July 23, 2008

Birthday Haul

Due to bibliochaos in a variety of forms, I’ve not been able to show you the fine stack of books I received for my birthday last month. The top five a gift from my wonderful in-laws from across the sea where books are cheap, and so I’ve got Henry James’s Daisy Miller, An Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel, and Penelope Lively’s Consequences before me. As well as two books I’ve read already but absolutely had to own– Rachel Cusk’s A Life’s Work and Ian McEwan’s Saturday. My friends Kate and Paul sent me Stalking the Wild Asparagus, in hopes that I’ll go foraging for muskrat and cattails. There is even a recipe for raccoon pie, but I’m not baking. My friend Paul and Hannah, his partner-in-goodness, gave me a copy of Red Wine on the Carpet by Mrs. Danvers (who is said to be a niece of the Mrs. Danvers). Nicola Barker’s Darkmans came from Bronwyn and Alex. The remarkable Rebecca Rosenblum blessed me with Forms of Devotion by Diane Schoemperlen, and finally the bottom three from my fantastic husband who always knows just what I need– Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews, Garbo Laughs by Elizabeth Hay, and the breathtakingly marvelous This is San Francisco.