The Sweet Life: Reflections on Home and Garden

The best word for this book is "charming." It will satisfy anyone who enjoys gardens and fabulous illustrations and quotes. If you are a fan of Laura Stoddart's artwork, then this book is a must have. It is a great not-too-small-not-too-big size, excellent quality, and makes a great conversation piece on the coffee table. You don't have to be a gardener yourself to enjoy Stoddart's charming collection. I live in an 11 story apartment, with no yard of my own, but reading this book makes me feel as though I've taken a trip to the countryside.

THE SWEET LIFE is a short book filled with somewhat profound thoughts Laura Stoddart compiled from famous and not-so-famous sources and beautiful illustrations she apparently drew. She thanks her father for the words and her mother for the pictures. Those familiar with A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES might appreciate THE SWEET LIFE as the adult version of a garden of verses.For example, "Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too" said William Cowper. Or, these lines by William Cobbett:"How much better, during a long a dreary winter, for daughters, and even sons, to assist, or attend, their mother in the greenhouse, than to be seated with her at cards, or, in the blubbering over a stupid novel, or at any other amusement that can possibly be conceived!"This is the sort of book I like to take with me to the privvy chamber where I meditate daily, or give to others as a little gift from the heart.