If you like HGTV, you'll love...

If like me, you love houses and gardens, I know of an author you would enjoy reading. His (yes, his!) name is Beverley Nichols, he was English, and he lived from 1898 to 1983. One of my favorite quotes comes from his book Merry Hall. He is describing house-hunting in England after the end of WWII, and how, no matter what is wrong with the place, real estate agents rhapsodize about mature oak trees on the property:

"Did it face North, was it Edwardian Gothic, was there a lunatic asylum over the wall, and would a sensitive spaniel have howled itself to death at the mere sight of it on a rainy night? All quite correct. But kindly remember, there was a Wealth of Old Oak. Or, as I began to think of it, a W. of O.O."

Merry Hall tells about the house he finally finds and how he refurbishes it and its garden with the help of (or inspite of!) local characters and neighbors.

Other titles by Beverley Nichols include:

Laughter on the Stairs

A Thatched Roof

Sunlight on the Lawn

Garden Open Today


Garden Open Tomorrow

Down the Garden Path

A Village in a Valley

Neiman Marcus

Every year Neiman Marcus's Christmas Book is a feast for the eyes (and pocketbook!). This year you can buy such mundane things as edible gold (starting at $40) all the way up to a Jack Nicklaus Custom Backyard Course Package where for, starting at $1 million dollars, Jack will design a golf course just for you.

To get into the Neiman Marcus spirit, check out Shopgirl, by Steve Martin. The writing can be a tad dry (Publishers Weekly considered it "neither a triumph nor a disaster"), but the story of a lonely girl at a service desk that no one goes to is intriguing. Martin's prose is compelling, but do not read this book and expect a lot of humor.

For those that are yearning for the delicious culinary offerings of Neiman Marcus, check out Neiman Marcus Taste: timeless American recipes. It offers over 110 recipes from potato and bacon soup to the more classic garlic and herb monkey bread.