May Book Review

The White Queen – Philippa Gregory
I’ve come to a realisation over the past few months. I would never have had myself down as a reader of historical fiction but it would appear it has snuck into my repertoire what with CJ Sansom’s Shardlake series and last month’s horrendous Wolf Hall.

I have never read a Gregory before and I have to say she’s going on my list now. Mainly because it’s so easy to read. The problem with the above books was that you felt you needed a PhD in Tudor History just to understand what was going on. With this book it really wouldn’t matter if you didn’t know the historical background, which is a good job because the Plantagenets I know nothing about. As the book wore on, vague recollections of Richard III and the Princes in the Tower came back to me but they’re really not important, you can just roll along and enjoy the book.

This is little historical fact. Do I really think witchcraft was involved in causing Richard III’s arm to wither? Erm no. (And that’s without the whole real-life historical debate about whether there was a withered arm or not.) Basically it’s set in ye olde times and features real-life people from ye olde times, the rest is fantasy baby.

And it was a brilliant read, entertaining and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the others in this latest series as well as her other, older books.

Duma Key - Stephen King
I’ll hold my hands up and admit my bias here. I love this guy. Can’t get enough of him. In fact I think somewhere in the realm of stored up blog posts I have a whole post about him because it’s kind of ridiculous how many of his books I have.

So. It’s about a guy who is in a near fatal accident, loses his right arm, mashes up his leg, marriage breaks down and he heads out to a seaside house in Duma Key where he takes up painting.

But wait. This is Stephen King. It can’t be as straightforward as that. And it isn’t. Strange things happen on Duma Key and when his paintings seem to take on a life of their own, the spookiness and scariness begins. Hard to say more without giving it away or just copying out the dust jacket.

It was great. I loved it. I got ridiculously scared in parts of it – hello, little girl ghosts coming up the stairs? No thanks. But mostly just laid back and enjoyed it – it was my faithful companion in hospital.

Teatime for the Traditionally Built – Alexander McCall Smith
Whilst in hospital I wasn’t up to reading anything hardcore so I turned to this guy to keep me going. Another probably biased review because I’m a huge McCall Smith fan as well, absolutely love his 44 Scotland Street series and La’s Orchestra Saves the World is simply beautiful. All his books are engaging and non too taxing on the brain, without you feeling like you’re wasting your energy reading them.

For all my love of McCall Smith though I haven’t really read his most famous series The Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Couldn’t tell you why. I picked this one up because it was The Times Book of the Week for £2.99 a while back. Even though it’s a fair few books in to the series this is still totally readable, I didn’t feel lost at all and I loved the pace of the book, it just rolled along slowly and purposefully, much as I imagine you would do under the hot Botswanian sun.

Probably only one to read if you’re already a fan of his work and/or have read the other books in the series though.

Twenties Girl – Sophie Kinsella
Not a book I’d buy but a friend lent it to me and I felt obliged to read it. (She’s also lent me 3 Jodi Picoult books, I don’t know that I can read that many in a short space of time so I’ve warned her it may be a while before she sees them again.)

I’ve read a few of Kinsella’s books before – the Shopaholic series is funny (and is of course now a film) and she’s up there in the elite of chick lit authors.

Lara starts being followed around by the ghost of her dead Great-Aunt, Sadie, who wants Lara to track down a missing necklace. Hilarity and confusion ensue of course with a bit of romance (obviously the main ingredient in any bit of chick lit) thrown in for good measure. Naturally all ends well and everything is tied up with a lovely bow.

I sound like I’m knocking it and I’m really not, it was the perfect read for me after my release from hospital and I raced through it in a couple of days, if it wasn’t good I couldn’t have done that but I really enjoyed it. It’s just that there’s not a lot to say about it – if you like this kind of thing then it’ll be right up your street, if not...well...you probably wouldn’t pick it up in the first place.

The winner?

I want to say Duma Key but I honestly don’t know if that’s the bias talking so I’m going to go with The White Queen. Buy it, don’t buy it, but it’s being bestowed with the very great honour of being May’s book of the month.

*allow for applause*

I do apologise if this monthly feature is a little boring. It has crossed my mind that it is and I think I’m mainly doing it for myself so I can look back at the end of the year and most likely berate myself for not filling my head with more sensible stuff.

Views from the sofa

What I can currently see...

A foot which is much less swollen and getting less painful by the day. Thankfully not broken, a discovery made by a late night trip to A&E on Bank Holiday Monday just to make sure. Just a very bad sprain. Story of my life. I am incredibly clumsy and have lost count of the number of times I have cockled over on my ankles but somehow have never broken a bone. Must be all that milk my Mum made me drink when I was younger.

Pretty tulips that Mum got me as a present for looking after Fred and Lily for a week.

Mr Tree who is looking obscenely green. Seriously. Didn't I tell him in the last Tree Project post to slow the hell down?

