№ 15 reading list | #WITMonth

A heatwave has set in. I hope we will be rid of it soon, for I cannot read in this heat, cannot concentrate. I was born close to the Arctic Circle, for crying out loud, I don't do heatwaves. These days we use ice cream and TV shows to cope. The reading list, which I meant to share sooner, has gone through many changes: I have e.g. removed two rereads and The Human Stain by the deceased Philip Roth. The library didn't have it so Roth will have to wait.

№ 15 reading list:
1  Enduring Love  by Ian McEwan
2  Draft No. 4  by John McPhee
3  Under the 82nd Airborne  by Deborah Eisenberg *
4  The Hare with Amber Eyes  by Edmund de Waal
5  Cheerful Weather for the Wedding  by Julia Strachey **
6  Comet in Moominland  by Tove Jansson **

* My copy is unavailable. The link leads to another collection.

** Rereadings.

I bought John McPhee's book in spring and finished it weeks ago, but I wanted to include it on the list; recommend it to anyone interested in writing. It's not a typical writing style guide with examples and bullet points, but a collection of essays. Professor McPhee uses personal anecdotes to share his insights into creative nonfiction, as he refers to it. On the list is artist Edmund de Waal's family biography. It was textile designer Lisa Fine who recommended the book here on the blog and it's time to read the copy I purchased in Scotland last summer.

August is Women in Translation Month, presented with the #WITMonth tag on social media. It was blogger Meytal Radzinski of Bibliobio who took the initiative and introduced it in 2014. I have never partaken in it, probably because being an Icelander I have been reading translated books by women (and men) since I can remember. Reading translations comes naturally for people born in countries where English isn't the mother tongue. To acknowledge #WITMonth I decided to add one Moomin book to the reading list: Comet in Moominland by Finnish author Tove Jansson, translated by Elizabeth Portch.

A fun fact: The Icelandic word for a comet is halastjarna, literally a star (stjarna) with a tail (hali). In Iceland the book is called Halastjarnan (the definite article) and was translated by the late Steinunn S. Briem, a woman who was a prolific translator.

New books | Summer 2018

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

In the past few weeks I have been pondering over these lines by American poet Mary Oliver (from 'The Summer Day', appeared in New and Selected Poems, Vol. One) and still have no answer. Her simple question is thought-provoking, to say the least. I feel as if I haven't quite landed in Germany. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to move back to the Continent - the culture and way of living in this part of Europe suits me better - I just thought by now I would be more settled. I have been looking for a part-time job where I get a chance to improve my spoken German before taking on something more challenging but haven't found anything. A bookshop didn't even reply to my email. How ironic is that? The good news is that our oldest has finished her studies in Scotland. We went on a road trip to pick her up, took a ferry across the Channel from Calais and got to admire the White Cliffs of Dover again.

At this point I have a few drafts lined up but I wanted to end my blog silence with a list of new books. I'm excited about Michael Ondaatje’s novel Warlight, his first in seven years. If you like his work allow me to point out Eleanor Wachtel's recent interview with him for CBC Radio. Her podcast Writers and Company is one of the finest for book lovers.

New books:
· Warlight  by Michael Ondaatje (Vintage). The last book I read by him was Anil's Ghost, and before that, The English Patient. Liked both. You may already have spotted the cover in the blog's sidebar; expect to find it on a reading list in the near future.
· The Beautiful Summer  by Cesare Pavese (Penguin). A coming-of-age story that takes place in Italy in the 1930s. Originally published in 1949.
· The Years  by Annie Ernaux (Fitzcarraldo, translated by Alison L. Strayer). This is the UK edition of her memoir, which has already been published in the US. '[A] masterpiece memoir of French life' reads the title of The Guardian review. I was intrigued and intend to read the book, even though I have never read anything by the author.
· There There  by Tommy Orange (Vintage). One of two debut novels on this list of new books, set in a Native American community in Oakland, California, where the author himself was born and raised. This one is getting a lot of good reviews. Like the cover.

