Arts Design

10 MAGNIFICENT BOOKS PRESENT THE BEAUTIFUL SELF NOW

Courtesy of Rizzoli. Marella Agnelli: The Last Swan.

We begin our week dedicated to Beautiful Self with a look at a new crop of beautiful books that present the self in the forms of memoirs, autobiographies, and diaries. From names you will know to homespun stories documenting the lives of “regular” folks, each is a magnificent personal tapestry. Perhaps, you might even see pieces of yourself in them?

1. MARELLA AGNELLI: THE LAST SWAN

Marella Agnelli was one of the great beauties of the 20th century. Nicknamed “The Swan” by photographer Richard Avedon, she was a glamorous socialite, an elegant designer, an avid art collector, and a prolific contributor to Vogue magazine, all with a beautiful sense of self.

She began life as the Neapolitan princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto. She later married Gianni Agnelli, the Fiat industrialist.

In her new book, Marella Agnelli: The Last Swan, Agnelli shares her memories, painting a lavish story of an elaborate life.

Photos of her 10 elegant residences and gardens in St. Moritz, Rome, New York, Milan, Marrakech, among others, show of Agnelli’s remarkable design talents and impeccable taste. Her private notes show off her humanity, beyond the glamour, as it is driven by love and touched by heartbreak.

Rizzoli (2014)

2. THE ANDY WARHOL DIARIES

The Andy Warhol Diaries celebrates 25 years in print by releasing a new edition, this one prefaced by Warhol's diarist and long-time friend, Pat Hackett.

Of course The Diaries are filled with juicy gossip about Warhol’s celeb cohorts, from the mid-1970s until just a few days before his death in 1987. And they are a fun-filled guilty pleasure to read.

From Jackie O to Yoko, from Dali to Haring, from Lou Reed to Frank Sinatra, Warhol defines himself by defining others along the way. These pages are curated and synthesized from more than twenty thousand pages of Warhol’s own diary that he dictated daily to Hackett.

Twelve (2014)

3. STARTING AT ZERO: HIS OWN STORY

Jimi Hendrix in his own words! Starting At Zero: His Own Story is a must read!

Hendrix paints a rich self-portrait with poetry, journals, and, of course, music. The book also includes clips of interviews. All is beautifully woven together to produce a colorful, yet heart-wrenching memoir of the beautifully talented minds of the 20th century.

Bloomsbury USA (2013)

4. MY SALINGER YEAR

My Salinger Year, by Joanna Rakoff, is a memoir of a young woman who comes to terms with the “real world,” after grad school, as she works at her first job as an assistant at a literary agency.

Rakoff’s boss is the infamous literary agent for J.D. Salinger. And so she must wade through tidal waves of fan mail. She is tasked with writing back in Salinger’s voice. And she takes it on brilliantly.

The book is both funny and utterly compelling. It is also a beautiful coming-of-age story about Rakoff’s growth as a writer and ultimately, as herself.

Knopf (2014)

5. HOW TO CATCH A FROG: AND OTHER STORIES OF FAMILY, LOVE, DYSFUNCTION, SURVIVAL, AND DIY

It seems as though most people come from dysfunctional families of one sort or another, at one time or another, in varying degrees, of course. When you are in the midst of it, it’s usually a mess of stress.

From afar, other families’ dysfunctions can look quite interesting to us. They can comfort, amuse and endear us. How to Catch a Frog: And Other Stories of Family, Love, Dysfunction, Survival, and DIY, by Heather Ross, does the trick.

Ross brings us into the folds of her colorful non-conformist family of artists and dreamers as they made their way through the DIY culture of the 1970’s.

Growing up in rural Vermont, surrounded by natural beauty, steeped in a philosophy that touted self-reliance as the Holy Grail, Ross learns how to do almost everything herself. Her stories are bittersweet. Sometimes that lifestyle worked well, sometimes it didn’t.

Ross’ mother dismisses the deprivations by simply saying, “Well, you should thank me, because you have a lot of good stories instead.”

But despite, or in part, because of it all, Ross developed herself well and became a successful artist, entrepreneur, and mother.

In addition to the stories, the book is filled with the author’s own illustrations and DIY instructions for handcrafts and sewing.

Stewart, Tabori and Chang (2014)

6. EATING WILDLY: FORAGING FOR LIFE, LOVE, AND THE PERFECT MEAL

Eating Wildly: Foraging for Life, Love and the Perfect Meal is a unique memoir that combines personal heartache and reconciliation with recipes and tips for urban foraging.