Everything I need on 2 little tables:

- cup of tea

- glass of water

- my best friends, Ibuprofen and Paracetemol

- Grey's Anatomy Series 2 - currently re-watched most of this series in the last few days

- New book on the go, Stephen King's Duma Key

- Aida, hoop, thread and needle ready to start my next piece for the Embroidering the Truth exhibition

- Granny squares. Look at how many now!! Eighteen baby. Eighteen. I feel that the end is almost in sight. Almost.

Unfortunately all the relaxing and fun is almost at an end. Mum is taking me into work later this afternoon to pick up some work to bring back home and get stuck in to. Much as I would just love to be off sick, there's a part of me that knows I should be more professional, I can do work, I just can't walk at the moment. Planning on being back in the office on Friday, although we'll have to see how the 20 minute walk in to work goes.

Something else I can see? In the distance, lying on their side, the cause of all my misery...

I can't decide whether to throw them out or frame them.

PS. To Mr/Ms Anonymous who left the comment on my last post which had more than a slight tone of judgement to it - I'm 27. Thanks for asking :)

April Book Review

Many thanks to those of you that contributed to the Grand Soup Debate of 2010, I’m pretty sure it will go down in the annals of time.

After the pathetic attempts at reading last month I somehow managed to get my backside into gear and get my reading groove on. A whole 5 books I tell you!! This was greatly aided by a mammoth train journey down to Devon which afforded valuable reading time and also the completion of a book which has been plaguing me for 2 whole months...

This month’s offerings are:

Cranford
I must be one of the only people on the planet who didn’t see the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s book and I now feel a strong urge to rectify that because this book is the equivalent of being wrapped in a rather large woolly blanket. It’s the kind of book that makes me want to fashion myself a bonnet and call on someone to take tea with me. It’s just lovely and I know some would take that as a criticism but I loved reading every minute of it, it was soothing and comforting and so funny in some places. At times I had to stop and remind myself that it was written in 1858. Incredible that it still has the ability to tickle your funny bone.

Man & Boy
One of those books that I saw in the shops and would pick it up, read the back and then reject it for something entirely different. However readitswapit stepped in and I decided to give it a go.

Tells the story of a guy who gets married, cheats on his wife, wife finds out, wife leaves him, he has to look after small son, grows up and realises the error of his ways. In a nutshell.

It was ok. It kept me reading and I sped through it at a rate of knots so it has that going for it. Is it a keeper? For me personally, no. It didn’t touch me on any other level, other than that it was a good story that made you smile in some places and feel a bit filled up in others. I hate saying this because it sounds horrible but, you know, it’d make a good holiday read. Not much brain power required.

Red Lotus
Not one I’d normally pick up but I’m an absolute sucker for the offer that The Times and WH Smith do. Each week a different book for £2.99 when you buy a copy of The Times. There’s not a chance I can resist that offer. This book was the book of the week a while back.

It’s kind of 2 stories. The first part contains the story of Li-Xia, who overcomes adversity blah blah blah and marries the handsome captain Ben Devereaux. The second part concerns itself with their daughter, the Red Lotus, also known as Siu-Sing. And sometimes it felt like you were reading Part One all over again, just with a few names changed. Yes, Siu-Sing is just like her mother and escapes really similar situations. We. Get. It. Ever heard of labouring the point? Also it went kind of weird at the end and a little bit Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon-esque.

Actually despite this I really enjoyed it. Lots of imagery a-plenty in this book and I may well keep an eye open for other books Pai Kit Fai has written. He’s definitely worth another shot I think.

Wolf Hall
Aaaahhh. My nemesis. I started this book at the beginning of time. No wait. It was actually the beginning of March and it has haunted my every waking minute ever since.


Because it is horrible! I actually don’t remember when I last read a book I liked less than this. Any other person would have given up but I hate to admit defeat and will point blank refuse to give up on a book, instead struggling to the bitter end. I started to actually dread going to bed because I knew it would be there, waiting for me, needing to be read. Bleurgh.

I just could not for the life of me get in to it. My friend, who absolutely loved it, said that apparently the Booker Prize judges had given the award based on the style in which she had written the novel. I think they were clearly out of their minds.


Mantel had the incredibly annoying habit of referring to Cromwell as ‘he’ throughout the book, this was so infuriating as there would be points when you would be rendered completely confused going “Who is ‘he’?! Which ‘he’ is she talking about?!” It was horrible. Just horrible. I couldn’t even tell you what it was about. Maybe the confused writing style was supposed to reflect the confusion of the times when you didn’t know what was up or down and things could change at the whim of Henry VIII? Maybe it was just irritating.

I was so disappointed. I mean I guess it must be me because the Booker Prize judges clearly disagreed with me (and obviously they know what they’re talking about. Surely?!) and I know plenty of other people have raved about it but it was horrendous. I would go as far as describing it as an ordeal. Not what you want out of a book.

By the way have you read Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black? That’s very good and not annoying at all.

84 Charing Cross Road
After the horror that was Wolf Hall I needed something a little lighter (both physically and mentally, I had Wolf Hall in hardback and struggled to even lift the damn thing) so I reached for this one. Best choice I could have made. I skipped through this in 3 days, you could sit on a quiet Sunday and get through the whole thing no problem. Wonderful. Delightful.