· 100 Books That Changed the World  by Scott Christianson and Colin Salter (Rizzoli). 'A tour of global history by way of history’s most important scrolls, manuscripts, and printed books, from Plato and Homer to the twenty-first century—100 must reads.' A book about books that could be fun to have on the coffee table. This one was published in the spring but I wanted to include it on the list.
· The Collected Stories of Machado de Assis  (Liveright Publishing, translated by Margaret Jull Costa + Robin Patterson). I honestly don't remember having heard of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908), the greatest Brazilian writer, until reading Parul Sehgal's review in The New York Times. Hanging my head in shame. If you like short stories you will be happy to learn that the collection is 930 pages.
· A Place for Us  by Fatima Farheen Mirza (Vintage). A debut novel about an Indian Muslim family preparing for the wedding of their daughter. Editorial director Sarah Jessica Parker chose the book for her own imprint, SJP for Hogarth. I'm often wary when celebrities endorse something but I know Parker is a keen reader and she has recommended good books in the past. This Guardian Q&A with the author, a Californian of Indian descent, might interest you.
· The Outsider  by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton). And finally, a crime novel for the King fans out there.

Café Tölke in the Schnoor quarter of Bremen

In the spring I meant to share images from Bremen on the blog but things got in the way. Summer came early and on a warm Sunday I bicycled into the city centre and went for a stroll in the old Schnoor quarter. It was too sunny for photographing but I snapped this photo that captures the mood at Café Tölke, one of the first cafés I tried when we moved here. A small, charming place that specialises in cakes and pies. Once you have found a table and sit there with your coffee and Apfelstrudel you may get the feeling that as long as it stays open the world is going to be okay. That's the atmosphere of some cafés.

images by me, appeared on Instagram 05/03/2018 and 28/05/2018

Blues & reds by Schuyler Samperton Textiles

When my face is not buried in a book you will probably catch me admiring patterned textiles with fascinating motifs (I often wish I had studied decorative art). This week I learned that new designs are soon being added to the fabric collection of Schuyler Samperton Textiles, which launched last year. I'm waiting with bated breath. On the blog I have already introduced some of her patterns and today I'm showing you my mood board of blues and reds, highlighting the Overlea, Cordoba, and Nellcote fabrics. Also, giving you a glimpse into the interior of Lamb's House in Leith, a House & Garden UK feature from 2016.

First, the textiles. The blue and red floral fabric is Overlea and this colourway is called Vermillion. I intend to decorate a nook in my own home with this particular fabric, after I have finished purchasing certain essentials. I also think it would make a beautiful tablecloth. Marine is the name of its blue colourway, next to the bedroom image. The other folded blue fabric is Cordoba in Indigo; the design has a paisley motif. The striped fabric is Pendleton in Brighton.

The Nellcote fabric is another design that I have already shared and cannot get enough of. The fabric sample with the tag shows its blue colourway, called Montego. You can spot it in Apricot, my personal favourite, in the top-right corner (the blue fabric thereunder is Firefly in Deep End). In previous blog entries featuring Samperton's textile design I have included the Doshi pattern; spotted under the cup of latte is its blue colourway Lake. Please follow the links to view the colourways of each fabric on the website of Schuyler Samperton Textiles.

From the pages of House & Garden UK: Lamb's House living room/Davide Lovatti

The bedroom in my mood board belongs to the restored Lamb's House in Leith (Edinburgh), which was built in 1610. The owners are conservation architects and it so happens that the wife, Kristin Hannesdottir, is a fellow Icelander. I remember falling flat for this space, its textiles and exposed beams, when I first saw the house tour featured in House & Garden UK, beautifully photographed by Davide Lovatti. Here you can also view the living room and Kristin's studio, which has a barrel-vaulted ceiling made of Siberian larch. If you're interested in reading about the restoration and viewing more images, simply follow the link.

The studio of conservation architect Kristin Hannesdottir at Lamb's House/Davide Lovatti

top image by me | credit: House & Garden UK, December 2016 · Davide Lovatti