaries. Most of all, I love his innate, constant wonder in the face of the natural world. Join me in celebrating Darwin’s birthday. Here are some of my favorite ways to conjure the spirit [...]
Entries Tagged as 'books'
Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Pride and Prejudice, and Mozart’s Birthday!
January 26th, 2013 · 1 Comment
January 27th, 2013 is a big anniversary. Time to celebrate! I plan to rise early and spend a few quiet hours curled up with a copy of Persusion (I’ve read P&P lately, and winter puts me in the mood for Captain Wentworth) while I listen to Mozart’s violin sonatas. Austen is a strong alternative voice in [...]
Tags: books, inspiration
The Tribe of Teenager
January 14th, 2013 · 1 Comment
The other day Tom and I were on our way to pick Claire and her friend up from the local movie theater, where they’d seen “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” We must have been 30 seconds late, because my phone dinged with a text: Where r u?! As we approached we spotted them standing [...]
On Planners, Productivity, and Idle Pleasures
January 7th, 2013 · 10 Comments
Happy New Year, everyone! Here is my first confession of 2013: I’m a planner geek-nerd-obsessive. I love the tactile and aesthetic delights of a paper planner, as well as the practical benefits. Opening a new planner on January 1 is something I start looking forward to weeks before the calendar page actually flips. I absolutely [...]
Eggs: Fresh and Freshest
April 21st, 2012 · 1 Comment
In France, farm eggs at the market are stamped with two dates: “Fresh until,” and “Extra-fresh until…” You can actually request extra-fresh eggs from your fromager/egg-monger! Eggs are extra-fresh until they are about 7 days old, and during this time are best for coddling, poaching, mayonnaise, aioli, mousse, or a very special cake. If you [...]
If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland: A beautiful book (and an apology)
March 24th, 2012 · 5 Comments
Brenda Ueland is the author of If You Want to Write, penned 75 years ago, and one of my most beloved books on the creative process. Who else will tell us that aimless wandering walking, staring out the window, and “moodling” all count as doing our work? So I was aghast to realize that when [...]
A Faerie Tangle
February 19th, 2012 · 7 Comments
I’ve been engaged these many months in the research and writing of my new book, The Urban Bestiary (and I am supposed to have the manuscript to my editor next week!–hence my shameful neglect of the Tangled Nest this last month…). I’m finding that immersion in the subject matter of the Bestiary is bringing close-to-home [...]
Tags: art, books, urban nature
The Freedom Manifesto: A Tiny Review
October 12th, 2011 · 7 Comments
In my last post I mentioned one of my favorite little books, The Freedom Manifesto, by British author, rural smallholder, and Idler editor Tom Hodgkinson. If you’re looking for some intelligent delight and fine essaying, I hope you’ll pick it up yourself. How could you resist, with chapters like: “Banish Anxiety; Be Carefree,” “The Tyranny [...]
Tags: books
Off the Shelf: Cookbook of the Month
September 3rd, 2011 · 13 Comments
I confess to having a slight cookbook addiction, one I have no intention of giving up. I keep cookbooks by my bed and read them like novels. My kitchen bookshelves are overflowing, and whenever someone wants to buy me something for my birthday, somehow I just can’t keep from asking for a cookbook. My cookbooks [...]
Kelly and Erik From Root Simple: Bees, Bread, And Radical Home Economics
May 4th, 2011 · 2 Comments
A guest post from Tom: In a perfect storm of mismatched calendars, Lyanda was doing a reading in Portland this week while Kelly and Erik of the blog Root Simple (formerly Homegrown Evolution) were in the Seattle area, doing events in support of their great new book Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer [...]
Tags: bees, books, food, urban farming
