Goodreads Best Books Choice Awards 2020
Source Best Fiction, Best Debut, Best Historical Fiction, Best Memoir & Autobiography
I don’t read enough (if any) contemporary literature, but I score even worst on new releases. Still, if I come across a title a few times, I will remember it and sometimes I get the audiobook (like I did this week with The Midnight Library) or a copy at the local charity stores after everyone else has read it.
End of year lists are instrumental in this endeavor, and I particularly trust the Goodreads Best Books Choice Award, because the winners are selected based on readers’ votes – 5,674,480 votes this year, to be precise! Have a look and find your next read(s). Make sure to check the runner ups as well, especially because sometimes they come very close to the winner like it happened this year for Fiction (only 5 votes apart!)
The Literary Gift
I laughed when I saw this image on the Literary Gift Company Instagram and I realised they are a prime example of a curated gift shop, one of my suggestions of Uncommon Places to Find Exquisite Gifts. Have a look at their website if you’re still after some Christmas gifts for bibliophile dear ones or if you’re looking for the perfect wrapping paper, maybe even for one of the books above?
Layering Coats and Blazers
Like you, probably, I haven’t been out a lot this year, but one tube ride into Central London and back two weeks ago provided more inspiration than I’ve had in months. One example: the man in an impeccably dressed couple who was wearing two layered blazers and a coat on top of a plain black t-shirt. The outer coat was black too, the two blazers were both different checkered prints. It looked really good, all those layered blazers and coats, and I was curious to see more examples. Here is a selection I made for you, now we only need opportunities to try some of these out!
The Red Telephone Box
With a Brit sub-theme this week it seems, after the tube story above, this article about a Red Telefone Box Graveyard made me remember a conversation I had at some point about wanting to own one. I had a look online then and some of the prices were absolutely ridiculous. Now here it is, a graveyard (one among many, as the article suggests) full of these iconic objects deteriorating and possibly going to waste. Upon research, it seems they are slowly being refurbished for people who would like to own one (and are ready to pay for it).
The Red Telefone Box was voted among Britain’s top 10 design icons and it has been featured in countless artistic and pop culture acts, from photographs and paintings to TV productions. It has also been transformed into works of art itself (like this project for BT) or given alternative purposes – a library, an art gallery, a defibrillator, a shower cubicle, a disco, a cafe, an advent calendar… among many others. A veritable icon with a considerable fanbase around the world!
Globes
At the beginning of the year, I was looking for a vintage globe lamp, but I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted and eventually, it slipped my mind. Stumbling upon this article about bespoke globe making this week brought back the thought and here I was once again browsing through dozens of decor ideas including globes. I think it makes for a classic, stylish and playful accessory and now I am hunting once again! Get inspired too here.
Absurd Christmas Gifts 1953
This gem from the archives of Life magazine made me laugh out loud and was perfect for my slightly deflated Christmas spirit. As someone rightfully pointed out this week, I peaked too early with my carrols on repeat and decorations up in late November.
I happen to find a couple of these ‘absurd’ gifts from the 50s quite covetable, if I am being honest. What is not to love about Work gloves with red felt fingernails and a big ring on the wedding finger. Why couldn’t work gloves be pretty and frivolous too? The same goes, in my opinion, for Sleep mask for light sleepers is satin-edged in gold braid, has gold eyelashes, brows and twinkling rhinestone stars. Sounds like the stuff of dreams!
Châlets of Switzerland
One of the reasons my holiday spirit is running low is also the fact that I am, quite literally, dreaming of a white Christmas, watching the snow fall from the sky and enjoying a few exhausting hours on the ski slopes, none of which I can foresee in the near future, unfortunately. Thus, browsing through photographer Patrick Lambertz’s mesmerizing works featuring Châlets of Switzerland against an almost immaculate white backdrop has been a bittersweet experience, but nonetheless, one that I enjoyed and I thought you might too!
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Merci!
