Weekend Miscellany

I started a new part-time job this week (still as a librarian, but this time in a Special Collections reading room, so the materials are suddenly much more fragile and valuable!) and I’m pretty tired.  Back to work today (Saturday) but with the not-very-valuable books instead… and mostly reshelving.  Such is the ignominy of being a library dogsbody!  Still, I made a chocolate cake this evening, so at least I’ll have something delicious in my lunch, though I says it as shouldn’t.

I seem to have wandered away from the book/blog post/link format of my Weekend Miscellanies of late, but that’s because each week seems to be bursting at the seams with goodies.  But I’ll try to remember to keep all three in somewhere…

1.) For those of you who can’t get enough of me here (ahem) you can read some of my writing somewhere else this week!  My review of Leonard and Virginia Woolf, The Hogarth Press, and the Networks of Modernism (phew) ed. Helen Southworth is in the CILIP Rare Books Newsletter.  Have a gander here (it’s in Issue 91) if you fancy it.  In summary, it’s a good book!  And my review starts by quoting E.M. Delafield.

2.) Linda Gillard’s A Lifetime Burning is a very good, strange, wonderful book.  I said that, in a few more words, back in a rather speedy review here.  It’s now available on Kindle here at the ridiculously cheap price of 88p.  It’s not the most comfortable read ever, but it is Linda’s masterpiece. Twenty-six reviews on Amazon; all five-star – that’s got to mean something.

3.) Peirene’s Short Story Month competition (PeiShoStoMo), which I mentioned here, is done and dusted.  Lots of congrats to Rose Rankin-Gee and her great story ‘London’, which you can read here.

4.) Some other lovely bloggers are joining in A Century of Books: see what Fleur Fisher, Read the Book, Geranium Cat and Harriet Devine have planned, and let me know if you post your own plans on your blog.  (Sorry if you’ve already told me and I forgot!)

5.) I keep linking to Claire’s reviews, but she keeps reviewing wonderful books wonderfully well!  I can’t believe another blogger has read Miss Elizabeth Bennet by A.A. Milne – read Claire’s lovely review here.  My plan for people to read and love AAM’s obscure adult plays/sketches/novels/essays is finally coming to fruition!  He wrote so, so much, I could fill up a third of A Century of Books with Milne alone…

6.) Finally, I was delighted with Slightly Foxed sent me the latest of their Slightly Foxed Editions: it’s Dodie Smith’s autobiography Look Back With Love.  One of her autobiographies, I should say, since I think she penned a fair few.  I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, since I love I Capture the Castle, and this beautiful edition is perfect.  I hope to get onto it soon, but for now – more info is here.

First things first – happy birthday to Our Vicar!

It’s definitely getting Christmassy at our house, since the Christmas tree has gone up (sans tinsel) and presents have been wrapped.  I’m heading down to Somerset at the end of next week, where Sherpa will inevitably destroy any decorations which go up – but I could forgive that little sweetheart absolutely anything, of course.

I’m not going to be particularly festive right now, though, as the weekend miscellany is dashing everywhere from the derivation of a popular phrase to the Twilight Zone.  It’s an odd one this week… enjoy!

1.)  You know when you start with an honest, sensible Wikipedia search… and then quarter of an hour later you’re reading about the chart hits of Destiny’s Child or an unsolved murder case from the 1840s?  Yes?  Perhaps you’ll sympathise with me: my initial search started with something for my DPhil on fantastic novels where rooms shift shape.  It ended with… an episode of the Twilight Zone called ‘Five Characters in Search of an Exit.’  I thought I’d post it here, because (a) it makes for good watching, and (b) since it plays on the title of the Pirandello play Six Characters in Search of an Author, it’s literary-by-proxy.  I do enjoy The Twilight Zone because it’s surreal and mysterious without being terrifying or gory.  You can read the Wikipedia article here, and watch below (hopefully).

2.)  I spotted this via Kirsty, I think (whose blog Other Stories seems to have disapparated?)  Ever wanted to know where the odd expression ‘stealing someone’s thunder’ comes from?  The Oxford Words blog obliges here.  I absolutely love these quirky little idioms and their history.  Any others to share?

3.) I haven’t read nearly enough books published in 2011 to submit my own results, but if you have, pop over to The International Readers Book Awards on the website for my new favourite podcast, The Readers, run by Simon of Savidge Reads and Gav of Gav Reads.