Penned by Ava Chin, the “Urban Forager” columnist for New York Times, Chin shares her journey as she begins to explore city parks, as a respite from family stresses and as she finds herself by foraging there.

Simon & Schuster (2014)

7. BETTER MADE AT HOME: SALTY, SWEET, AND SATISFYING SNACKS AND PANTRY STAPLES YOU CAN MAKE YOURSELF

Better Made At Home: Salty, Sweet, and Satisfying Snacks and Pantry Staples You Can Make Yourself, by Estérelle Payany, can make you both exceedingly culinarily self-sufficient and keep you very well fed.

With more than 80 recipes, including everything from homemade Greek yogurt, to ketchup, to marshmallows, to chips -- all from scratch -- you might wonder how you can ever feed yourself the packaged stuff ever again.

We love the vintage illustrations and mouth-watering photography -- they tempt us even further to roll up our homesteading sleeves and make it all ourselves, beautifully.

Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (2014)

8. WORDS TO YOURSELF

Words to Yourself, by Ash Good, is a personal journal. It is a familiar form, one that many of us have used, at some point in our lives, to document catharsis and renewal of self.

I began a spiritual transformation at age 24, which continues to culminate daily in kundalini awakening and an ever-present evolution of Being. In shedding the established underpinnings of my life, writing has been my place of sanity.

These are the words that helped me heal, safely encapsulating the small 'self' in a span of pages that I've shed like the expired skin of a snake.

These are my meditations, ushering my wholeness toward a life of sacred awareness.

This collection of words flows from a space of healing and transformation. Thematically, it is concerned with the creation of the story of 'self', how pain and trauma shapes this story, and releasing these pain stories through self healing, self observation and self love.

If these words find your eyes, I hope they empower you to self heal. I wish to befriend those on a path of self discovery toward the final destination we all share: simply existing as overflowing bliss wrapped in the arms of Oneness Love.

The divine in me recognizes and honors the divine in you. Namaste.

Ash Good (2014)

9. LIFE FROM SCRATCH: A MEMOIR OF FOOD, FAMILY, AND FORGIVENESS

Life From Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness is beautiful memoir in the form of a culinary journey. Food writer and blogger Sasha Martin set out to cook and eat at least one dish from every country on the planet, every day over the course of 195 weeks as both a creative exercise and a spiritual cleansing.

Martin had a rough childhood, living in poverty, in a series of foster homes. Without a solid sense of place or belonging, she reaches out to the world’s diverse cultures, embracing them all, in hopes that it will embrace her back. Cooking is her therapy and it is her calling card, and ultimately, her salvation of self.

National Geographic (2015)

10. A KITCHEN IN FRANCE: A YEAR OF COOKING IN MY FARMHOUSE

After moving from Paris to small town in Médoc, Mimi Thorisson finally has the time to cook and explore rural French cuisine. Her new book, A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse, is a memoir that documents this special time in her life.

You’ll enjoy exploring beautiful ingredient from local farm and woods, right along with Thorisson.

Thorisson’s recipes are delightful, giving a new voice to a classic cuisine. Her spin is added to Roast Chicken with Herbs and Crème Fraîche, Cèpe and Parsley Tartlets, Salted Butter Crème Caramel. The photographs, taken by Oddur, Thorisson’s husband, are gorgeous.

Check out Thorisson’s blog, Manger. And check out our posts, where we feature some of Thorisson’s gorgeous recipes: Flowers Nourish Body & Soul and New Celebration Treats: Bubbles & Sweets.

Clarkson Potter (2014)

Read more about Beautiful Self, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink,Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Self in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 01.25.2014. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

Image: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Marella Agnelli: The Last Swan.
Image: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Marella Agnelli: The Last Swan.
Image: Courtesy of Twelve. The Andy Warhol Diaries.
Image: Courtesy of Bloomsbury USA. Starting at Zero: His Own Story.
Image: Courtesy of Knopf. My Salinger Year.
Image: Courtesy of Stewart, Tabori and Chang. How to Catch a Frog: And Other Stories of Family, Love, Dysfunction, Survival, and DIY.
Image: Courtesy of Simon & Schuster. Eating Wildly: Foraging for Life, Love, and the Perfect Meal.
Image: Courtesy of Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. Better Made at Home: Salty, Sweet, and Satisfying Snacks and Pantry Staples You Can Make Yourself.
Image: Courtesy of Ash Good. Words to Yourself.
Image: Courtesy of National Geographic. Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness.
Image: Courtesy of Clarkson Potter. A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse.
Image: Courtesy of Clarkson Potter (2014). A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse.