1. Spring is sprung
The evidence (despite the cold over the past few days) is everywhere. Crocus', narcissus and even tulips are appearing in BM's garden.
2. Daylight morning and evening
It makes such a difference to the daily toil and to BM's mood.
3. Woolfson & Tay are nominated for Independent Bookseller of the year
Which goes to show that quality always wins out and virtue does not go unrewarded.
4. Book for this month - The Help by Kathryn Stockett
It's astonishing and moving and surprising (also an example of why a book cover should not put you off reading it but often does)
5. Monty Don returns to Gardeners World 11 March!
All is well with the world again.
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Sunday, 12 September 2010
Book, Books, Books
The eagerly anticipated opening of Woolfson & Tay, independent bookshop, gallery & cafe finally took place yesterday and BM was there - alas, sans camera! However SE1 took theirs and they have a full report, also interestingly a picture of Val Shawcross with the proprietors ( but perhaps that's for another day).
Anyway from what BM observed, this deserves to be a huge success. Lots of lovely, interesting and diverse books including a children's section. Also ceramics, paper products and other non-book gifts as well as really tempting cakes, which going by the number of people sitting in the cafe, seemed to be going down rather well.
Looking forward to a quieter explore during the week.
Anyway from what BM observed, this deserves to be a huge success. Lots of lovely, interesting and diverse books including a children's section. Also ceramics, paper products and other non-book gifts as well as really tempting cakes, which going by the number of people sitting in the cafe, seemed to be going down rather well.
Looking forward to a quieter explore during the week.
In praise of...Roald Dahl
The children love him and all of his works. Me, I confess that prior to motherhood my only encounter with him was watching, not reading, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Shameful admission but there it is. His work just didn't cross my reading radar as a child. The past 5 years or so have made up for that and I think we have been through the entire canon of children's books.
'Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl' by Donald Sturrock was the book of the week on Radio 4 last week and I urge you to listen again on the iplayer via the link while you can. Although it had been on in the background, I wasn't really paying attention on Monday or Tuesday but Wednesday's reading stopped me in my tracks. It's another reminder as if it were needed, that people live very complex lives and even the most outwardly gilded have personal tragedy of the worst kind to bear and in this case, overcome.
Now, I may have to buy the book!
'Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl' by Donald Sturrock was the book of the week on Radio 4 last week and I urge you to listen again on the iplayer via the link while you can. Although it had been on in the background, I wasn't really paying attention on Monday or Tuesday but Wednesday's reading stopped me in my tracks. It's another reminder as if it were needed, that people live very complex lives and even the most outwardly gilded have personal tragedy of the worst kind to bear and in this case, overcome.
Now, I may have to buy the book!
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Reading update
As I suspected, the Kate Atkinson series of Jackson Brodie detective novels are unputdownable page-turners...with the result that I have now read 3, with only the newly published 'Started early, took my dog' to go, which will have to wait until it's a paperback !
In a neat piece of serendipity, I am now reading 'American Wife' by Curtis Sittenfeld, which was Kate Atkinson's favourite book of 2009. It was one of those books I picked up at a church fete for 25p and promptly forgot about...until yesterday. It's almost as if there was a plan!
In a neat piece of serendipity, I am now reading 'American Wife' by Curtis Sittenfeld, which was Kate Atkinson's favourite book of 2009. It was one of those books I picked up at a church fete for 25p and promptly forgot about...until yesterday. It's almost as if there was a plan!
Monday, 16 August 2010
Holiday reading
I made the (understandable) mistake of assuming that the weather would be atrocious as usual and therefore did not give much thought to packing some decent reading material before we left. The result was that I:-
1. Finished 'Any Human Heart' by William Boyd.
2. Read 'Case Histories' by Kate Atkinson
3. Read Irish versions of the Sunday papers, Times, Observer and Telegraph
4. Read Colm Toibin in LRB on Catholic Church
From this I have learnt that William Boyd is very clever and book clubbers, sorry I missed the discussion on this because I can now see that it would have been interesting.