The book is a series of letters exchanged between Helene Hanff, a writer living in New York and a bookshop situated at, you’ve guessed it, 84 Charing Cross Road. You know what’s good about letters? They are short. You can speed through them at a rate of nobody’s business.

The letters span almost 20 years, from 1949 until 1968. They show an insight into a wonderful friendship between Helene and Frank Doel, the chief correspondent, it is both funny and touching and I will admit to misting up at the end of the correspondence. I can’t tell you what happens or it will spoil it for you.

The 2nd half of the book is entitled The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and documents Hanff’s trip to the UK, which she finally made in the early 1970s. She kept a diary during her month long stay and it is wonderfully written, I found myself there with her, revelling in her insights into the city she had never visited but always dreamed about.

Maybe it was the relief of reading this after the epic that was Wolf Hall but I loved this in to little tiny bits and pieces and would really like to see the film adaptation that was made in the late 1980s.


...

How to pick a winner?


I think I’ve got to go with 84 Charing Cross Road, although Cranford runs a close second.

5 books in 1 month? Get me. To be repeated next month? Erm....probably not.

March Book Review

Oh the shame. The shame. I pitiful 2 books read this month. I should be slapped in the face repeatedly and told to get my act together.

Life in general took over this month and didn’t leave any room for reading. Plus I am at the moment trying to make my way through a behemoth of a book at home which means my only other reading is taking place on my lunch break at work.

Still it’ll make recommending something easy.

Amy Tan – The Kitchen God’s Wife.

I’ve read a few of Amy Tan’s books now and they are good but suffer from the Jodi Picoult syndrome I spoke about in last month’s review. They all start to merge in to one. In fact they merge so much that when I picked this one up I couldn’t really remember if I’d read it before. Not the greatest of signs.

Tan’s books have a formula – Chinese mother who has emigrated to America vs daughter who was born in America and the clash of cultures between the two.

The Kitchen God’s Wife felt a little confusing. At first you think it’s going to be the same old formula, daughter Pearl is keeping a secret from her mother Winnie and doesn’t want to tell her. But actually pretty much the whole book is Winnie’s story, the story of how she came to meet her husband and live in America. I had no problem with this because it was an engaging enough story but it felt a little strange.

Winnie tells Pearl the story to explain why her Auntie Helen is not Winnie’s daughter-in-law and that the secret can now be revealed because someone has died. So you start reading, waiting for the big reveal. Did Winner and Helen kill someone? Why the need to lie? So intriguing! And actually, it’s not really explained, unless it was and I completely missed it, and either way it’s not really relevant to the story.

So after finishing reading, I could feel the quizzical expression on my face as I asked myself “What the hell was that about?”

Verdict?

Not her best. If you would like to read one of Amy Tan’s books try The Bonesetter’s Daughter or the Joy Luck Club.

John Lanchester – Mr Phillips

This is an interesting one and I feel like I can’t really say a lot about it without giving it all away because this isn’t a racer of a book where there are multiple plot lines and characters which all collide at the end to be tied up with a neat little bow. This is more of a “nothing really happens” kind of book although that doesn’t really do it justice. In fact it doesn’t do it justice at all, pretend I didn’t say that.

We follow Mr Philips round on one day (it’s a pretty small book, won’t take you long to read at all) as he wanders through London and are treated to his inner thoughts and feelings about life in general.

I think that’s all I can say without spoiling things.

A word of warning to those of a sensitive and delicate nature – Mr Philips thinks about sex. A lot. You’ve been warned. I just wanted to spare your blushes.

The winner this month is clear – Mr Phillips. If only because he agrees with me about Tuesdays being the worst day of the week as this passage demonstrates...

“Monday, along with its awful back-to-workness, contains a tinge of relief, of the bracing moment after the plunge into the icy pool when we realize the worst of the shock is over. Tuesdays are his least favourite weekday, since they lack the get-on-with-it feeling of Mondays, and at the same time the next weekend is still an impossible way off...”

Here's hoping April is slightly more successful...

February book review

I'm already starting to feel the pressure of making sure I've read enough books to talk to you about each month. Why do I do it myself?!

Anyway. Introducing the books of February...

Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
I've read a couple of Jodi Picoult's books. Only problem is that I can never remember which ones. And that's sort of the problem with these books; they seem to follow the same pattern - strong yet slightly messed up lead female, some kind of crime/mystery to solve, twist at the end.

Thing is, it's a parttern that works. Even if I can't remember which books I've read, I know that each one was absorbing, that I enjoyed reading them and that it was a good ol' story. (My Sister's Keeper! That's one of them I've read!)

Plain Truth is about an Amish girl who has a baby that dies and is accused of its murder. Enter strong yet slightly messed up lead female in the form of a lawyer who stays with the girl and her family whilst trying to solve the mystery of who killed the baby. You can see whodunit a mile off, but I can't deny I sped through the book, wanting to see just how everything got neartly tied up.

