These titles are linked to Amazon for the synopsis and further information about each book. Most can be purchased used. I love Amazon Used Books and Abe Used Books (Abebooks.com). In Nashville, I can spend an afternoon perusing the racks at McKays Used Books and Goodwill.
Favorite Art Books
- How to Paint in 5 Steps and Unleash your Creative Spirit! by susan elizabeth jones, 2018
- Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often by Carol Marine, 2014
- Guide to Landscape Painting by John Carlson, 1929
- Hensche on Painting, by John W. Robichaux, 1997
- Hawthorne on Painting, by Mrs. Charles W. Hawthorne, 1938
- The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, 2003
- The Color Kittens by Little Golden Book
Favorite Illustrated Travel and Nature Journaling Books
- Very Charleston, Very New Orleans, and Very Washington, DC, by Diana Hollingsworth Gessler
- Queen Victoria's Sketchbook, by Marina Warner, 1979
- The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, by Edith Holden, 1977
- France: Inspiration du Jour, by Rae Dunn, 2017
- Field Notes from Yosemite, by Teresa Jordan, 2002
- Mr. Boddington's Etiquette, 2018
- Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature, by Linda Lear, 2007
- Trout: An Illustrated History, by James Prosek, 2002
- Autumn, The Summer Book, and Vineyard Season, by Susan Branch
- Heart of the Home, by Susan Branch
Favorite Living Creatively Books
- The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, 1992
- Letters to a Young Artist, by Julia Cameron, 2005
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, 2015
- Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey, 2013
- Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones: the Artist who Lived Twice by Barbara Lehman Smith, 2010
- The Daily Book of Art by Colin Gilbert, et al, 2009
- The Private Lives of the Impressionists by Sue Roe, 2006
- Color: a Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay, 2002
- The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again), Andy Warhol, 1977
- Painting as a Pastime by Winston S. Churchill, 1932
- Degas, Imprssionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade, by Simon Kelly and Esther Bell
- The Art Spirit, by Robert Henri, 1923
Favorite Southern Books
- True Prep, by Lisa Birnbach, 2010
- What Southern Women Know that Every Woman Should by Rhonda Rich, 2000
- What Southern Women know about Flirting, by Rhonda Rich, 2005
Favorite French Books
- The French Beauty Solution by Mathilde Thomas, 2015
- Bonjour, Happiness! by Jamie Cat Callon, 2011
- Fodor's Exploring France
- The Grown-Ups' Guide to Living in France, by Rosanne Knorr, 2000
- A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in my Farmhouse,by Mimi Thorisson, 2014
- Lessons from Madame Chic, by Jennifer L. Scott, 2011
Favorite Non-Fiction Books
- The Downton Abbey Lexicon Primer, 2020
- Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin, 2015
- The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, 2009
- Churchill on Courage by Frederick Talbott, 1996
- The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, 2007
Favorite Fiction Books
- Any novel by Faith Baldwin, especially those written between 1937-1950
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, 2008
- Whistling Dixie in a Nor'Easter, by Lisa Patton, 2010
- Yankee Doodle Dixie, by Lisa Patton, 2012
- Speaking Southern as a Second Language, by Lisa Patton, 2014
- Rush, by Lisa Patton, 2018
- Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
Favorite Cook Books
- Lost and Vintage Recipes, by Amy Traverso
- American Cake, by Anne Byrn
- A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in my Farmhouse, by Mimi Thorisson, 2014
- P. Allen Smith's Seasonal Recipes from the Garden, by P. Allen Smith, 2010
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child