All the Time in the World Lib/E: A Book of Hours

by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins

All the Time in the World proffers a miscellany of customs, traditions, and pleasures people have pursued throughout the ages. The book takes its cue from the medieval books of hours, which prescribed certain readings and contemplations for various parts of the day and year. Subjects covered include the daylong ceremony of laying a royal Elizabethan tablecloth, Nostradamus' belief in the aphrodisiac power of jam, the sensuous practice of sniffing incense in fifteenth century Japan, and more. Entertaining, unexpected, and charming, All the Time in the World digs up the forgotten treasures of the past and inspires a passion for good living in the present.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Essays, Poetry, Art, Lifestyle, Adult

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jessica Kerwin Jenkins began her career in New York writing for Women's Wear Daily and for W magazine, later moving to Paris, where she was W's European editor. She lived in Montmartre, but assignments took her all over Europe, and beyond, from Madrid to Copenhagen to Athens to Venice to Ibiza to Tallin, visiting villas, palazzos, chateaux, and haciendas. She once dined in the Tower of London and endured a rude massage in a steam bath in Tunis. In Jaipur she played in a surreal elephant polo match for charity.

She now writes for Vogue and lives on Maine's Blue Hill peninsula, where she also serves some Saturdays as a librarian in a one-roomed library down the road.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today started off terribly, but this book helped make my day a bit brighter :)


This morning began chilly and gray, with a fine mist calling out for a warm cup of cocoa. I’ll admit I wasn’t in the best mood this morning having had little rest the night before due to the pelting of rain upon the roof and the querulous cries of my infant son waking up three times in the middle of the night. I was in fact incorrigible. I barked at my daughter to hurry as we were running late and quarreled with her father on the drive to her school. I felt, as I often do, that time was racing away from me. I never seem to have enough of it to do everything that needs to be done. I need more time to sleep, to clean, to work with my students, to play with my kids, and when I do have a free moment I felt drained, exhausted, unable to think of the tiniest thing to do with myself. I had forgotten how to enjoy the time that I have.

Thankfully the Author, Jessica Kerwin Jenkins has reminded me of how important and wonderful my time can be. I began her book, All the Time in the World: A book of Hours, this afternoon beginning with a brief visit to the circus, and a short history of hot chocolate but was soon being transported around the world with Nelly Blye. Eventually I began to relax in an Orchid Garden with Chinese poets and discovered the nuances of the glass harmonica.
Jenkins’ book is a collection of wondrous moments, interesting facts, beautiful vignettes and sumptuous recipes. This book is a great respite from the constant push of the modern world as the author takes the reader on a languid tour of histories’ most pleasurable procrastinations; from the inspiration and wonder of the Ringling Brothers Circus to the Lord of Misrule’s Christmastime shenanigans. One never knows where the next entry will lead. It may tell you a brief history of playing cards and Casanova’s cunning, or list the ingredients for a tantalizing pancake recipe or you may find yourself wandering Alexander Pope’s Grotto. The books contents are light and airy, yet grounded in research and relevance that makes it’s reading a perfect pastime. The layout is beautiful and the illustrations compliment the stories well. It is the perfect book to pick up and read for a few minutes when you need an escape or to help you relax before bed in the evening.
I have been inspired and as soon as I apologize to my husband and kids for being a bit of a bear this morning, I think I shall plan a trip to Getty Villa for a picnic lunch for myself and a few friends where we may try and capture the beauty of The Orchid Pavilion of those Chinese poets.

* I was lucky to receive this book in the mail as the winning recipient of a Goodreads Give away.

[Petra X · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book I read that has disappeared from my bookshelves.

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another elegantly wonderful book from Jessica Kerwin Jenkins.

[Min · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hard to summarize in any meaningful way for someone who hasn't already read it.

The best descriptions I can manage is that it is a wonderful collection of transitory cultural morsels to ingest slowly. The fragments are an amuse bouche of the mind telling the tales of humanity's pursuit of enjoying Life; unpretentious in its small size to whet the appetite for more without glut. The quests we find in Art, Entertainments, and Frivolity, of all sorts, that our ancestors found to enhance Life.

