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I’ve given up buying books for Lent, so I thought I’d do a round-up of the books I bought just before that. And then I’m going to focus on four that I’m really excited about, but might not be able to read for a few weeks. Doesn’t seem fair to have such interesting titles just milling around my bookshelves and, increasingly, floor, without telling you about them so you can rush out and get copies yourself. What powers of persuasion I believe myself to have… And, of course, I welcome your thoughts on any or all of the books I mention – especially if you’ve already read them and want to pass on your thoughts.

So, the ones which aren’t going to get a photo or description because otherwise we’d be here all day:

A View of the Harbour – Elizabeth Taylor (amassing hers, waiting for Nicola Beauman’s biography later this year)
The Tigress on the Hearth – Margery Sharp (another author I’ve only read one book by, but still buy lots of when I see ’em… any fans?)
Yesterday Morning – Diana Athill
Fugitive Pieces – Anne Michaels
The Welsh Girl – Peter Ho Davies (for book group… I’m not sure, having heard fairly negative reports in the blogosphere)
Before Leonard: The Early Suitors of Virginia Woolf – Sarah M. Hall (any excuse for something Virginian)

And now the Big Four…

Two People – AA Milne
When I first heard about Capuchin Classics about a year ago, and did an interview with Emma Howard, the title I was most excited about was this reprint of AA Milne’s novel. I read it in January 2003, and remember it being slightly more thoughtful, even sombre, than most of his output – but also very good. I’m interested to see if six years down the line I still admire this portrait of a marriage after the passion has declined. To quote the blurb, ‘Two People considers how two people can make a relationship work when those concerned have little in common but that intense fragment they shared when first they fell in love. Quietly and quintessentially English in every facet, Two People shines with a gentle himour and a subtle delicacy of style.’ Perhaps not typical Milne fare, but I encourage you to get a copy and read it along with me. If Ann Thwaite’s superlatively great biography of Milne is to be believed, the novel is more than a little autobiographical.

Hallucinating Foucault – Patricia Dunbar
Sometimes I enjoy picking up a novel I know nothing about, and putting it at the top of the tbr pile. This one won on title and brevity (I do like a short book, as we’ve discussed). The narrator is heading to France from Cambridge to rescue writer Paul Michel, the subject of his doctoral research, from a mental institution. I’m developing quite a taste for quirky literature (especially after reading Alva & Irva by Edward Carey) and this was irresistible.

Oh dear, this post is getting very long. Will hurry through the other two.

The Hound in the Left-Hand Corner – Giles Waterfield
Giles Waterfield wrote the wonderfully evocative The Long Afternoon, which is in my 50 Books…, and was later a novel I chose for my book group. Someone there recommended The Hound in the Left-Hand Corner as being equally good, but much funnier – set in the Museum of British History and around a painting by Gainsborough, this looks to have all the ingredients for a memorable and enjoyable read.

Virginia Woolf – Nigel Nicholson
How did I not know that Nigel Nicholson had written a book about Virginia Woolf? Sounds like a very winning combination, and maybe even something I can read over Easter under the title ‘research.’ At only 160 pages, it would be a shame not to.

Jennifer Dee asks where the cover depicts – it’s actually a painting by Dame Laura Knight called ‘Two Girls on a Cliff’… not an especially enlightening title. Dovegreyreader blogged about Forever England here and described Dame Laura Knight as a Newlyn artist, so I would assume the painting is of that part of Cornwall?

The Reader is a magazine which I’ve heard of a fair few times, and been quite intrigued by, but had always dismissed as one of those ever-so-clever, pretentious magazines publishing unreadable poetry alongside tedious in-jokes. When I was offered an issue to review, I realised how very wrong I was.

What strikes me first about The Reader (I have the Winter 2008 edition, no.32) is its astonishing variety. Yes, there is new poetry and fiction (including works by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, and Marilynne Robinson) but also accessible essays (on Milton’s 400th birthday), reviews, recommendations by readers, articles about Reading Life, interviews and even a crossword. These range from something which wouldn’t be out of place in a scholarly essay to that which feels more like a bookish conversation with a friend – what seeps through every section of the magazine is a love of literature and a desire to share this passion.

