Deborah Harkness

Feels too much. Never enough children, islands, mourners, gossips, & vegetables. Thinks she can warm the stars. Essentially a spy. Historian, novelist & EP, too

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Book Recommendations:

DH

Recommended by Deborah Harkness

Today's #gratitude: 🧫 my COVID continues to be mild 🩺 my doctors are working to figure out when it will be safe for me to get my final chemotherapy treatment 📚 a brilliant new book by @misswalsingham to help me think about something other than Covid and Cancer #simplethings https://t.co/SmLcrdQo50 (from X)

The dazzling new biography of one of history's most misunderstood queens Elizabeth Stuart is one the most misrepresented - and underestimated - figures of the seventeenth century. Labelled a spendthrift more interested in the theatre and her pet monkeys than politics or her children, and long pitied as 'The Winter Queen', the direct ancestor of Elizabeth II was widely misunderstood. Nadine Akkerman's biography reveals an altogether different woman, painting a vivid picture of a queen forged in the white heat of European conflict. Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James VI and I, was married to Frederick V, Elector Palatine in 1613. The couple were crowned King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, only to be deposed and exiled to the Dutch Republic in 1620. Elizabeth then found herself at the epicentre of the Thirty Years' War and the Civil Wars, political and military struggles that defined seventeenth-century Europe. Following her husband's death in 1632, Elizabeth fostered a cult of widowhood, dressing herself and her apartments in black, and conducted a long and fierce political campaign to regain her children's birthright - by force, if possible - wielding her pen with the same deft precision with which she once speared boars from horseback. Through deep immersion in the archives and masterful detective work, Akkerman overturns the received view of Elizabeth Stuart, showing her to be a patron of the arts and canny stateswoman with a sharp wit and a long memory. On returning to England in 1661, Elizabeth Stuart found a country whose people still considered her their 'Queen of Hearts'. Akkerman's biography reveals the impact Elizabeth Stuart had on both England and Europe, demonstrating that she was more than just the grandmother of George I.

DH

Recommended by Deborah Harkness

Today's gratitude: 📚 this charming book and its reminders of so many small blessings we enjoyed before pandemic--and will hopefully enjoy once again 💨 a brisk walk on a windy day 🪴 dreaming about new succulents to plant in pots around the kitchen door #gratitude #simplethings https://t.co/w1H22cee0G (from X)

Close Again book cover

by Ella Frances Frances Sanders·You?

New York Times bestselling author Ella Frances Sanders presents the book we all must have to remind ourselves of the things we miss from our pre-2020 lives and the things we will enjoy again, such as standing next to people in a coffee shop, at the movie theater, or in the bookstore.... This book is a meaningful and personal illustrated collection of place, of chance, and of love. Moments, interactions, experiences, collisions, events, places, serendipities—the things that we all, as a collective and in-waiting humanity, are longing to fold back into. The carefree, now-historical moments of before that we dream about: the crossing of paths, the potential which was held within each day, the beautiful accidents of being alive that are not currently able to happen in the same ways. It allows a person reading it some space to consider their own missing, the chances left untaken and the stones left unturned. In a soft and beautiful way, it reminds us that the small things we as individuals choose to ascribe value to are valuable, that the meaning that makes up our days and weeks and months, if taken away, can leave us feeling directionless and full of emotional aches. Within the space of the book is hope, and reflection, and the assurance that we will all be close again.

DH

Recommended by Deborah Harkness

@TessaFloreano I like the homemade recipe from @MayaKaimalFoods in her CURRIED FAVORS book but if I'm in a rush the best and most authentic I've found is Masala Chai from @Smithteamakers https://t.co/wVyXbSiG4b (from X)

Curried Favors: Family Recipes from South India book cover

by Maya Kaimal MacMillan, Brian Hagiwara, Zubin Shroff, Maya Kaimal Macmillan·You?

This engaging cookbook, which features the tropical dishes of South India, demystifies the cuisine and offers more than 100 recipes with light, tropical flavors and simple praparations, along with sumptuous photographs of the food and the region. 24 full-color illustrations.

