What I Read: Icons Edition

Since being back from vacation, I’ve made a concerted effort to carve some reading time out of my busy crafting schedule. Having a bunch of personal projects on the go is one of my favourite ways to self-care (I like to relax by keeping my hands busy), but I am definitely in the position now of having too many projects and too little (me) time. It’s a good problem to have, though, because it means that I constantly have something fun lined up – even if it’s only for half an hour, here and there. That, right there, is the definition of contentment. But I digress. I have been trying to keep up with my ever-growing To Be Read pile, but I haven’t made a huge dent in it.

I did read Greek Fire: The Story of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis by Nicholas Gage, a recent thrift find. (Side note: if you are interested in seeing my thrift hauls, including books, follow me on Instagram; I have started posting those regularly in my Stories.) Needless to say, it was the kind of light, gossipy, celebrity biography that I would call my “reading candy”; fun to read, light on substance. This one delivered all kinds of gossip, including stuff that veered into TMI territory (like the story about Maria and her figure-transforming tapeworm – don’t read that part if you’re eating, you have been warned). If you like to read Vanity Fair articles about the rich and famous, as I do, you would probably enjoy this book.

I also read Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon. “Read” may be the wrong word. Iris is best approached as a coffee table book with words. It gives you a taste of Iris’ personality and her aesthetic, with short nuggets of personal history interspersed through the photos. Given the glimpses of her life we get in those brief interludes, I would have enjoyed a proper memoir; Iris is clearly an interesting woman, who has lived an interesting life. I don’t think the book does her justice in that sense. I would say it serves more as a companion piece to the Iris documentary and her “Rara Avis” museum exhibition. With that said, from that perspective, there should have been more photos and fewer stories included. Some of the writing certainly read as filler to me; at the same time, there were some bon mots that I really appreciated. I paid full cover price for the book, and I’m not sure if it was really worth it. The book quality is great, but it will eventually hit the discount table so … YMMV.