is for upbuilding and unzymotic.
These days the definition for upbuilding tends to lean in the direction of building up in the sense of buildings or gentrification, but another way to look at it, and the one I’m invoking for this abecedarium entry is “development; edification.”
I’ve fallen behind on my stated goal of reading 100 books in 2017, and being half way through the year now I’m not sure I’ll catch up. It hardly matters – it was only a fun reach. But one of the fun things I HAVE been doing differently this year is selecting a number of books in a couple of themed areas to read each season. So I get to celebrate feeling like I’ve dug a bit deeply in a couple areas I’m interested in, and still leave plenty of room for a mix of other books.
On this summer’s reading agenda are a number of books that fit into the flora category and I want to mention them. But first, I want to share this unzymotic image. Unzymotic is an obscure word meaning fabulous, and you know I love obscure old words.
I love the WPA (Work Projects Administration) posters, and this one is a favorite. I’ve been a library lover and a voracious reader since childhood, and I remember the joys of bringing armloads of books home during the summer. There was some kind of loosening on the limit of books you could check out at one time during summer and it felt like such a delicious extravagance to haul home huge quantities of books to pore through.
While none of the books I’m about to mention are actually from the library, they are crowd-funded projects that I’m delighted to have supported.
First up is a Kickstarter book, Grow Curious – Creative Activities to Cultivate Joy, Wonder, and Discovery in Your Garden by Gayla Trail. What a delightful book. It arrived earlier this week and it feels like a perfect summer project/day camp adventure kind of workbook. It’s organized into seasonal activities with about 30 activities per season and it’s an invitation to play, to observe, and to be present. There’s actually no need to move through it linearly, it can be a dip and delight kind of experience if you choose. And I was indeed delighted to be paging through it and come upon the entry for Herbarium defined as “a collection of preserved plant material, either whole (from root to tip) or parts, that is used to catalogue the flora of an area.” Tucked between the pages is a pressed flower. How fun!
Head over to this short clip on Kickstarter which was the original “pitch” for the funding which gives a great peek at what the book is all about.
Up next, is another Kickstarter book, which isn’t actually in my hands yet. It’s in the mailstream having been shipped from Norway, and I’m squiggly with anticipation.
Eyes as Big as Plates by Karoline Hjorth & Riitta Ikonen is a photography book filled with images of seniors adorned in botanical materials. Several years ago I saw an image posted on Pinterest by these artists and it delighted me beyond measure. When they started the Kickstarter campaign to put together a book of such images, I was thrilled to support the effort. Do take a peek at the Kickstarter page and get an idea of why I can’t wait to have this one in my hands.
Next is a book that found funding through a different crowd-sourcing platform, Unbound. This one was a long time in the making, suffering a number of delays, which of course is always the risk with such things. But it’s finally been published and mailed and should be arriving shortly.
Letters to a Beekeeper by Alys Fowler and Steve Benbow is a collection of letters, photographs, musings, and friendship between a gardener in southern United States and a beekeeper in England. I’ve seen photos of some of the spreads and it looks unzymotic. I can’t wait to read this celebration of bees and friendship. Here’s a brief blurb from the crowdsourcing pitch if you’d like to check it out.
Sounds like I have a unzymotic upbuilding time ahead of me doesn’t it with my summer floral reading? What a obout you? What’s on your reading list? Any botanical tomes? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
I can so remember being at the library getting a ton of books during the summer when I was young. Then I worked there during my high school days and it was still delightful, although reading books about flora was not generally my subject of choice. That’s when I read Ivanhoe and Wuthering Heights, Jane Erye, etc. The Eyes as Big as Plates looks really cute! Thanks for sharing.
How fun to have had a library job. That and working at a florists, and being a detective sound like three best I’ve-never-had kind of jobs.
Funnily enough I’m reading Barbara Kingsolver’s “Prodigal Summer’ which dips greatly into flora and fauna and such – all way above me, but fascinating.
I’ll check out the elderlies in their veg garb soon – can’t wait!
This morning I was so pleased to see a few bees in my friend’s garden. Tried to photograph it, but it flew away … luckily not on me …
Hooray on the bee sighting – these days it always feels like something to seriously celebrate!
Of course knowing how much I love seeing pictures of people in vintage bee costumes, now I’m obsessed with the idea of appearing as such while some of my friends are dressed in their vegetation costumes. Wouldn’t that be fun? Or perhaps, it’s the stuff of nightmares. 🙂