Posts filed under 'Tea Reads'
Every Sunday evening for the next three months, your local PBS station is airing new and old adaptations of Jane Austen’s work plus a biopic on her life. I just needed to make sure you knew.
Visit the main site to learn all the ins-and-outs of schedules, stars, etc. If it’s not enough to feed your Austen-adaptation obsession, be sure to visit the Becoming Jane blog for all the You-Tube interviews, previews, trivia, etc., you could possibly want.
Last Sunday featured a new adaptation of Persuasion (at least for us in the U.S.) and I thoroughly enjoyed a tall, blond version of Captain Wentworth paired up with a less meek Anne Elliot. The feature sped by in a quick ninety minutes, so the tense chemistry was thick from the start.
However, it is the scenery, costumes, language, and manners of these period pieces that take my breath away. I submerse myself in them like a warm bath at the end of a long day. When Frederick and Anne see each other for the first time, I switch between the expressions on their faces and the larkspur in the milk-white pitcher sitting in the sunny corner of the window-seat next to the small-paned leaded window. My heart reaches out in memory to my own youth when Anne weeps over believing Frederick will marry someone else; yet that same heart now longs for the pastoral beauty of England to be more of an everyday occurrence. And of course, I’m always on the lookout for scenes with tea, of course.
Again, I find it ironic that the resurgence of the afternoon tea ritual means Victorian tea rooms are springing up throughout America. Yet, it is the Regency period so many of us love, the time BEFORE Queen Victoria. Maybe it explains why the afternoon tea party is often stereotyped as stuffy and stiff. But the empire-waist is returning to fashion, so maybe there’s hope of relaxed, yet elegant tea times after all.
Speaking of Queen Victoria, I want to make sure all my readers also know of the return of the magazine by the same name. I’ve received the first two issues and it only comes out six times per year. I do find the magazine a little slim for the price. However, nothing beats Victoria for the photographs portraying the art of a time period filled with beauty. The Jan/Feb cover , for example, features a beautifully handwritten letter with an old-fashioned ink pen written on a desk shared with antique books. Click on the Victoria Magazine link for a picture.
Victoria Magazine
’s Editors also published a book I own, The Pleasures of Tea: Recipes and Rituals. As much as I enjoy blogging, and the energy of the Internet community, I readily admit I cannot replicate the beauty of sitting down with a book like this. My favorite tea books, including this one, are those with full-color photographs. Losing myself in the tea world this way inspires me when I get tired of trying hard to keep it beautiful in a Wal-mart world.
On that note, allow me to leave you today with some Austen language for your winter evening:
“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F. W.
“I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father’s house this evening or never.”
Sigh…
Are you watching Masterpiece Theatre?
January 15th, 2008
Books and tea go together. I know this and I’m guessing you do, as well. Celestial Seasonings has also figured it out, with their multi-million dollar ad agency learning that 70% of tea drinkers consider “reading books” as a favorite pastime. In fact, part of their new marketing includes giving you a book club guide and providing a website for a virtual discussion if you purchase their teas and Random House books. Hmm…I bet they spent a lot of money to set that all up. I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to Big Business trying to grab the market-share. As I commented at Tea Guy Speaks this morning, it reminds me of the prizes offered in cereal boxes. After all, bloggers can set-up a book club anywhere with whatever tea they want, we don’t need Celestial Seasonings to spend all that money to do it for us. But that’s another post…
Amy at Earnest Parenting tagged me for a Book meme earlier this week. I don’t always participate in these fun, community-building blogging activities, but since books and tea do go together, I thought I’d share. And since I had to look it up, I thought I’d let you know a meme (pronounced meem) is defined as a a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes. Now you know. Watch, I may tag you at the end.
- How many books do I own? Hundreds. In reality, I have no idea, but books are in almost every room of our house, despite my clutter phobia. I give lots of books away. I sort through my books at least once per year. But we’re a homeschooling family and consider reading in the top three of our family’s recreational activities.
- What was the last book I read? Probably a better question for me is what was the last book I finished. I just finished the book I wrote about recently, Rebecca, and loved it. (Did you know Alfred Hitchcock made a movie of Rebecca, his only film that won Best Picture? I must try and see that). The last book I read was this morning, The Message// Remix: Solo: The Uncommon Devotional. This book, my first cup of tea, and I try and start our day together without the children; something I really, really need to keep centered and focused.
- What was the last book I purchased? The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I had to wait an extra few weeks for it to arrive from Amazon, because I wanted a version that didn’t have the words “Oprah’s Book Club” on the cover so my man would read it. Shhh…don’t tell Plays with Fire it’s an Oprah choice. We always exchange books at Christmas. I love this little rhyme about gift-giving and try to follow it:
- “Something to eat, something to read, something to play with, and something they need”
- What five books are the most meaningful to me?
- The Book of Job
- Gift from the Sea
- Wuthering Heights
- The Journey of Desire/New Way to Be Human
- A Severe Mercy
- What is my most obscure favorite book? Miss Rumphius. It always amazes me how many lovers of literature have never heard of this children’s book. It is my absolute favorite.
Do you read while you drink tea? Even if I don’t tag you, I would love to hear your answers to some of these questions in the comments below. And remember, if you want to learn more about my favorite TEA-related books, be sure to visit my “Tea Reads” page.
Let’s see, I tag: Stephanie at Steph’s Cup of Tea, Jamie at Tea on Tap, and Karen at Scraps of Mind.