Better than that, The Reader, as a company, also works in (I quote) ‘day centres, old people’s homes, community groups, hospitals, drug rehabs, refugee centres, public libraries, schools and children’s homes and many other places to bring the pleasure and value of reading to as many people as possible.’ And that’s got to be a good thing.

More about the issue itself. The first item I turned to was an interview with Phil Beadle – the teacher behind Can’t Read, Can’t Write, a TV documentary teaching adult literacy that was one of the most moving and valuable programmes I’ve ever seen. I blogged about it here. Strange choice for an interview, thought I, but it quickly clicked – Beadle’s beliefs in the releasing potential of literature is exactly the ethos of The Reader. And a very good interview it is too.

Next I went through the three ‘Reading Lives’ sections – quite a vague heading for reader contributions about the ways reading works in their lives. A while ago Kirsty at Other Stories wrote about blogging and books – you can even download that issue here – but the articles in no.32 were away from the computer. Caroline Clark writes about coming to love literature long after her childhood; Ian McMillan on the pleasures of contemplative reading. For me, the best piece in the entire magazine was Sarah Turvey and Jenny Hartley’s on Prison Reading Groups. Jenny Hartley wrote a great little book called Reading Groups (talked about here) and this item is a similar survey on a smaller scale. A moving piece, which demonstrates that the idea of literature as a redemptive activity might not be such an archaic idea.

I’ll be honest with you. As an impoverished student, I can’t afford a subscription to The Reader (though back issues are only £2 at the moment, from the website), but I do encourage others to get a copy or two and consider subscribing. Lots to agree with, lots to make you think, lots to add to the tbr pile. And they’re looking for submissions in all the areas they cover (I’ll certainly be submitting something in the future).

I’ve been wondering, off and on, where the modern day literary journal is – what can follow in the legacy of, say, The Yellow Book, Athenaeum, Rhythm – may I tentatively suggest we have found it in The Reader?

Just a quick note to say that I’ve added a link to Bookrabbit on the side – I’m still a little confused by this whole affiliates thing, but apparently if you click on it and buy a book from them, I’ll get a few pence every now and then! I might be adding something more personalised to certain books, with Amazon. Anyone else used these schemes and got useful feedback?

Firstly, for those looking out for daily updates on Miss Hargreaves and the rest of the Bloomsbury Group from Bloomsbury – click here to see the Miss H page with added cover image and review section (and see who is in the review section!) Searching for ‘Bloomsbury Group’ will get you the rest of the novels.

And the little quiz was one Ruth posted on her blog – click here – which tests how well you recognise Biblical quotations used in literature. I thought, since books and The Book are the topics I know most about, I’d do pretty well… turns out, no. Just six out of ten. Go on, do better than me.

I emailed this to Our Vicar and Our Vicar’s Wife, who’ve yet to respond. Don’t know whom my money’s on. OV might know more about the Bible, but I suspect OVW has read more of the books in question…

Nothing quite equals the joy of Miss Hargreaves, but the rest of ‘The Bloomsbury Group’ – the four others listed on the Bloomsbury website – are also pleasures to await.

The Brontes Went To Woolworths – Rachel Ferguson
This one has proved quite popular across the blogs over the last year, but secondhand copies were getting scarce – how wonderful to be able to recommend it knowing that people can actually buy it! I wrote about it here, a post which also has links to several other people’s reviews. Rachel Ferguson is also represented by Persephone Books, who reprinted Alas, Poor Lady – a book I own but haven’t yet read.

Henrietta’s War: News From The Home Front 1939-1942 – Joyce Dennys
Hadn’t heard of this one before, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading it, sounds right up my street. ‘Told through letters and charmingly illustrated by the author, Henrietta’s War is a hilarious, wry, but often very moving, epistolary novel of life in rural wartime Britain’. As with all the other titles, more on the website. (Once you’re there, and have searched for ‘Bloomsbury Group’, just click on the titles)

A Kid For Two Farthings – Wolf Mankowitz
Another new one for me – the combination of the East End of London and unicorns isn’t to be missed! From the 1950s, so edging out of my comfort zone. I look forward to trying it.