The Lady & The Unicorn - Tracy Chevalier
I haven't read the book that Chevalier is best known for, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, and I got this book from Read it Swap it. Couldn't see anything else I fancied on that person's list so thought I'd give it a go. (As an aside, that's why I like Read it Swap it, I always try to pick a book by an author I don't really know so that if I don't like it, I haven't wasted my money buying the book!)

This was one of the best beginnings to a book I've read in ages, I was taken in from page 1, thrust right in to the story. You don't often get that.

The story is about a wannabe French aristocrat, who commissions some tapestries for his house. The story is told from different perspectives - Nicola des Innocents the painter, the wife and daughter of the aristocrat and then various people in the family of weavers who turn Nicolas' paintings in to the final tapestries.

I guess if you had to really break it down it's a love story although if you read this don't expect the classic everybody-turns-out-happy-ending.

Revelation - CJ Sansom
This is book 4 in the Shardlake series and is a series of books I would most definitely recommend. Not my normal fare at all, I'm not usually one for historic fiction and crime at all, but I have loved these books.

Don't let the fact that there are 3 books preceding this one put you off, you can easily read it as a stand alone novel. To be honest, it's been that long since I read Sovereign, the 3rd book, that it might as well be a novel in its own right because I can't remember a thing that happened!

Matthew Shardlake is a hunckback lawyer who is joined by a sidekick of sorts, Jack Barack. They are trying to find a serial killer who is carrying out murders in the style of the Book of Revelation in the bible.

A word of warning - you need to do a bit of homework for this one. It's set towards the end of Henry VIII's reign and I haven't a clue about that period. The whole background of the story is to do with the reformists and preachers and religion and I quite frankly don't know anything about it and found the whole thing quite confusing. A quick trip to Google enlightened me but to be honest I'd rather read a book that doesn't involve me having to do my own research!

Overall, it was good if you're already a committed Shardlake reader, but this one's the weakest of the series so far.

One Day - David Nicholls
This one is about Emma and Dexter, who spend 1 night together on the night of their graduation from university. The book then follows them through their lives, reporting in on the same day, one year later which is a wonderful concept. It allows you to follow 2 people through twenty years without getting bogged down in minor details and the sutff you don't want to know about.

It's just brilliant. I don't really have the words to describe it. (Always useful when the task in hand is to talk about something.) It's just so completely and utterly compelling, I really did have trouble putting it down. There were a couple of nights where I would realise that it was nearly 1am and I needed to get to sleep but I still didn't want to put the book down. Definitely a good sign.

I couldn't get enough of it and I'm going to be on the look-out for Starter for Ten, his first novel.

So clearly the book of the month is the last one One Day and why it was included in the first blogaversary giveaway, I would definitely recommend you go out and buy this one.

Reading has now virtually slowed to a standstill while I get on with the Stich & Bitch project and make people birthday cards...fingers crossed there'll be some read this time next month!

Anyone else got some February book recommendations for me?

January Books

First of all thank you for your words of advice – having a look through it I think there’s a general consensus that I should just leave him to get on with things. He knows he can talk to me, god knows I’ve said it enough, so I shall continue with my inane chatter until he decides to speak.

Now. On to more uplifting things.

The observant of you may have noticed that a new box has appeared on the right hand menu. (I’ll give the less observant a moment to frantically scroll up and down the page to figure out what it is they’ve missed.)

Found it? Give up?

I have decided to keep track of all the books I’m going to read in 2010. I thought it would be nice to keep track of what I spend my time doing when I’m not stabbing a needle through a piece of fabric. I started the list and then had a rather marvellous thought. I shall do a speedy review at the end of each month of the books I’ve read, pick a favourite and there we go, a recommendation for my blog readers. How. Lovely.

I have already noted the potential pitfall of this idea. There’s going to be a month where I don’t finish a book. Or I only finish one. But that’s ok. I have acknowledged this, accepted it and I feel ready to barrel on regardless. There’s also another potential hazard. I suck at talking about books for some reason. I feel able to say whether I did or did not like a book but lose the power of speech when it comes to the details. But let’s just ignore this hazard.

Got off to a good start this month, 4 whole books read although a couple were technically started in December and one was really short BUT THAT’S NOT IMPORTANT.

The Selected Works of TS Spivet – a purchase that was the result of me spending too long in a bookshop. I begin wandering and looking through every book in front of me. I came across this wee beasty when I was in Manchester a while back. I liked it because a) it had pretty maps and drawings in the margins of the pages and b) Stephen King said he liked it and what Stephen likes, I like (have I revealed my King obsession to you yet? Don’t judge me please.)

It’s a story of 12 year old T.S. who maps and draws every aspect of his life. He is awarded a prize for his drawings (they don’t realise how old he is) and he runs away from home to travel across country to collect his award. In a nutshell.

I guess you could say it’s about growing up – about the way in which a child and an adult view the world, how they deal with what life throws at them. The adults in T.S.’s world seem a little one dimensional at times, like Larsen only took the time to briefly sketch down some notes about their character and didn’t bother filling them out. But then was this on purpose? Is this just the way that TS sees the adults in his life? (And here begins the merry go round of discussing a book.)

