Thoughts about things I’ve written or read or heard or seen. An attempt to stay positive in a turbulent world.
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New Leaves
Leaves from my small plot for the new year. And as for turning them over, or at least paying attention to them, I shall divide 2008 between writing my third novel, a modern Beauty and the Beast (it’s really my second second novel, because the first second novel turned into a short story) and preparing...Continue reading→
This Christmas Life, a poem by Wendy Cope
Wendy Cope’s Christmas poem is quite beautiful. I heard it on Radio Four on, I think, Saturday night last. As far as I can tell it was published a couple of years ago, but it is timeless. I can’t post it here for obvious copyright reasons, but you can read it where I found it,...Continue reading→
Booking Through Thursday
Today’s questions are: 1 What fiction book (or books) would you nominate to be the best new book published in 2007? (Older books that you read for the first time in 2007 don’tcount.)2 What non-fiction book (or books) would you nominate to be the best new book published in 2007? (Older books that you read...Continue reading→
Happy Christmas
I hope you don’t think it’s too early … but I took this last night, after decorating it on the weekend. And now for the cumberland sauce, the brandy butter, the smoked mackerel pate (yes), the Dickens reread – or Oliver Twist every night this week on BBC 1? – and, because the presents are...Continue reading→
Soul food
At the beginning of November Canongate said that the first 100 people who registered on THE GIFT site would receive a free copy of Lews Hyde’s The Gift. All you had to do in return was pledge to make a gift today. I posted about it here, after finding out about the whole thing on...Continue reading→
Lady into Fox …
… this morning I went out into my garden (small L-shaped plot, actually) to take this picture … … because I just couldn’t help wondering how they survive in the frost. See here, some cyclamen tolerate frost very well, some not at all … not sure which mine is. But before I could take the...Continue reading→
Booking Through Thursday, on Saturday …
… This week’s question is suggested by Island Editions: Do you have a favourite book, now out of print, that you would like to see become available again? (I have several…) Mine is The Agony and the Ego (click on the title for secondhand amazon copies …) which is an utterly wonderful book (Penguin PLEASE...Continue reading→
World Book Day, Book Groups and Speaking of Love
My publishers, the wonderful Beautiful Books, say that if you’d like, they will send you a free copy of Speaking of Love because it’s been longlisted for the World Book Day/Spread the Word award. The number of free copies is limited, there are 20 of them, and you need to ask for yours before 1...Continue reading→
Speaking of Love and The Book To Talk About
Speaking of Love has been longlisted for Spread the Word’s Book to Talk About, which is wonderful news for the book, and for all the books on the list (there are 100 of them). The award will be announced in the UK’s Year of Reading (2008). The short list will appear in February – voted...Continue reading→
La Serenissima
I have been here: and I was going to show you some other beauties … but the photographs proved impossible to upload … and Blogger kept showing me an incomprehensible code and saying ‘We’re sorry’. I have just got back and it is extremely difficult to work as fast as I did before I left,...Continue reading→