Happy weekend! I will be celebrating two of my lovely godchildren this weekend – the 1st birthday of one and the Christening of another. (Wish me luck getting a cake on the train and the tube!) Very exciting and lovely, and I hope your weekends are also looking special. Here, as ever, is a book, blog post, and link to keep you going through it.
1.) The link – you may remember Tanya’s excellent blog 20th-Century Vox. She writes elsewhere now, but it’s still a brilliant trove of reviews. Her writing is now often about indexing, which is her job and a topic I find fascinating. I recently read her article on the politics of indexing, which is something I’d never considered before and which really grabbed me.
2.) The book – I’ve mentioned it in a couple of places, but I just want to spread the word to anybody who has an Audible subscription: you can get their Virginia Woolf Collection free in the Audible Plus catalogue, and Kristin Scott Thomas reading Mrs Dalloway is the best audiobook experience I’ve ever had. (The other readings, of To The Lighthouse, A Room of One’s Own, and The Waves are also good, but there is something particularly magical about the combination of KST and Mrs D.)
3.) The blog post – I was intrigued by A Room Above A Shop by Anthony Shapland when I saw it in a bookshop recentliy, and enjoyed Susan’s review of it. I’m also interested in how this sort of colour-blocking abstract cover is all the rage at the moment.
I just purchased the Virginia Woolf Collection on Audible on your recommendation, Simon! I had to pay for it with a credit here in Canada, but am still happy to have it. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the tip, Simon!
I hope you have a lovely time with your godchildren. And don’t drop the cake on the tube or the train!
Fantastic tip about the Virginia Woolf collection on Audible – thank you!