Mrs. Tim of the Regiment – DE Stevenson
I know DES has fans as fervent as Jane Austen’s and Barbara Pym’s, and my one dalliance with her (see this post) was, with a few small reservations, a very happy one. Mrs. Tim sounds a little Provincial Ladyesque – diaries with self-deprecating humour, trying – and failing – to keep up with those around her. Difference is, she’s an army wife. Also looks like it contains a sprinkling of romance.

To finish with an utterly irrelevant aside – I’ve been painting again. I did three of my housemates, to go on the living room wall, and finally did my self-portrait (much harder)

I warn you now, this post is going to come in breathless enthusiam, rather than the carefully worded eloquence one might hope from a magazine or newspaper (incidentally: I’ve noticed a few bloggers also write for magazines as a result of a blog… I would so love to do this, how would one go about offering oneself?)

My exciting news is something I’ve known for a little while but had to keep secret. The good people at Bloomsbury emailed around the bloggers a while ago – in the wake of the success of Mary Ann Shaffer’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Emma Smith’s The Great Western Beach, they thought the early 20th century could be a good area for potential reprints. Not a view likely to meet with disapproval here at Stuck-in-a-Book, of course. And Bloomsbury obviously recognised that bloggers were also obsessive readers, and might be able to put a title or two in their direction. They were looking, mostly, for things which hadn’t been reprinted by other reprint publishers.

Those of you who know me well will know that one name came straight to mind.

Miss Hargreaves.

And, guess what, they’re going to republish Miss Hargreaves (by Frank Baker – see my ravings about it here). It’s on my list of 50 Books You Must Read But May Not Have Heard About and, although that list isn’t in any order, I’d probably put Miss Hargreaves at the top. I don’t think I could be more excited if my own (hypothetical) novel were being published.

Miss Hargreaves is going to be one of six novels called The Bloomsbury Group – I think they’re intending to bring a set out every year. More on the other novels tomorrow.

Now the not so good news: it’s not until August, according to their website. We’ll have to be patient. Don’t worry, I’ll be reminding people. A lot. For those who don’t know the novel – I can do no better than quote the brilliant blurb on the Bloomsbury website:
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An endlessly surprising fairy tale from the 1930s, introducing an unforgettable heroine and a story that shows that anything is possible with a little imagination

Part of The Bloomsbury Group: A new library of books from the early twentieth-century chosen by readers for readers

Patch has given me a helping paw, as usual, in doing a book draw – we’re drawing for the winner of Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, an irresistible Persephone Book, and far and away their bestseller.

And the winner is…

Sarie!

Congratulations – could you email your postal address to simondavidthomas@yahoo.co.uk and I’ll get the book off to you as soon as possible. As always with these book draws, it would be lovely if you have time to report back on the novel when you’ve finished it – be that next week or next year!

One of my favourite things about bookish blogs – their raison d’etre, I guess – is that you can pick up recommendations for books across different periods, countries, styles and prices. If I flick through the Sunday newspaper’s book selection, it’ll be a couple worthy biographies, a novel by a very well known writer, and some popular science. All of them will be published in the last month, and all of them will cost a fortune. Blogs tell us about books from the last three centuries, and can be either rare or available for pennies, about my hometown or about Sweden or Japan or South Africa – an astonishing variety of possible books.

So what I’m asking today, and I definitely want it to be interactive, is for you to tell us about a book you’ve read based on a blog recommendation. I often find that my reading life is one big network of books leading into other books – and the odd mention in the comments on someone’s blog will lead me into another direction.

It would be lovely if it was a book I’d recommended, but I’d also love to hear about books reviewed on other blogs – if you have a link, so much the better. Or, better still, post this idea on your blog, and put a link in the comments.

I’m going to kick off with a few examples from my past couple of years, all books I’ve really enjoyed. (The links are to the blogger’s review of the book in question)

Elaine’s blog introduced me to the first Jane Austen sequel, Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil Brinton.

Lynne’s blog was where I first heard of Jerome K. Jerome’s The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow.

Margaret at BooksPlease first gave me the heads-up on Crow Lake by Mary Lawson.

Karen made me pick up my copy of All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West

and more or less every blog under the sun pointed me in the direction of Rachel Ferguson’s The Brontes Went To Woolworths

That was fun. Comment here if you like, but otherwise do go and try this on your blog – it’s nice to look back and see how much of our reading experience is influenced by our blogging, and good to bring them together.