Three Things Thursday

It’s time for this year’s final edition of Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

A Three-Book Christmas

(1) The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati

This is the latest novel in Donati’s Wilderness series. I haven’t read the previous books. What drew me to this one is that it’s the story of two female physicians, graduates of the Woman’s Medical School, in New York City in 1883. I wrote my dissertation on the autobiography of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States (1849), and the life stories of four other nineteenth-century female physicians.

I’m really looking forward to reading this one. Thanks, Kate!

(2) Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America by Roger Phillips

Since I love to photograph toadstools and other fungi, I figured I should spend some time learning about them. This book has more than 1,000 color photographs and teeny-tiny print. Boy, have I got a lot to learn!

Confession: I bought this one for myself.

(3) Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

I loved Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat, Pray, Love. The description of this book says that Gilbert here teaches us “to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering” in order to realize our creativity. “She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives.”

I can use all the help I can get in this area of life, which is why I gifted myself with this book for Christmas.

It’s New Year’s Eve. Be safe out there, everyone.

And Happy 2016 to all of you!