The title lends a hint of the spirit of these pleasures discovered to be taken in without --too much -- attention give to the time given in abandonment to the joy of the senses.
The text is arranged by month and hour of the day; beginning at 6 a.m. I remain uncertain if the time is always relevant to the anecdotes, yet, on it goes through to the last offering at 5 a.m.

She writes so beautifully breviloquent. Only a few pages given to each portrayal, yet so satisfying.
This is her second book. I will immediately toddle off to read the first. I look forward to delving into her source material in the bibliography to learn more.

[Bryony Angell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Kerwin Jenkins was ahead of the whole mindfulness, slow the heck down and consider each livable moment game way before it was popular.

This gem of a book contains little-known routines around the world and through history. The book is organized by hour, then month, with fanciful descriptions of things like the circus coming to town to set up (early morning) or the King of France getting dressed in front of his court (mid morning).

Over and over I wondered, "how did she think of this, let alone research for it?" Kerwin Jenkins has a knack for presenting historical detail in a modern, funny and playful voice, bringing to life on the page things like the history of the nap (early afternoon) or the rise in popularity of milk consumption in the US (which led to milk delivery, early morning).

While I read this book to myself, I can imagine that it would be ideal to read aloud, a chapter each night, savored the way you'd enjoy a rich chocolate truffle. This book would appeal to lovers of ephemera and history, as well as anyone looking for lighter nonfiction book to lull them into imaginative dreaming.

[Dominika Olicka · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5.
A very light book, perfect for a quick break and reading in-between daily worries. I recommend it for those who get easily bored and/or overwhelmed by the length of traditional novels, as All the Time in the World is a collection of short stories about all sorts of curios, traditions, habits and pieces of daily life in different cultures within different time periods.
Personally, I found it a bit underwhelming - it was great to learn so much but... That's about all this book could offer me. It's also a bit disappointing that vast majority of the book is centered around the West. I really wish there was more about other regions, like Africa, Asia, Middle East, South & Latin Americas, etc.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book was a ride on the rainbow of nostalgia. Reminiscent of a time when elementary school book report writing was ripe with magic that only existed within the volumes of World Book encyclopedias, this book delivers. All The Time In The World is a playground for the mind with countless bits of knowledge to explore and excite. It is indeed an "Encyclopedia of the Exquisite."

[judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun! took me long time because i was lazy and not committed too it, but was still enjoyable in bits and pieces. as a person obsessed with the passing of time i would love to own a copy of this one day. recommend if someones looking for something easy & nonfiction & requires little investment.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A miscellany of the unusual, the charming, and the unique, organized by the hour of day. I won't need to read again, necessarily, but entertaining to dip in and out of. A perfect "guest room" book.

[Robbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for the beautiful typography.

[Julia Truelove]

A lovely, relaxing read.

[Lorelei · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/4

I had never heard of books of hours before, so that alone was very neat. Some of the stories were a tad dull, but overall, I was entertained.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful! And perfect for when you just have little bits of time to fill.

[verda neverda · Rating 2 out of 5]

ar žinote, kad... neįkvėpė?

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the description for this book, I quickly thought it was just another random facts book for the coffee table. I have to say I was quite wrong. This book flows through time telling various real tales about the evolution and changes in what some would call the "finer things in life" (e.g. poetry, art, music, food, society and culture). Since my taste tends to lean towards the dark, strange, mystic and scientific, I tended to find myself somewhat bored at points in this book. However, I just can't give it a bad review due to my lack of interest. This book was beautifully done both in its written content and in its illustrations, cover and design. I would highly recommend this book to the artist, the poet, the dreamer and the hipster haha.

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway for reviewing.

[Virginia Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

pure pleasure,
musings on "gloomth, Horace Walpole's first gothic novel (The Castle of Otranto), Alexander Pope's grotto (complete with camera obscure), Dorvielle and the "Nocturnal Romancer", a French court's King whose very favorite thing in the world was giving his hounds their cookies, and lots of other historical and literary bonbons.

"In the dull catalogue of common things,
Philosophy will clip an angels wings,
Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,
Empty the haunted air, and gnomes mine-
Unweave a rainbow......"