And think of Mz. Rita tomorrow, hosting her tea for 50 women! She left a great comment on this post outlining the games she has planned. Good for you, Rita!
I hope you are finding time to read a good book during these short almost-winter days with a cup of tea in hand.
December 14th, 2007
From my current read, Rebecca, a Gothic Romance written in the 1930s. The heroine, banished from her former life for reasons still unknown, reminisces about the rituals of old.
“Here I think of half-past four at Manderley, and the table drawn before the library fire. The door flung open, punctual to the minute, and the performance, never-varying, of the laying of the tea, the silver tray, the kettle, the snowy cloth. Those dripping crumpets, I can see them now. Tiny crisp wedges of toast, and piping-hot, flaky scones. Sandwiches of unknown nature, mysteriously flavored and quite delectable, and that very special gingerbread. Angel cake, that melted in the mouth, and his rather stodgier companion, bursting with peels and raisins.” (Du Maurier, 13).
Where I live it is pitch dark by 5:30pm with the temperature dropping toward the 30s. I am thrilled to snatch a half hour in my tea corner these evenings, savoring my recently chosen noshes, and getting lost in a well-written book.
Tea Party Girl can be found this week at the following carnivals. Be sure to stop by and check out all the great postings or in Lara’s case, feel free to join the fun!
May you find a cozy corner for a few moments of reading and tea whatever today may bring.
November 27th, 2007
I first learned of Jennifer Sauer’s book subtitled: “Your Adventure Guide to San Francisco Tea Culture” days after returning from my own San Francisco walking-tea tour. I would have really enjoyed using this book as my guide instead! Ms. Sauer’s book adds to the needed portrayal of the best tea culture has to offer, especially in the United States. The Way to Tea is “…an invitation to America’s new tea culture, which is brewing at its aromatic best in the Bay Area.” (10). She accomplishes this primarily through her photography; and it is the breath-taking photos that make this book most appealing. As a writer, I also appreciated her introduction that included her “tea story” and the foreword by James Norwood Pratt who’s also from San Francisco.
Any tea party lover would appreciate this book whether they might have the opportunity to visit the venues reviewed or not. Spanning Chinese, Japanese, and British customs, the eighteen chosen offer a wide variety of all the forms “the tea party” can take. Tea parties, or the tea ceremony, are NOT just for retired ladies wearing red hats or Zen Buddhist monks, for that matter. (Obviously, as Poleng Lounge, a tea nightclub is included). Tea universally offers, “a gracious respite from banality and daily routine.” (13). And since Tea Party Girl focuses almost primarily on the European influence on tea culture, I especially appreciated Sauer’s description of Britain’s contribution. “English salons offer refinement, repose, and connection.”
After reading the book, I’m especially eager to visit Modern Tea and the Secret Garden Tea House. Modern Tea received a glowing report not just from Ms. Sauer, but Anne Evans of Teaching Tea, (Hi, Mom!) whose stamp of approval I highly revere. Modern Tea only serves “organic, fair-trade, seasonally rotating teas in a light-filled, airy and comfortable restaurant that feels like part summer-camp dining hall and part contemporary art museum.” (89). The photographs taken at the Secret Garden Tea House I find enchanting, especially now that I believe in fairies. “From the Royal Albert bone china to the gingham and rose fabric tablecloths and silver place settings, not a detail has been spared in the creation of a fantasy afternoon tea.” (81)
It’s still relatively rare to find a tea book that has beautiful photographs AND spans the different tea cultures. Normally, Tea Party Girl doesn’t recommend “coffee” table books, but I do recommend this one as such. I rotate this book with a few of my other favorite display books; books I hope my guests will pick up and thumb through. My other tea display books currently include:
Monday, I’ll be posting my Christmas presents recommendations for the tea lover and plan to include this book. Who in your life would enjoy a Tea Read this Christmas? Why not check it off your list right now?
A special thanks to Jennifer Leigh Sauer for providing me with a copy for this review!
November 9th, 2007
Last night, I crawled into bed close to 11:30pm. I curled up with my book-light and latest Tea Read, Tea Celebrations by Alexandra Stoddard. Mrs. Stoddard’s written many books about personal style, beautiful living, and the art of everyday graces. Here’s a few of my favorite quotes from her chapter on tea parties.
“Just as a friend is a gift we give ourselves, so is tea. It is good to turn our attention to beauty and ritual and grace. It is a form of thanksgiving to plan ahead and invite friends to a tea party.”
“The tea ceremony is the way to serenity, but only if you play by a few rules. You don’t heat up water in a microwave. The ritual is all we have.“
I’m married to a climber and I think I gave birth to one who take their climbing pretty seriously. I don’t claim to totally understand it. But the following quote relates the tea party to my boys’ favorite sport.
“When we focus on efficiency in our leisure and pleasure time as well as in our business life, we are making a big mistake. The whole idea of tea is to slow down. If you wished to get to the top of the mountain fast, you could get there by helicopter. To be at the summit wouldn’t have the same meaning as if you had climbed the mountain one step at a time. The steps we take intensify our reference for life.“
I am anticipating crawling under the covers after hosting a small family reunion Saturday evening. The season of juggling the immense amount of details will finally see a respite. I will breathe deeply, inhaling the lavender tucked in my pillowcase and spend a few moments of thanksgiving before drifting off to sleep. And the next morning, I will awaken to a new day to time for an un-rushed ritual of tea.
November 2nd, 2007
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