Living Vintage

Blog. Salvage. Repurpose. Build. Collect and Share Vintage Ideas.

You are here: Home / Inspire / On My Bedside Table #1

By 10 Comments

On My Bedside Table #1

On My Bedside Table

I read books year round, but when the time changes and the sun goes down at 5:30 and then the weather starts to turn chilly, I seem to read much more.  I enjoy when other bloggers share the books they’re reading so I thought:  why not me too?

So welcome to another new blog series.

Here’s what’s currently on my bedside table:

The Sweet By and By.       One of my friends on Goodreads recommended this book to me.  I have gulped pages of this book in one sitting and have about 4 pages to read before I finish this book.  It’s a very sweet story about five sassy women and their relationships to each other.  Every chapter is spoken from one of their perspectives.  Most of the scenes in the book occur in the nursing home where two of the women live out the rest of their days:  Margaret, sassy and droll who reminds me of my grandmother sometimes, and Bernice, sweet, funny, and not quite lucid.  Lorraine is their nurse, “God-questioning, and church-going” who loves and takes care of them.     Rhonda, a road hardened hairdresser and (after being abandoned by her mother and raised by an abusive grandmother), volunteers at the nursing home and the experience softens and saves her.    The last character is Lorraine’s daughter, April, who is very bright and ambitious.   It’s surprising to me somehow that the book is written by a man — he is able to write like a woman so easily.  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

The New Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook.    How many men do you know who are hard to buy for?    I can think of at least two, my husband being one of them.  When my sister and niece asked for a Christmas hint for him, I thought:  why not a cast iron cookbook?  He loves the pans he inherited from his mom and we use them often.  The author of this cookbook suggests that you can use a cast iron skillet every day, and based on her wide variety of recipes, I can believe it.  Some recipes that I know we will try and soon:  chicken-fried steak with chorizo gravy, pan-seared pork tenderloin with tarragon, Cajun halibut, and chicken potpie with cheddar biscuit topping.  I could go on and on, but you’d probably cuss me for making you hungry, and I don’t need that karma.

Gone Girl.    Plain and simple:  I want to read this book before we watch the movie  — books are usually better than movies in my opinion — and I’m hoping to do both before the Academy Awards air on February 22nd.    (Rosamund Pike  is nominated for Best Actress this year as you may know.)  I’m sure this thriller will be as good as I’ve heard it is.

[UPDATE:  The book was much better than the movie!]

Tapestry of Fortunes.    I received this book in the mail from my mom as a birthday gift this year.  (Don’t you just love to get books as gifts?)  I remember introducing her and my sister to Elizabeth Berg many years ago, when I handed them a copy of one of Elizabeth’s first books, Talk Before Sleep. (It still remains my favorite of her many tomes, perhaps because that same year my beloved Aunt Velvet died, so that’s probably why the story resonated so powerfully with all of us.)    I’m looking forward to reading her new novel about four women who “venture into their pasts in order to shape their futures, fates, and fortunes”.  I’m sure I will love it.

Now, it’s your turn.  What are you reading at the moment?

Kim signature

P.S.  Yes, this post does contain affiliate links.

 

 

 

Comments

  1. I am reading a nonfiction book entitled “Empire of the Comanche Moon”. If you enjoy books about Texas history you will find this book very interesting! It is about Cynthia Ann Parker and the role the Comanches played in our state’s history.

    Reply

  2. Good Morning Kim,
    I am finally taking the time to write a comment to your always wonderful blog postings. I have been following you for a bit of time now. I love all that you post! Like many women, I have spread myself too thin and spend/waste time. Instead I should be connecting with others like minded people, who enjoy the same things I enjoy!
    Your book selections look/are wonderful. Much like my nightstand, piled high in tomes, rich with information and delightful tales to take us places we might otherwise enjoy! ANYTHING ELIZABETH BERG, ANYTHING,PLEASE! “Talk Before Sleep” was my first Berg book. I am still haunted, and captivated by that book. Breast cancer is and was my unfortunate family woe. Berg, relays those feelings so well in this novel. I cannot think of a time since I was 8 years old that this awful disease has not impacted my life in someway. I feel this book gives us such an honest look to the emotions that play out with this disease.
    Gone Girl, a twisty dark ride. Have not seen the movie, but the book was a great read! Cast Iron is a way of life at my house! I am a vegan so this would not be a recipe book I would “gobble” up (pun intended) but cookbooks are great reads, too!
    I just finished Nora Ephron’s book ” I remember Nothing: And Other Refections” Hilarious and poignant at the same time. I am in two book clubs so I often listen to the books. But there is nothing like holding that book in your hand.
    Keep blogging, Kim! Love your photos, your blog, and the fact that you are saving beauty from the landfill one project at a time.
    Best, Barb

    Reply

  3. Kim, your book list has my attention and interest, I wish I had your list while I was in the book store yesterday. We use our inherited cast iron regularly. My husband worships the shelf it sits on. Nice post. Best, Kim

    Reply

  4. Thank you for some new reading possibilities…so many books, so little time…and what if I miss one? :–)

    My two recent favorites are:
    The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown – loved, loved this non-fiction book!
    The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty – this one was so incredible it left me gasping for air!

    Reply

  5. I love Elizabeth Berg and have read and re-read all of hers. Just waiting, as always, until she puts out a new one. I also feel this way about Alexander McCall Smith and Barbara Kingsolver. Love them too. And if you like southern women writers, you can’t go wrong with Kaye Gibbons. She’s wonderful. I am now reading through the entire Harry Potter series. I got into a discussion with my nieces over Christmas and said I’d read the first one and liked it, but didn’t feel the need to go on. They grew up with them and adore them, and insisted I should read them all as they keep getting better. They do. I’m on number 5 now and hooked. Gone Girl was great – very entertaining quick read. The movie was good too, but not as good as the book (as usual).

    Reply

  6. Kim,
    Thank you for this list. I will be getting all of them, except the cast iron one, I do not like to cook. 🙂
    Blessings

    Oh…love your blog so very much! 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.