Wedlock: How Georgian Britain’s Worst Husband Met His Match – A TV Book club book this one. You’ll hear them say that the story seems too wild to be true. They’re not kidding.

Mary Bowes is tricked into marrying Andrew Stoney when he pretends to be mortally wounded after a duel defending her honour (as you do). Once wed he makes a miraculous recovery and then spends the next 15 years or so making the woman’s life hell, routinely beating her, keeping her away from friends and family and keeping her a virtual prisoner. She eventually escapes, only to be drawn into the surreal world of the law in Georgian Britain which did little to protect women’s rights.

Considering the potential for a factual story to become a little dry, this book races along at breakneck speed, the unusualness (is that a word? Who cares! Onwards!) of the story means that it’s very difficult to lose interest.

One thing that’s sad about this book? Mary is supposed to be a champion of women’s rights, taking on the law courts at a time when women had no rights in the eyes of the law, but I couldn’t help feeling a little uncomfortable that the same thing still happens in society today. Yes the law has moved forward but there are still women out there, kept in their homes and subjected to terrifying abuse – they might be able to escape and find some recourse in the law but shouldn’t we be trying to stop it happening at all?

Mister Pip – I feel a little ambivalent about this one. Africa. Civil war. White person who is viewed with suspicion and fear at first but then turns out to be good. Bloodshed. Blah blah blah. I feel like I’ve read it all before.

In fact I cared so little about it I can hardly remember what it was about. Maybe there was some subtle message that was so subtle is got lost along the way for me.

Best thing I can say is that it was an ok story. I didn’t have to abandon it halfway through, I kept reading to the end. But I put it down and didn’t think about it again. Not a good sign.

The Boy with the Cuckoo Clock Heart – you see this is why I was going on about independent bookshops when I was in London – you’re not blinded with the agenda of the Waterstones Board who want you to buy the books they want you to buy. You are free to wander and pick up what you will. Which is how I came in to possession of this little fella.

When Jack is born his heart doesn’t work properly so he has a cuckoo clock grafted on to his heart to keep it ticking. It comes with a warning that he’s not to fall in love – his heart will not be able to cope with the inevitable grief. So, like all good characters in a book, he goes and falls in love, with disastrous consequences.

It’s a small book, you’ll most likely be done with it in a weekend and I guess it falls in to the genre of fairytales for grown-ups, although I feel like this is doing it a bit of a disservice. It is translated from French, but I didn’t pick up on that to be honest, sometimes translated books feel a little stilted I think but this flowed nicely and carried me away with it. Apparently the film rights have already been bought – I pictured a Tim Burton, Nightmare Before Christmas or Coraline type film, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Now to pick just one to recommend....

(I think we know what it’s not going to be)

And I reckon Wedlock has enough publicity at the moment, being part of the TV Book Club.

I’m going to go with The Boy with the Cuckoo Clock Heart although The Adventures of T.S. Spivet is running a very close second.

It’s short and sweet and you’re more likely to miss it than any of the other three. And sometimes, we all need to hear a fairytale (even if it doesn’t have a normal fairytale ending). Reading for me has to be about being transported away somewhere else for a little bit and this book did its job perfectly.

Now leave me be, I have to make sure I’ve read some books for next month. Why is February so short? I could do with an extra couple of days!

Having fun in London town - Part 3 - The purchases!

I promise we’re almost at the end. I could probably bore you for a whole month of Sundays about my trip to London but I promise that it is now pretty much at an end.

The theme of today’s post is less words, more pictures, you’ll probably be relieved to hear.

So I present to you The Purchases!

I spotted a couple of little independent bookshops on our travels and there was no way I was going to pass by them without walking in and buying something. Much as I love Waterstones and all other book chains, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, I love love love independent book shops and think it’s so important to support them and keep them in business by buying a little something from each one.

I always find something just a little bit different in these shops. There are no tables of 3 for 2 offers which are screaming at you to buy them, you are more free to wander aimlessly up and down, looking at the shelves for yourself and it is then that certain things jump out at you and grab your attention.

At Gloucester Road Bookshop (couldn’t tell you the name of the street but it’s about a 3 minute walk from Gloucester Road tube station) I came away with a hardback copy of On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks. A great book that I have read but it was a borrowed copy so I am very pleased to have my own copy, and for a mere £3! I also snatched this tidgy copy of Lark Rise to Candleford. Couldn’t even tell you why I bought it. Just liked it a lot. Who knows when I’ll read it!

And at Nomad Bookshop in Parson’s Green (I think it was on Fulham Road but don’t hold me to it!) I came away with The Boy With The Cuckoo Clock Heart which sounds very fairytale-like – a story of a boy who has his heart replaced with a cuckoo clock and who mustn’t lose his temper for fear of setting it off. Apparently it’s written by a French popstar, which is, well, just bizarre. But I’m pleased I found it either way.

At the Tate Modern (everyone knows the best part of any museum is the gift shop) I picked up this little children’s book. “Who’s it for?” I hear you ask. Erm....me. I just wanted it ok?!