DH

Recommended by Deborah Harkness

#TeamMarcus will love this book and it will give fresh insights into his character. https://t.co/Qb8ACGz2pu (from X)

Winner of the 2021 National Jewish Book Award for Con­tem­po­rary Jew­ish Life and Prac­tice Finalist for the 2021 Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Wall Street Journal, Chicago Public Library, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A startling and profound exploration of how Jewish history is exploited to comfort the living. Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture―and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly antisemitic attacks―Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: she was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones. In these essays, Horn reflects on subjects as far-flung as the international veneration of Anne Frank, the mythology that Jewish family names were changed at Ellis Island, the blockbuster traveling exhibition Auschwitz, the marketing of the Jewish history of Harbin, China, and the little-known life of the "righteous Gentile" Varian Fry. Throughout, she challenges us to confront the reasons why there might be so much fascination with Jewish deaths, and so little respect for Jewish lives unfolding in the present. Horn draws upon her travels, her research, and also her own family life―trying to explain Shakespeare’s Shylock to a curious ten-year-old, her anger when swastikas are drawn on desks in her children’s school, the profound perspective offered by traditional religious practice and study―to assert the vitality, complexity, and depth of Jewish life against an antisemitism that, far from being disarmed by the mantra of "Never forget," is on the rise. As Horn explores the (not so) shocking attacks on the American Jewish community in recent years, she reveals the subtler dehumanization built into the public piety that surrounds the Jewish past―making the radical argument that the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity.

DH

Recommended by Deborah Harkness

Todays #gratitude: 📖 escaping into a new book by Stanley Tucci 🎧 listening to ADOW's Lindsay Duncan read an old favorite PRIDE AND PREJUDICE on @audible_com ✍️ all the people who put words on paper or to music & offer comfort, empathy, & new worlds to explore #simplethings https://t.co/EA54v2NPvu (from X)

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Named a Notable Book of the Year by NPR and The Washington Post From award-winning actor and food obsessiveStanley Tucci comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen. Stanley Tucci grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the kitchen table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table, and now he takes us beyond the savory recipes and into the compelling stories behind them.​ Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about his growing up in Westchester, New York; preparing for and shooting the foodie films Big Night and Julie & Julia; falling in love over dinner; and teaming up with his wife to create meals for a multitude of children. Each morsel of this gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burned dishes, is as heartfelt and delicious as the last. Written with Stanley’s signature wry humor, Taste is for fans of Bill Buford, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Ruth Reichl—and anyone who knows the power of a home-cooked meal.

DH

Recommended by Deborah Harkness

For creative friends and family, I highly recommend @austinkleon's KEEP GOING: 10 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD. Love this book. It is inspirational and practical! https://t.co/hbxTcV3F7Q (from X)

Keep Working. Keep Playing. Keep Creating. In his previous books Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work!, both New York Times bestsellers, Austin Kleon gave readers the keys to unlock their creativity and showed them how to become known. Now he offers his most inspiring work yet, with ten simple rules for how to stay creative, focused, and true to yourself—for life. The creative life is not a linear journey to a finish line, it’s a loop—so find a daily routine, because today is the only day that matters. Disconnect from the world to connect with yourself—sometimes you just have to switch into airplane mode. Keep Going celebrates getting outdoors and taking a walk (as director Ingmar Bergman told his daughter, ”The demons hate fresh air”). Pay attention, and especially pay attention to what you pay attention to. Worry less about getting things done, and more about the worth of what you’re doing. Instead of focusing on making your mark, work to leave things better than you found them. Keep Going and its timeless, practical, and ethical principles are for anyone trying to sustain a meaningful and productive life.

DH

Recommended by Deborah Harkness

Today was a magical day. Great sleep after a lovely evenino, great writing inspired by the Welsh hills, a timely message, & a new book from @SophiaMyles that has just delighted my witchy soul (@awitchspurpose’s WITCHERY). #gratitude for my tribe and this journey we are on. ♥️🙏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 https://t.co/CNd9IIqhbK (from X)

Everywhere, the witches are rising. Are you ready to answer the call and embrace your own inner witch? In this book, Indigenous seer, healer, and spirit communicator Juliet Diaz guides you on a journey to connect with the Magick within you. She explains how to cast off what doesn't serve you, unleash your authentic self, and become an embodiment of your truth. You'll also learn the skills and techniques you need to build your own Magickal craft. Within these enchanted pages you'll discover how to: - Connect with the power of your inner witch Create spells, potions, and rituals for love, protection, healing, manifestation and more - Amplify your energy by working with a Book of Shadows Create an altar and decorate it according to the seasons Work with the Moon and the Seasons of the Witch - Connect with your ancestors to receive their wisdom Filled with Magick, inspiration, and love, Witchery is your guide and companion on a wickedly delicious journey to true self-empowerment.