"Lamia" by Keats 1820, in the chapter on rainbows.

starts with a circus in 1869 in McGregor Iowa and has elegant illustrations by Minka Sicklinger in black and deep lapis lazuli blue.

http://instagram.com/p/l93K-uALRO/

[Oriana]

From the Greenlight Bookstore recommendations:

Jenkins returns with a new book of...essays (?) that make this feel like a "collection of curiosities." Wending its way around the clock, this book models itself after a medieval book of hours—offering up readings and meditations for times of days, seasons and years. But instead of bringing religion to the page, Jenkins infuses it with art, culture, essays and historic anecdotes that run the gamut from bebop to rainbows and then some. A book to read through or to flip through, it's sure to bring pleasure and it's sure to pass the time.

Can someone buy me this for some religious holiday the hell of it? Thx!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. It was similar to reading wikipedia, but with charm, jumping from topic to topic. That is one of my favorite ways to spend an hour or two, and that was about how long I could read this book in one sitting. I loved the illustrations and truly feel the artist's name deserved to be on the cover. I learned some new things, got a better glimpse of how history is stranger than we think, and I loved hearing about the ways creativity was sought and obtained in different centuries. I did not quite grasp the "book of hours" theme. I would read her other book if I came across it based on this one's charm.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice compact little bits of interesting history, without being weird or gory trivia.

I read this at breakfasts mostly, a nice little start to the day, rather than staring at a computer screen and checking so many status updates and articles I won't have time to read. Full of little historical pieces all pertaining to a particular part of the day or an activity associated with it, without being gory, gross, or relating overmuch to bodily functions.

Good for waiting rooms, sickbeds (when you're too tired to pay attention for more than five pages) and at-meal reading.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charmingly written collection of curiosities. I saw this at the library and initially assumed it would be some new age-y meditative self help inspirational thing, but it was most certainly not. Although organized by months/hours, the 2-3 page entries within sometimes have a very attenuated connection with "time". Still, the entries are unfailingly captivating, and I am reminded once again that well-edited books like this can inspire the imagination much better than your average ramble through wikipedia.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like having a fascinating, drunk, rambling conversation with a stranger at a dinner party you never expected to enjoy. I totally don't understand how it is organized, but I don't care since it was enjoyable, informative, and took my mind from place to place for short periods of time. I never felt any chapter or topic was too long, and I thought to myself many times this would be the PERFECT airplane book. I can't wait to read her other book now, and I bet both would be amazing choices for any book club.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars actually. (I just reserve the 5s for the ones that hold dear to my heart forever. Don´t judge.) I got this book randomly from my digital library not really even knowing what it was. I am very happy for randomness. This book has a bit of everything for everyone and is clever in its format. You can pick it up and put it down as you wish, well most could. I could not put it down and read it in a day. A lovely read that will leave you better off than before you picked it up, and isn´t that a sign of a great book? (Hmmm... maybe it is a 5-er after all!)

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a series of short articles on the ways humans have chosen to spend their free time through out the ages. Art, poetry, music and other entertainments get extensive coverage from a wide variety of view points. But the many other ways people have passed the time over the years from the mundane to the obscure get their time. Pastimes from nap time and bathing, to cooking and gardening; from dueling and dancing to embroidery and gaming.

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Modeling her book after the medieval style, Jenkins has created a fascinating collection of miscellanea, loosely associated with each time of day and month of year. Ice skating, kabuki style theater, the waltz, Allen Ginsberg, fresh crab and pineapple, and performance art, plus more--all explored in brief entries in this book about how we choose to pass the time, throughout different cultures and eras of history. An impressive effort that clearly involved an enormous amount of research.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concept of the book of hours. I listened to this one as an audio book--I am not sure that I would have made it through in print, but maybe. Every month, every hour has a piece of history tied to that time. I learned about ancient Japan, obscure artists that sparked a movement, and the role of public baths around the world. A great way to learn something knew in an interesting way.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what I imagine traveling through time in a balloon would be like. :) As the candle burns down, you span time and space by hour and by season--a lovely and creative structure upon which to project scenes from the kaleidoscope of history. Time, after all, is what we have (always had) in common.

[Tanim]

AMAZING

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd little book. Interesting bits of historical trivia kept me going.

[Cat. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a weird little trivia book arranged by time of day and month, starting at 9 a.m. Interesting, well-written.

[lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book to read over the course of a day. I learned a lot, and was inspired to think of all the little blessings I enjoy hour to hour.