Case Histories was a find because it's good of course but also it's the first of a series involving Jackson Brodie, private investigator. I love it when I discover something I like and that there's more to come. I suspect that the author has constructed Brodie as a sort of fantasy ideal man but what's also interesting about that is that the stories are about to be filmed, and Jason Isaacs has been cast in the lead role. Okay, he's easy on the eye but there's always a difficulty when a prose character becomes alive on screen. I suppose we'll have to wait and see and in the meantime, I can now look forward to 2 more books in the series!
Irish papers and radio so far as I could tell, were full of stories of petty and not so petty political corruption - no change there then. As long as I have been aware of Irish politics, there was always a whiff or stench from Dublin. What's different about the stories last week was the fact that corruption had been uncovered in local councils up and down the country. Certainly no poverty of ambition on the part of those involved, in the scale of what passed for political favours.
Finally Colm Toibin on the Pope wearing Prada - that's not a joke, he actually does. Read it on the ferry coming back so technically still part of the holiday and it did take my mind off the crossing. CT carries on the debate that Andrew Sullivan and others have been having for some time now about the complicity of the Church (ie the institution) in the abuse scandals which seem to be never-ending not least because of the Church's badly botched PR operation. Beautifully written piece whatever about the subject matter.
Pretty heavy going really. I need something human and lighter over the next couple of weeks - must find the new Barbara Trapido or maybe Anne Tyler. Will keep you posted.
1. Finished 'Any Human Heart' by William Boyd.
2. Read 'Case Histories' by Kate Atkinson
3. Read Irish versions of the Sunday papers, Times, Observer and Telegraph
4. Read Colm Toibin in LRB on Catholic Church
From this I have learnt that William Boyd is very clever and book clubbers, sorry I missed the discussion on this because I can now see that it would have been interesting.
Case Histories was a find because it's good of course but also it's the first of a series involving Jackson Brodie, private investigator. I love it when I discover something I like and that there's more to come. I suspect that the author has constructed Brodie as a sort of fantasy ideal man but what's also interesting about that is that the stories are about to be filmed, and Jason Isaacs has been cast in the lead role. Okay, he's easy on the eye but there's always a difficulty when a prose character becomes alive on screen. I suppose we'll have to wait and see and in the meantime, I can now look forward to 2 more books in the series!
Irish papers and radio so far as I could tell, were full of stories of petty and not so petty political corruption - no change there then. As long as I have been aware of Irish politics, there was always a whiff or stench from Dublin. What's different about the stories last week was the fact that corruption had been uncovered in local councils up and down the country. Certainly no poverty of ambition on the part of those involved, in the scale of what passed for political favours.
Finally Colm Toibin on the Pope wearing Prada - that's not a joke, he actually does. Read it on the ferry coming back so technically still part of the holiday and it did take my mind off the crossing. CT carries on the debate that Andrew Sullivan and others have been having for some time now about the complicity of the Church (ie the institution) in the abuse scandals which seem to be never-ending not least because of the Church's badly botched PR operation. Beautifully written piece whatever about the subject matter.
Pretty heavy going really. I need something human and lighter over the next couple of weeks - must find the new Barbara Trapido or maybe Anne Tyler. Will keep you posted.
Monday, 12 July 2010
Bermondsey (Square)'s new bookshop
So, it's official: Woolfson & Tay, Cafe Gallery and Bookshop is opening in Bermondsey Square on 11th September. Good to see that it's an independent bookseller and it's got a full programme of Autumn events to look forward to.
Is this further confirmation of Bermondsey's improving profile? Yes, I know it's at Bermondsey Square which is hardly The Blue, but still...the last nearest bookshop was Riverside at Shad Thames but that became another coffee shop several years ago, leaving just the Riverside Bookshop in Hays Galleria.
I wonder if they'd be interested in some outreach work with local schools...?
Is this further confirmation of Bermondsey's improving profile? Yes, I know it's at Bermondsey Square which is hardly The Blue, but still...the last nearest bookshop was Riverside at Shad Thames but that became another coffee shop several years ago, leaving just the Riverside Bookshop in Hays Galleria.