4.)  This weekend’s book (I have taken liberties with my normal Weekend Miscellany, but there has to be a book, doesn’t there?) came through my letterbox from Vintage Books.  It’s called Stop What You’re Doing And Read This – what else could I do but obey?  I’m afraid it’s not out until 5th January, but I couldn’t resist telling you about it in advance – because it’s just the sort of book-about-books that I adore.  To quote them, ‘this book is a mission statement about the transformative power of reading.’  Well-known authors, publishers and sundry others have written essays about reading and the importance of books – preaching to the converted here, of course, but a topic which always captivates me.  So far I’ve read Zadie Smith on libraries (wonderfully impassioned), Blake Morrison  (mainly about biographies, and very interesting), Carmen Callil (most fascinatingly for me, the origins of Virago), Tim Parks (the one dud essay so far; trying far too hard), and Mark Haddon (unexpectedly brilliant, actually.)  Other essayists are Jeanette Winterson, Michael Rosen, Dr. Maryanne Wolf, Jane David, and Nicholas Carr.

Of course I’ll write more in depth about this later, but I wanted to sound the alarm early.  It’ll only be £4.99 when it’s published, which I thought pretty reasonable, and it might just join Anne Fadiman, Susan Hill, and Alberto Manguel on my beloved books-about-books shelf.

I am not best pleased, as the post I spent 45 minutes writing just disappeared. Darn it darn it darn it. Well, I’ll try again, but I might be a little less insouciant than usual…

Firstly, I have yet to reach the end of the tunnel when it comes to comments. Apparently some of you can’t see other people’s comments – curiouser and curiouser! I think this might be people using Internet Explorer – can I recommend the all-round-nicer Firefox! I’m going to keep the new comment format for the next few days, and if the problems don’t clear up then I’ll probably change back…

EDIT: well, it wasn’t working, so we’re back to the old way of commenting for now… well, it’s teething at the mo, but we’ll be back to normal by tonight. I will keep trying!

But enough of these shenanigans! It’s the weekend, it’s already been miscellaneous, that can only mean that it’s Stuck-in-a-Book’s Weekend Miscellany!

1.) The blog post – is over at Tales From the Reading Room, and a fascinating discussion about Why Write Reviews? This isn’t quite the same as Why Blog? A few bloggers noticed that full-length reviews tended to get fewer comments than other posts, and also themselves were often more reluctant to read full-length reviews than bookish-chatter type posts. Which led Litlove to write an interesting analysis of why she writes reviews – and, of course, the comments box is filled with conversation on the topic, including my tuppenyworth.

2.) The question – (for there is no link this week!) is on similar territory. I was wondering what you thought of the post Claire and I co-created on One Day? A few of you commented – most of you (of course!) did not. What did you think of the conversation format? Do you think it worked? Those bloggers amongst you – would you like to have a go yourself? I’d love to know your thoughts. (If the comments box doesn’t work, email them to me!)

3.) The book – is The Outward Room (1937) by Millen Brand, which New York Review of Books Classics gave to me a while ago. I forget quite why I asked for it, or where I heard about, but I’m even more excited about it since I spotted in an old interview with Persephone Books that they had it forthcoming. Those plans must have been shelved, perhaps because of the NYRB edition, but a Persephone stamp of approval doesn’t go amiss. Since I’ve yet to read it, I thought I should at least give it a mention. It’s about a woman, Harriet Demuth, who escapes from a mental hospital and goes on a journey both of New York and of self-discovery. That synopsis puts me in mind of Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel, which is no bad thing – and it sounds as though it might have been rather revolutionary for 1937.

Ok, that’s it for this miscellany – have a good weekend, everyone.

Our Vicar’s Wife is staying at the moment, so give her a cheery wave.  Thanks!
Feeling sleepy this weekend, so we’ll move straight onto the book, blog, and link – although I’ll whisper a little advance warning for Monday… I’ll be trying something a bit different, and another blogger will be along to help me…

1.) The book – came from the lovely people at Sort Of books, responsible for the wonderful Tove Jansson editions and my recently-reviewed Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles.  Basically, their books are beautiful and they don’t put a foot wrong.  They spotted my review, and thought I might like Telescope by Jonathan Buckley.  This is their blurb, from the website:

Daniel Brennan, approaching the premature end of his life, retreats to a room in his brother’s suburban house. To divert himself and to entertain Ellen, his carer, he writes the journal that is Telescope, blurring truth, gossip and fiction in vignettes of his own life and the lives of those close to him. Above all he focuses on his siblings: mercurial Celia, whose life as a teacher in Italy seems to have run aground, and kindly Charlie, the entrepreneur of the family.