Also at the Tate Modern I got this which provided us with much amusement. I have 2 others in the series which are instructions for British servicemen in France and Germany in 1944. There are reproductions of actual pamphlets given to soldiers in the Second World War to help them assimilate in their host countries. You know what though? The American one is still relevant today – we really haven’t changed that much as a nation. I suggest copies of this are given to passengers on every flight from America to England.

It contains gems such as....

"Don't be a show off. The British dislike bragging and showing off..."

"Keep out of arguments. You can rub a Britisher the wrong way by telling him "we came over and won the last one." Each nation did its share..."

"The British don't know how to make a good cup of coffee. You don't know how to make a good cup of tea. It's an even swap."

And I know that you’re all dying to find out what I bought at the Marmite shop. Come on, admit it. You are. As I said in this post, I went a little overboard because the prices of everything had been slashed in an attempt to clear the stock before the shop closed down. So I came away with...

I know.

I wasn’t joking when I said I went overboard.

Pictured here you will find:
- 2 t-shirts
- The big bumper book of Marmite (which is hilarious by the way, they must have had such a giggle putting it together)
- 4 coasters
- 3 tea towels
- An oven glove
- A postcard in a frame

And not pictured is a big tote with a marmite jar on it. I’d got to the till and he rang the purchases up and said that they had the tote on offer for £5 when it was normally £15 and would I be interested? At that point I really felt that I’d gone so far, I might as well carry on so all my purchases went in that.

I am currently working on spreading all these things throughout the flat because I think there’s definitely a chance that there’s a bit of Marmite overkill going on.

And here ends the London posts. (You’ll be glad to hear.)

I think I did pretty well with my purchases, I tried to get things that I can’t get in Hull, nothing worse than coming home with a load of stuff you could have bought anywhere. (I think the Marmite products can definitely come under that heading!)

Now.

What the hell am I going to blog about for the rest of the year?!

The Annual Christmas Manchester Trip 2009

This weekend I made my way to a rather soggy Manchester for my annual Christmas pilgrimage. I go to Manchester a fair bit anyway but it is written down (somewhere) that I must go at the end of November/beginning of December to make the most out of the superior shopping experience that the city centre holds.

Many many items were purchased this weekend, some final Christmas presents (hurray for nearly being finished buying everything!) and also some little treats for me. I tend not to buy a lot of clothes and stuff during the year, only when something breaks or wears out do I venture in to the shops. Instead I save it all up and have a mini splurge on my Christmas Manchester Trip.

For example: these little lovelies from Next.

(Tina Teaspoon couldn't help but get her face in the photo)

I have been in love with these shoes for many months now after spotting them in Mum’s catalogue and then seeing them paraded in all their glory on the TV adverts. And now they are mine, ALL MINE. I hope they’re kind to me. Sometimes the prettiest shoes aren’t always the nicest to your feet. These will be getting their first outing on Friday so keep your fingers crossed!

And what do you know? A book fell in to my hands. But before you yell “But you’re banned from buying books!”, (as I’m sure you will, being devoted readers and having read this post) let me tell you that this doesn’t count. I had to buy Christmas presents you see and thanks to Waterstones’ 3 for 2 offer, this little fella didn’t cost me a penny so he’s allowed. OK?!

The annual Christmas Manchester Trip is not complete without a wander to Paperchase to get my Christmas wrapping paper. The visit this year was even more exciting because I get to have my very first Christmas tree this year (cue lots of clapping and jumping up and down).

Paperchase do the most fabulous Christmas decorations – full of colour and glitter and always bordering on the “Oh my god this is so ugly and tacky but I LOVE it!” side of things.

I went for these bad boys in the end.

Saturday night was spent with a good friend having good food, drinking wine and watching Strictly Come Dancing.

And naturally I couldn’t forget to mention the Christmas Market. Manchester has the best Christmas Market I’ve ever seen. And yes I might be just a little bit biased seeing as she is my favourite city and I love her. But it’s certainly the biggest I’ve ever seen. Some people think it’s confined to outside the City Hall BUT IT ISN’T! The stalls snake their way through the whole centre of town and can be found in St Ann’s Square and outside Harvey Nichols and Selfridges too.

These stalls are beyond wonderful and I have to whizz through them, rather than taking my time because I can’t afford all the things I would like and it would only end up with me crying.

I got a few more Christmas tree decorations. I’m not entirely sure what this tree is going to look like – I’m hoping it’ll be a lovely blend of traditional and quirky and won’t come off looking like a complete mess.

My little trip definitely got me in the Christmas mood, you see I know that once the annual Manchester Christmas Trip has been completed, and the wrapping paper purchased, then it’s only a hop, skip and a jump to the festive season proper.

And a little mug of Gluhwein always helps.

The Other Hand - Chris Cleave

I’m banned from bookshops you know. I have a bookcase in our bedroom and it has, about 50-odd books on there which are all waiting to be read. So I’m not allowed to go and buy new books.

Unless.