I wonder if they'd be interested in some outreach work with local schools...?
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
We need to talk about Kevin
Turns out it's Harriet Harman's favourite book, if you can believe the Guardian Q&A.
It's a curious choice: interesting and provocative yes, but favourite ? We read this at Book Group a couple of years back and it certainly provoked one of the most memorable group discussions. Since motherhood is such a complex mix of emotions, challenges, expectation and baggage there were certainly descriptive moments which resonated and there was a lot to admire about it. Ultimately however, even though some felt that the ending was redemptive, the dystopian view of motherhood failed to convince Bermondsey Mum and while I realise that we are talking about a work of fiction, I didn't feel that it was credible taken as a whole. That's not to say that Bermondsey Mum believes motherhood to be all 'apple pie and roses' but as in all things, balance is important.
This could prove tricky since BM can now count Lionel Shriver as one of her neighbours but I think she can probably take it.
It's a curious choice: interesting and provocative yes, but favourite ? We read this at Book Group a couple of years back and it certainly provoked one of the most memorable group discussions. Since motherhood is such a complex mix of emotions, challenges, expectation and baggage there were certainly descriptive moments which resonated and there was a lot to admire about it. Ultimately however, even though some felt that the ending was redemptive, the dystopian view of motherhood failed to convince Bermondsey Mum and while I realise that we are talking about a work of fiction, I didn't feel that it was credible taken as a whole. That's not to say that Bermondsey Mum believes motherhood to be all 'apple pie and roses' but as in all things, balance is important.
This could prove tricky since BM can now count Lionel Shriver as one of her neighbours but I think she can probably take it.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Book group
Bermondsey mum and friends met last night to discuss Damon Galgut's 'The Good Doctor'. General consensus that it was readable, interesting subject matter but 'went' nowhere. Numbers were low last night due to the ash cloud disruption so that members or members' spouses were stuck abroad/overseas and couldn't make it. We meet every 5 weeks or so, usually Monday night, but not this time, and there is a fluid membership of about 9 or thereabouts. Not all mums, we are a bit of a mixture (as you would expect in Bermondsey) including a Tailor, Picture editor, recruitment consultant, Teacher, Chef, former Solicitor, former Nurse, Art historian and Interior Design writer.
In case you are thinking that we might be a bit high brow - we're not. The reading choices are made in a very haphazard way, choosing a book from award list nominations for instance or recommendations from friends, alternating with the occasional classic or Aga saga.
If I'm honest, which Bermondsey Mum always is, I suggested setting this up over 3 years ago because I was going out of my mind with 2 children under 5 at the time. We the members, mostly live within 5-10 minutes walk of each other,we rotate the hosting part and we generally don't meet before 8.30pm when children are safely in bed.
I hoped and it has come to pass, that the Group would be a social and mildly intellectual outlet. Socially, it has widened my group of friends so that I now have people who live nearby I can rely on and has led to sub-groups of Bermondsey Dad outings to the pub! At some point I will publish our backlist of reading material. In the meantime, if you are thinking of doing something similar where you live, my only advice would be DO IT NOW!
In case you are thinking that we might be a bit high brow - we're not. The reading choices are made in a very haphazard way, choosing a book from award list nominations for instance or recommendations from friends, alternating with the occasional classic or Aga saga.
If I'm honest, which Bermondsey Mum always is, I suggested setting this up over 3 years ago because I was going out of my mind with 2 children under 5 at the time. We the members, mostly live within 5-10 minutes walk of each other,we rotate the hosting part and we generally don't meet before 8.30pm when children are safely in bed.
I hoped and it has come to pass, that the Group would be a social and mildly intellectual outlet. Socially, it has widened my group of friends so that I now have people who live nearby I can rely on and has led to sub-groups of Bermondsey Dad outings to the pub! At some point I will publish our backlist of reading material. In the meantime, if you are thinking of doing something similar where you live, my only advice would be DO IT NOW!
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