More info here – but I’d be surprised if I didn’t love it, given how similar my tastes seem to be to this publisher’s own.

2.) The link – a lot of you will have heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where aspiring novelists scribble as fast as possible during November to create their first draft.  Well, Peirene Press (lovely Peirene Press, I mean) have created PeiShoStoMo.  Peirene Short Story Month.  I’m afraid I’m announcing this nineteen days late, but you still have a week and a half to write 900 words, if you’re interested… more here.

3.) The blog post – you know I can’t resist it when I find reviews of my favourite books, especially when they’re wonderfully enthusiastic reviews.  This one, of Miss Hargreaves (which I’ve just finished for the sixth time) was actually written back in March, but I didn’t see it then.  It’s a lovely review, and the post includes a picture of the first edition dustjacket, which I hadn’t seen before and which I love.  (It’s not the one pictured… I’m saving the surprise for when you’ve clicked on the link.)  Oh, I flippin’ love everything to do with Miss Hargreaves – every time I read it I love it even more, and wish ever more fervently that (a) I could have seen Margaret Rutherford play her on stage, or (b) Maggie Smith would play her in a film.  Please, please, pleeeeeeease.

Morning everyone!  I usually try and write my Weekend Miscellanies in advance, so that they appear on the dot of midnight, but I was at a friend’s house yesterday evening and too zonked to write anything when I got back.  And, prepare yourself, today’s post is quite self-indulgent… I was going to be bashful and modest, but… no, I’ll try that next year instead.

1.) Spangle very kindly asked me to participate in a series on her blog called Chapters In My Life.  As with the My Life in Books series I ran in March/April, we were both inspired by the My Life in Books TV programme.  I chose five books which were important during my life, and which have led to my current reading tastes.  I also tried to steer clear of my normal answers to such things, so there is nary a mention of Miss Hargreaves!  You can read it here, and see the others in Spangle’s series here. As a sneak peak, my first choice is Enid Blyton’s Five Get Into Trouble, but I now have a suspicion that I chose the wrong book… Our Vicar? Our Vicar’s Wife?

2.) A teensy bit of trumpet-blowing, but trumpet-blowing occasioned by surprise and delight – according to Wikio, I am now top of their ranking of UK literary blogs!  I know these things are only a bit of fun, and I’ll probably have dropped to no.93 by next month, but I couldn’t help being rather pleased.

3.) A now a bit of fun – a great quiz I happened upon called Shakespeare or Batman?  Not as easy as it sounds… I got 20/30, which is the worst score of anybody I know.  Great.

4.) Slightly Foxed‘s beautiful little limited edition hardbacks have proved so popular that they’re going to reprint their bestselling titles in paperback form.  More info here; the first will be Mr. Tibbits’s Catholic School by Ysenda Maxtone Graham.  Anybody read it?

5.) To most of us, Elizabeth von Arnim is far from being a neglected author (she appears on my 50 Books list, for goodness’ sake – what greater acclaim IS there??) but a mention in Downton Abbey a few weeks ago has apparently created something of a resurgence of interest.  A lovely little article here.  And a confession from me that I’m three episodes behind with Downton…

Time for a weekend miscellany, I think you’ll agree, what with it being the weekend and all. I’ve been tidying my books lately (for which read: moving them around the room in the futile hope that this will create more space, and shoving all non-book items under my bed, in drawers, or at the bottom of my wardrobe). Anyway, it has revealed that I have thirteen books that I’ve read, waiting to be reviewed… all will hopefully be revealed soon, but for today I’m going to give you a few great reviews and some interesting bits and pieces.

1.) I always love it when new blogs start up, especially ones which show the promise that Open a Book does – Geetanjali writes some very persuasive reviews, such as this one on Watership Down, and she’s also keen to find a Reading Challenge to adopt – if you have any good ideas, go here and help her out.