There’s a special occasion. Like going to Manchester for a trip. Or The Times Book of the Week where you can get a book for £2.99 with a copy of the paper. Or when you are buying books for other people and they just happen to be on the Waterstones 3 for 2 offer and you pick a book for yourself. Those situations don’t really count.

I’m not really one for re-reading books you see. There are so many out there and I can hear them calling to me and I don’t want to neglect them.

This means that sometimes I can rush through books like nobody’s business and so often I’ll go “Oh yes. I’ve read that....what happens in it again?” Sometimes the stories, although engaging at the time, don’t stay with me for long afterwards.

I have a friend who has an insane number of books lining her tiny one roomed flat in Manchester. It’s an Aladdin’s Cave and I can spend a whole afternoon browsing and picking things off the shelf and asking “Is this any good?” She can’t bear to send any books on their way to a better life. I’ve had to make her do it once when she finally ran out of room. It was traumatic for both of us, it was like I was wrenching her babies away from her and sending them to Oxfam.

I however am pretty brutal. I’ll read a book and I might have liked it but you know when you just know that that is as far as your journey goes together? You know that you’re never really going to read it again and it didn’t really set your world on fire to begin with. It’s time to let it go.

And let it go I do – be off with you to the charity shop little book, someone-else might love you enough to keep you forever and ever. And ever.

There are very few books that I have deemed worthy of keeping. Some I keep because they were just great stories. Some I keep because I would like to lend them to friends. Some I keep because I would like my children to read them. And some just struck a chord within me that I know I can’t ignore. Those books go on the special bookcase.

The Other Hand is going to join them on there.

Bet you wondered when I was going to get around to talking about it didn’t you?

But you see I can’t really give you a review as such because I’ve made a promise. I can’t tell you what happens. It says so on the back of the book and I agree with that decision – if you knew what was going to happen it would be ruined.

I can say that it’s a very clever book. There’s no floweriness to it. No massively long prose littered with words you don’t understand. It’s just a story, told by 2 women.

And it’s beauty lies in its simplicity and I recommend it to you all.

So well done Chris Cleave. You made it on to the shelf.

And who knows, maybe, just maybe, I might pick you up one day and read you again.

The Island - Victoria Hislop

I think if I had to describe this book in one word it would be....

Beautiful.

Although I don’t even think that word covers it. Beautiful feels a little wishy washy but it is the best I can come up with I’m afraid.

But you see it is beautiful. It transports you to Crete as you get swept up in the story. You can feel the heat beating down on you, see the glistening of the sea, feel the cool shade inside the houses on the leper colony of Spinalonga.

Excuse me?

Oh yes did I not mention? This book is about leprosy.

Ha. No it isn’t. Not really.

It’s about love. And family. The whole leper thing is just a setting, albeit a tragic one.

I think sometimes getting tarred with the Richard & Judy Book Club brush can be a blessing and a damnation. Yes your book will be read more widely but people who are snobby about their books (and there are so many) will immediately dismiss you.

No it isn’t taxing on the brain. It probably won’t rock your world entirely. But nor should it just be dismissed as a ‘beach read’ because I think to give it that title doesn’t do it justice.

I can’t deny the fact that I was completely lost in it and that I found it really difficult to put it down, even though I knew what was coming. There has to be something in that surely?

People can be so keen to show off their knowledge of all the great books that they’ve read that sometimes they forget what pleasure you can get from just reading a really nice story. Does a novel have to challenge you to be good? Does it have to be nominated for a Booker?

Hell to the no.

Victoria Hislop’s writing was wonderful in my opinion and I liked it so much that I have bought her second book The Return just to check if The Island was a fluke or if she really is that good.

Want to read a nice story that will captivate you? Read this. Especially on these cold winter nights, I think we need a little bit of Cretan sunshine.

Ant & Bee and the Rainbow

Once upon a time when I was a little girl somebody got me this little book.


Ant & Bee see a rainbow one morning and decide to make their own out of an old tyre in the ground. They paint it and then they make swings to swing under the make-believe rainbow, which they paint. Then they play bat and ball over a net but the ball keeps hitting the swings so they sit on top of the rainbow and watch the sky until it gets dark and they go home.


Then during the night it rains...


And it washes all the pain off the rainbow and the swings and the bats and in the morning they decide to paint the rainbow all over again.


And at this point I would demand to be the read the story again. And again. And again. And again.


So much so that my Mum, Dad, brother and sister would hide the book from me so they didn't have to read it for the billionth time that day.


Fast forward to about 20 years later...


Now wheneverthe boyfriend's niece comes to see us she immediately asks for the "rainbow book" and we have to read it to her.


And then we have to read it again. And again. And again.


This weekend I knew she was coming round and we hid the book.


Shame on me.


(I decided that I would buy the niece her own copy of Ant & Bee and the Rainbow but a search online revealed it wasn't to be that simple. The books were first published in the 1960s and then reprinted in the late 1980s/90s but are now out of print. And on Amazon 2nd hand copies of the series are fetching up to £100 with the Rainbow book going for £42!! I clearly had good taste!)

Curling up with cup of tea

So I went in to work today.

And then I came straight home.

