I can’t believe we’re almost to the end of the year and I will have shared 52 books of the week! I’m going to think about keeping this feature or just switching back to sharing favorites – music, books, shows, clothes, technology, foods, etc. It’s kind of nice for me to change things up, so I don’t become a slave to creating specific content over and over again. You also get a lot of variety!
Here are my book picks for October…
The Organic Artist
This is probably my favorite book from the month. I keep going back to it over and over again to review the projects and ideas and bookmark the ones I want to try on my own.
This book is all about making your own art supplies, which is right up my alley. Art supplies and making things…yes, please! I know that a stick will never be a better pen than one I can buy from a store and the pigments I smash up from rocks I forage will never be as vibrant or pure as ones that are professionally bottled, but there is a sort of joy and satisfaction that comes from making something yourself. I’ve already started turning a couple of turkey feathers into dip pens and I made a brush out of a hallow stick I found in the yard. I’ll always use supplies from an art store, but these will be a nice supplement.
Jeff didn’t know what to make of me gathering sticks and such from the yard to make paint brushes! He’s just learned to let me do my thing!
The Beauty of Home
This is a beautiful, classic decorating book that I enjoyed looking through. I have followed Marie Flanigan on Instagram for a while and I was so excited when I saw she had a book coming out that I ordered the pre-release.
The spaces featured are definitely high-end, but they are clean and timeless. It’s not completely my style, but I see how elements of my style are used in different ways and I find that to be inspiring. It would be boring if I only bought books that spoke to where my style is right now. Books that feature rooms and homes that are slightly outside of my style will push my boundaries and help me continue to evolve and refine.
Inspired You
Since I announced that I am writing another home book, I had to feature my very first book for those who didn’t know it existed or haven’t read it! I had a fun time looking through this book while I was working on my current book. I wanted to make sure I didn’t cover the same topics in the same way. I was reminded of how proud I was of this book.
It features a very real home that was decorated on a budget, lots of projects, and oodles of budget-friendly decorating ideas. I think it’s a great book for those who are just setting up home, but it’s good for anyone who wants some inspiration and a dose of encouragement. I talk about heart issues like contentment and materialism in addition to talking about second-hand shopping and refinishing a dresser. It’s a good mix.
It was priced at $9.00 when I featured it on Instagram, but now the price has gone up to $24! Sorry about that! When I feature an older book, I guess the uptick in sales jacks up the price. If you wait a little bit, I’m sure it’ll go back down.
In the Mood for Colour
If you haven’t noticed, I absolutely love color! I wasn’t fully aware of this love until I started mixing my own colors for painted furniture and then developed colors for the MMS Milk Paint line. Color mixing was just an intuitive thing for me (and I managed to retain a lot of color theory from my elementary art classes) and I love playing with color in the form of paints, pigments, fabrics, and just about anything else.
So, this book is speaking my language.
The photography is so beautiful and all of the color palettes and textures are yummy. I have pored over this book a lot and highly recommend it for my fellow color/design/art lovers.
I hope you find at least one book that you enjoy in this round-up!
If you missed previous books of the week, you can find them here…
Making a Life | Martha Stewart’s Organizing | Essentialism | Slipcover Style | Daily Painting
City Farmhouse Style | A Place for Everything | Color: A Visual History | Conscious Creativity
The Life of a Bowerbird | New Americana | Making Winter | Painting Clouds & Skies in Oil
The Art of Beatrix Potter | BHG New Cookbook | Nora Murphy’s Country House Style | BHG Trade Secrets | Simply Living Well
The Art of Still Life | Cozy Minimalist Home | Creating a New Old House | Keep Going
All Along You Were Blooming | Furniture Makes the Room | On Flowers | French Country Cottage Inspired Gatherings | Get Your House Right
New Farmhouse Style | Mastering Composition | Beautiful | Spruce
The Stuff of Life | Old Home Love | Beginning Drawing Atelier | BHG Decorating Book 1961
John Singer Sargent Portraits in Charcoal | Welcome Home | Great Country French Style | Arriving Home
So many books so little time…..
My vote is that you go back to showing all your favorites. I think there is bigger outreach in that format.
I love your book reviews, so informative! I’m a stickler for grammar though and your use of the word pour should be replaced with pore. In this case pore is a verb and simply means ‘to read or study carefully’. Pour is usually used in reference to liquid. Based on my enjoyment of your first book I can’t wait for your new one!
Oh, thank you for teaching me that! I always thought it was “pour” as in you’re pouring your attention over the book, like a liquid! A bit more metaphorical!
As much as I enjoy the books I prefer the favorites posts but maybe including a book or two.
T
I much prefer your Favorites posts! So much fun to find new things to try that someone else already likes! Love your blog. Keep up the good work!
I love your book of the month posts! I have a funny story to share – as you share books I have added the ones that interest me to my Amazon wish list. Today is my birthday, and since I couldn’t tell my husband anything I wanted for gifts he surprised me by ordering my entire Amazon wish list!! I am so happy but will be very careful with what I add to my list in the future LOL.
Oh my, that is so funny! What a kind gesture, though. He sounds like a winner!
I bought that book and that’s how I found you and started reading your blog ever since ?
I enjoy the books you choose, partially as it gives us a window into how your mind works and what inspires it. I find that when I peruse books now, I think “would Marian like this”? A recent one I found at HomeGoods is called “Patterns of India: A Journey Through Colors, Textiles, and the Vibrancy of Rajasthan” – I think it might interest you.
I adore books!!!!
Love the sticks, greenery, and feather display…but what is the white vessel?
It’s a ceramic berry basket I bought a few years ago.
Mariann! It’s Dec., but I just read your CreativeYou. So many good words & encouragements! AGAIN your transparency reassured me you’ve been through my learning curve (especially forsaking the magazine pic idolatry.) I reread the book & made 2 lists: things I’m inspired to seek & things I’m willing to do. Repairing wall cracks & painting walls in every room are #1. It’s been 2 years since we were peered which trippled the wall cracks. All are stable it’s time to work! Then furniture & cabinet redos – stripping, painting +/- milk paints, waxing. I definitely have SDAP & ADD. I will borrow my ADD hyper focus to get stuff done. No more envy. After 4-ish years of loving you, I am focused & committed to act in small increments.