2.) My friend Katie has set up a baking blog, so pop over and visit if you’re a fan of baking…

3.) There can be few more delightful blogging experiences than seeing a beloved book being appreciated by a much-admired blogger.  Recently I’ve had that pleasure two-fold, since both Eva and Rachel have recently reviewed one of my favourite novels, The Love-Child, on my ‘recommendation’.  (Those inverted commas are for the pressure I exerted upon Rachel, which was akin to harrassment.  Eva went and surprised me by reading it, unpressured!)  Click on their names to read their very wonderful reviews of this exceptional little book.

4.) I think I’m going to address the Literary Merit vs. Readability debate in another post, mostly because I haven’t decided what I think and will need to ramble on a bit to find out.  But go and prepare yourself by reading Simon S’s post here, and join in the flourishing debate in the comments box.

5.) And finally the annual 24 Hour Readathon is running in memory of Dewey [thanks for telling me about this, Jackie], and although it’s rather more hours than I could cope with , do pop over to Sasha‘s blog and see what she has planned.  It’s pretty ambitious!

I had intended to feature some recent books too, but this feels like enough to be getting on with.  Perhaps next weekend I’ll just do a round-up of books which have found their way to me in the past few weeks… for now, enjoy a bit of clicking around the blogosphere!

Happy weekend folks!  And happy October too.  I suspect a lot of us in Britain are enjoying the unseasonably hot weather – personally, I’m retreating to the shade with paracetamol, but I’ll try not to begrudge heat-seekers their (literal) day in the sun.  I shall even add to their bounty with a book, a blog post, and a link.

1.) The link – is a rather amusing video from an old TV programme What’s My Line?  For those not in the know, this ran in the 50s and 60s, where panellists had to deduce the occupations of guests, and then the identity of a mystery famous guest.  In this case the guest is Salvador Dali, and his self-belief makes the exchange especially funny.  The video is below and, if that doesn’t work, the link is here.

2.) The book – is slightly unusual territory for me.  I don’t think I’ve ever read a graphic novel, but I am very captivated by what I’ve seen of Brecht Evens’ The Wrong Place, kindly sent to me by Jonathan Cape.  Besides Evens’ astonishingly good name, I love the style of his artistry.  At the moment that is all I know about this book… perhaps the cover and an illustration from inside will be enough to captivate you too.  (The illustration is taken from Evens’ own flickr set for The Wrong Place here.)  It’s not published until Oct0ber 20th, and I will report back further in the future…

3.) The blog post – has to be Sakura’s review of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – how lovely that she is reading some of my favourite books this year, and even lovelier that she’s enjoying them so much!  But do also keep up with Darlene’s wonderful travel-log (travelogue?) of her time in London.  I think I’m going to be in the next instalment, so there’s an incentive ;) 

Happy weekend, everyone.  I’m tucked up in bed, feeling better than yesterday but not quite fighting fit just yet.  But fit enough to give you a link, a blog post, and a book.  In fact, as a special treat, let’s have two each of all of ’em… and a question for you too.  

Does anyone have any tips for finding out when people link to your blog?  I use Google Alerts, which used to be quite good, but now don’t seem to turn up many results – often I find blog posts have linked to me, and I’ve been unaware of it.  Occasionally I check Technorati, which catches some of them, but I’d like an alerts service that actually does the job….?

1.) The blogs – two whole new-to-me blogs this week, rather than just blog posts!   Firstly, Helen at A Gallimaufry – she’s been going for a while, but somehow I’ve only just spotted her blog.  It has a lovely scrap-booky feel, with beautiful archive photos surrounding her insightful reviews.  How could I not love a blog which has featured reviews of The Love Child and The Skin Chairs?  Go and have a gander.

And secondly, my friend Barbara – my e-friend, that is, whom I’ve known online for seven years – has finally succumbed and set up this rather beautiful photo-orientated blog, Mi Lady’s Boudoir.  Travels and photos and books and delectable things like that.

2.) The books – are both review copies, and rather from the sublime to the ridiculous.  The sublime, from Frances Lincoln publishers, is Enthusiasms by Mark Girouard.  It’s a collection of the unusual minutiae of literary exploration, from a neglected clue to Jane Austen’s first love affair to the location of Waugh’s Brideshead, stopping off at SiaB favourites like Oscar Wilde and Vita Sackville-West.  This one’s going to be fun.

