Thursday, July 25, 2013

Sailing or Reading?

Has July found you sailing under blue skies?


This magazine cover from the July 1932 Woman's Home Companion is by
Maginel Wright Barney.

If you are a fan of Maginel Wright Barney's illustrations you might want to add this cover to your Pinterest board of her work. As far as I can tell it has not yet been included in her works there and it is one I love. It does typify July for me even though I've never been fortunate enough to sail. Maginel was Frank Lloyd Wright's sister. It is easy to spot her illustrations in old magazines before even seeing her signature as she had a style all her own, one I dearly admire.

No, I've not been sailing this July, nor have I been sunbathing like these beauties from the same time period as the picture above. 


These swimsuit models were in Vogue, January 1933.

My leisure time this July has not been spent sailing or sunbathing but in tamely reading. I read this one--I am a fervent Elizabeth Goudge fan and had never read it:


And I read these:


I won't try to review them for you but I enjoyed each one. Extra special was Michael Sim's book about E.B. White, showing clearly how White's whole life laid the groundwork for his writing of Charlotte's Web. He was truly destined to write the story of Charlotte and Wilbur.

And the three books about Alec Guinness, memoirs by the fascinating man himself, were my favorites. Reading about his acting career was absorbing but I most enjoyed reading of his love of home:

"Tomorrow home: beloved wife, dear dogs, intelligent cat,
outrageous rabbits, Himalayan molehills and 
the tumult of country noises."

Both White and Guinness are now in my Pinterest board named "In My Life I Loved Them All" because I do, I really do. 

That's my July leisure loves, friends. Have you taken time for leisure? Have you gone sailing? Sunbathed at the beach? Read something interesting? I have an enquiring mind and I really want to know.


16 comments:

  1. Hello Dewena,

    What a delightful dose of nostalgia for me, here, today! I feel very connected to the 1940s; love the jazz, the clothes, the romance! The 1932 pic of the bathing beauties is how I visualize those times: carefree, simple, romantic, fun and yes, more conservative than today. 'The Scent of Water' seems like an interesting read; its title alone has catered to my curiosity! Glad you got a chance to relax and catch up on your reading, sailing into wavy plots and distant settings, on a wordy journey to fictional shores.

    Happy Weekend,

    Poppy

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  2. Hi Dewena, loved the fresh (and color-mad) cover...must be part of your great collection of magazines.
    No sailing for me, after a mast and sail fell down on my head in the small boat run by my new husband...way back when. My summer has been spent getting up early before the sun comes up to walk a couple miles through the neighborhood. Sometimes my husband meets me at the end of my walk for breakfast. Stitching t-shirt quilts for two older grandsons, attending their ball games, and swimming with our 3-year-old grandson. Family birthdays, cooking with my 12-year-old grandson (we have a cooking blog that records our efforts).
    I'm not much of a reader unless written by Hilary Mantel or Phillipa Gregory as I adore English royal histories. At the moment, I'm watching the Borgias on Netflix. Yesterday was Lady Chatterly's Lover...a French version :)

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  3. Thank you for sharing the book about E.B. White, Dewena. It is going right to my reading list. It's been a great summer for books, with each one I read quickly becoming my new favorite. I'm desperately missing being by the water this summer, however. We had our beach trip in January, but that already seems far too long ago!

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  4. I have been reading, reading, reading, too... Deweena. Elizabeth Peters today, how I LOVE her books.

    I'm taking a day off to estate sale, garage sale, and do a very little shopping!

    Have a great weekend!

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  5. if i were to ever have a collection of anything ~ it would be vintage magazines.
    how wonderful that you have them! and thank you for sharing them with us.
    the 30's is a favorite era for me... and the 40's. i love everything about each. the graphics the hairstyles the art deco . . . on and on . . .
    it seems to me that there was such style then. even simple photographs taken ... people literally seemed to always pose. and they are delightful!
    i am steeping myself in the dreamy world of jane austen. going from one to another through her novels. the prose slows me down. and i'm so enjoying it.
    still on my list... scapegoat! thanks to you. xoxo

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  6. I love the magazine cover. I will definitely research the artist. Your stack of books looks interesting. Since my huge tour post is published and in the past, I think it's time for a little relaxing with a good book.

    Have you read the Peter Mayle Province books? I am in the middle of those and enjoying.

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  7. I love that bathing suit photo!

    Currently reading ( off and on ) "The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken" :)

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  8. Once a waitress asked what my husband and I had been doing that day. I said " sale-ing" She asked "Was the water nice?" I said "oh I mean rummage sale-ing."
    She liked that. You are one heck of a reader. That's more books than I have read in two years. xoxo,Susie

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  9. My, you have been busy. I love the illustrations. Especially the bathing beauties.

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  10. Oh, Dewena, I love that illustration! Have you ever read The Valley of the God-Almighty Joneses by Maginel Wright Barney? It was recommended to me ages ago and I've BOLO for it ever since. Also, Elizabeth Goudge is one of my top favorite writers; did you love Scent of Water?

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  11. I adore vintage bathing suits. Women look gorgeous in them, in my opinion. AND, Scent of Water is one of my favorite Goudge books. I read it once a year.

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  12. I love the old illustration, and you have been a busy, busy reader! How luxurious!!

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  13. those bathing suits are fabulous and your reading pile is amazing. I've been on a Steve Barry...or is it Berry...kick lately. wasn't as thrilled with the on on the Templars but have enjoyed the rest.

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  14. I would LOVE to have the magazine cover framed and hung in the study!

    In the summers while I was teaching, I would grab every Hollywood biography I could get my hands on! LOL! What a way to relax in the summer! Because this year is our 40th wedding anniversary, I have just read Cokie & Steve Roberts From This Day Forward. Very enjoyable! It has been on my list at least ten years.

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  15. Really, don't you think those women more beautiful than 'swimming costumes' now? I sure do.
    I loved the Sims book too. I am so very fond of EB White, the man and all his writing. His essays are wonderful.

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  16. I have enjoyed reading this summer. So many books and so little time. Your last post got me thinking of all the little stories I used to send to Reader's Digest. Of course, not any were ever accepted! haha!

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