Turns out I'm not totally better yet. I thought I was but clearly I was mistaken.

I think the trouble is that the furthest I've walked in 5 days is from the sofa to the kitchen and to go from that to a 20 minute walk in to work (in the rain) was apparently pushing it.

I sat at my desk and once I stopped feeling faint and like I was going to throw up I packed up my stuff and headed back home.

I'm honestly not trying to be a martyr or anything like that. I'm the biggest wuss going. I just really did think that I was better and more than that I really am starting to get bored. I figured that if I was bored then it was time to go to back.

Instead. I am being bored at home. With tea and cross stitch. And a bit of reading. And a bit of trawling around on the internet for things to do. And I thought I would do this from this little lady's blog...

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack?
I don’t really to be honest, it’s one of the few times I resist the temptation to shovel something in to my mouth. There’s nothing better than curling up with a lovely big cup of tea though.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
No I couldn’t hurt the little darlings!! I don’t even like creasing the spine so the idea of writing in them makes me feel a little ill. I used to hate doing it when I was doing my English Lit A-level because I had to make loads of notes and I would apologise to the book every time I set about it with my pen!

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
YOU MUST NEVER TURN OVER THE CORNER OF THE PAGE. Naughty. I don’t like laying the book open either because that can lead to the dreaded spine crease. It’s always a bookmark although it’s not normally a pretty bookmark, it’ll be a piece of paper or a post-it note or whatever happens to be handy.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Both really. If I’m honest I’m more likely to pick up fiction, I see reading more as an escape so favour a bit of make-believe but I’m a sucker for autobiographies, probably because I’m far too nosy for my own good. I loved it when there was that brief period in time when economics became cool (I’m an economics geek) and there was a rash of books released, Freakanomics, The Undercover Economist etc - loved all of those.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Definitely hard copy. I have tried audiobooks in the past but I can’t keep concentrating on them, my mind starts to wander and when I tune back in I have no idea what’s going on!

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?
I love this question! Because it means that I’m not the only person that hates finishing reading randomly in the middle of a page! I will try my hardest to get to the end of the chapter, even if that means having to go back and re-read the last few pages the next day because I’ve been reading them in sleep haze and can’t remember what happened!

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
I don’t really. You can usually figure out what something means by looking at the context. Then I try and note it and remember to bring it out on glittering social occasions and stun people with my command of the English language. No. That never happens.

What are you currently reading?
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith

What is the last book you bought?
Rief Larsen – Selected Works of TS Spivet

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?
When I was younger I would have several on the go at once but now I like to devote my time and attention to one book at the time. I find that if I’m reading two at a time, there’ll be one that I like more and I’ll just end up reading that one, and then I feel sorry for the rejected one. I will however have to switch to 2 books soon because I have loads of hardbacks or big bulky books at home waiting to be read that are far too big to carry about in my handbag (I will absolutely not leave the house without a book, no matter where I’m going and yes I do mean every time I leave the house, even to go to the supermarket. You never know when you’re going to have time to read!) so I will probably have an at home book and a handbag book on the go.

Do you have a favourite time of day and/or place to read?
I will read at any time and any place. I will read on the street waiting to meet someone. I will read on the bus or in the car. I will read at work. I will read in bed. I will read while watching the TV. The thing that really bugs me is that I can’t read and cross stitch at the same time....ooh maybe it’s time to give the audiotapes a go again!

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
I really don’t mind. I have a few series that I’ve picked up and loved so bought the next ones but there are obviously plenty of stand alone ones. I just go in to a bookshop and see what takes my fancy.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
Not particularly highbrow and I know people are very snobby about these things but I love my Stephen King. He’s far too often overlooked and dismissed as a horror writer but I really believe that he has written a book which will appeal to everyone. And another recommendation which is equally lightweight is Alexander McCall-Smith. I just love the way he writes, it’s so comforting. I tend to recommend individual books rather than authors though.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
Ooooh lovely! My favourite question. I’m all about the organisation. I haven’t found my ideal organisation yet in the flat, there are improvements that could be made. But at the moment we have a Classics section within which they are organised alphabetically by the author’s last name.

Then there’s a shelf that has the boyfriend’s books on it – lots of Bernard Cornwell and Terry Pratchett, not sure how he’s organised those, I left that up to him. Then there’s the Stephen King shelf, they’re organised chronologically in order of publication. Then the autobiographies are together in alphabetical order (by subject, not author), then there’s my geeky economics books and the boyfriend’s geeky military history books.

THEN. There’s smaller bookshelf which is just full of random books that I’ve read and liked. I’m quite hardcore, I don’t often keep books, I know that realistically I won’t read them again so I set them free in to the world. THEN there’s a bookcase in our bedroom which has on it all the books that are still waiting to be read and THEN there’s a bookcase in the spare bedroom which has all the boyfriend’s Warhammer books on it. I hate that bookcase.

And we’re going to need more space soon....

I’m a geek.

ANYWAY.That’s it finished! Please feel free to take this and re-post on your blog, I’d love to know if anyone is similarly geeky to me. No? Ah well....ok.