But perhaps not as much fun, and certainly not as much guilty pleasure, as the book Michael O’Mara Books sent me – Brendan Sheerin: My Life.  For those not in the know, Brendan is the (international) tour guide on one of my favourite TV programmes – Coach Trip.  It’s the world’s most budget reality TV programme, utter rubbish but completely compelling.  Friends come around and we watch seven episodes at a time.  This book will doubtless prove as guiltily entertaining.

3.) The links – are both of a bookish nature, quelle surprise.  Lyndsay pointed me in the direction of this – Esquire have named 75 Books Every Man Should Read.  Oddly all but one of them are by men.  Methinks they got confused about Carson McCullers…  Naturally I think this is probably all quite silly, from the idea that men should read different books from women to the idea that men should only read books by men (and Carson McCullers).  But I loves me a list, and couldn’t resist it.

Speaking of lists… Laura of Guardian Books sent me a link to their Power 100.  Also clearer list etc. here.  It’s the hundred most powerful people in books, including booksellers, authors, publishers, agents… and nary a blogger in sight, which isn’t really entirely surprising.

So, twice as many goodies as usual there.  I’m off to bed with a book…
  

I’ve been off on trips this week – two to Swindon (yesterday I was there reading letters, rather than diaries – which meant reading lots of different people’s handwriting, rather than just Edith Olivier’s. Anne Sedgwick, whoever you may be, one day I will track you down and MAKE YOU WRITE YOUR Es PROPERLY. Ahem) And my housemate Debs and I also went to Compton Verney to see the Stanley Spencer exhibition, and enjoy the beautiful grounds. More on that next week, for today we need a book, a link, and a blog post.

1.) The blog post – I don’t think I’ve ever had an easier choice to make than this one: Sakura’s review of SiaB favourite Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns. I sent her a copy, because I can be a bit pushy when it comes to my favourite authors – and she has rewarded me with a positive and perceptive review that makes me want to read it all over again. (Take note, Rachel, take note.)

2.) The link – is of a similar ilk, but not from a blog. Here is an essay about Tove Jansson by Matthew Battles in the Barnes and Noble Review, which some kind soul emailed to me… but I can’t right now remember who. Susan? Ruth? Nancy? Thanks, whoever it was!

3.) The book – comes from lovely Folio Society. I am thrilled to be on their review list now, let me tell you, as my first encounter with Folio books was more or less the first time I realised that a book’s beauty could make me gasp. That book – or, indeed, those books – being the Mapp & Lucia series, which I eventually managed to secure for myself. But the one I’m mentioning today is Camus’ The Outsider (English translation, obv.) introduced by Damon Galgut and illustrated by Matthew Richardson. They gave me a choice of three, and this is one I’ve been intending to read for ages. I feel a bit as though everyone else has read it first, so I daresay you can tell me about it, no?

Happy weekend everyone – although, while I’ve been writing this, it has started raining here. I had intended to go to the park with a book… hmm.

Hey folks! Hope you’ve had a good week. Mine involved making the ridiculous cake below, with my lovely friend Lorna. I’m off on holiday tonight, cat-sitting at home for a week, then off to Shropshire and Wales with my bro for a bit. I was going to have proper posts ready to pop up, and who knows, maybe I still will – but… Well, something will appear, but it might be on a somewhat rationed basis. Still time for a Weekend Miscellany before I board the train, though…

1.) The blog post – is a lovely photo post by Diana, being Part 1 of a multipart series documenting her recent trip to the UK. I’ll come into it somewhere towards the end, but the first part is delightful – more general, about her 29 trips to these shores, with a great group of photos taken over the years. I swear, she knows Britain much better than I do.

2.) The link – so, the Man Booker longlist is out. I have read none; I own the Julian Barnes. This is the last time I shall mention anything to do with it…
3.) The book – had gone into a pile to go home: interesting enough to keep, but not to read for a while. It’s Let Not The Waves of the Sea by Simon Stephenson, and I kept my review copy from John Murray mostly because I love the cover. And then I read this article from the Guardian, wept over it, and want to read it. Let Not The Waves of the Sea is non-fiction, about Stephenson’s relationship with his brother Dominic, who died in the 2004 tsunami. My brother is the most important person in my life, and I love any book which cherishes the importance of siblings – even if this has a terribly tragic element, the blurb writes that it is ‘more than a book about what it means to lose a brother: it is a book about what it means to have one in the first place.’