(Yes, this is me, once-upon-a-time.)
I thought I’d mention the books I swoon over—books you might want to consider buying for yourself, or giving to a very special someone.
The first book on this list is Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Catalog of Beautiful Untranslatable Words from Around the World. The amazing Marie Popova mentioned it on her blog—Brainpickings.org—and I was immediately captured. Why?
Well, judge for yourself. This is just one example:
TSUNDOKU: a Japanese noun for leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
Ha! Say no more! I need this book—to pile on all the others.
Another book that sets the imagination afire is Taschen‘s The Book of Miracles.
The illustrations are breathtaking. Click here for a slideshow. Some examples:
At one point this fall, I decided that I really must have a complete set of Penguin’s Dropped Cap series—until I remembered that my publicly-announced goal was to begin culling books. ;-(
Even so, I might just give in. These books are luscious and beautifully crafted; a complete set would be something to behold. They are, also, classics well worthy of such care. The cover fabric is velvety: just holding one of these books is a sensual treat. Here are only a few …
I look forward to seeing a photo of them on your shelves.
My last recommendation is a series I know well, for I own (and devoured) two of them. These are the lavishly illustrated and annotated editions of Jane Austens‘ work from Harvard University Press:
I have had the very great pleasure of reading the Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion editions. Simply superb.
And, as if this isn’t enough to tempt you, there are many, many “best of” lists coming out now. Here are a few lists I found interesting:
The Best Books of 2014, from the Huffington Post
The 24 Best Fiction Books of 2014, by BuzzFeed Books
The best fiction of 2014, from The Guardian
The Globe 100: The best books of 2014
The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2014 This is an unusual list: extremely interesting.
Two books I’m going to dip into are Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel, as well as My Life in Middlemarch, by Rebecca Mead.
And don’t forget to check out own “best of” summaries for this year:
The best of 2014 in six books, one movie, one plus four podcasts, and three apps
Mags & blogs: my 2014 shortlist
Enjoy!
