Weekend Miscellany

It was fun last week, so let’s try it again. I had meant to write about a few books I’ve recently finished, but somehow it hasn’t happened. Next week, I promise.

1) This video is hilarious. I subscribe to communitychannel’s videos on YouTube, and though her humour is unfortunately sometimes what Our Vicar’s Wife would call “near the knuckle” (does anyone else use this expression?) her sketches are usually very amusing. Just watch the sketch at the beginning – I think you’ll enjoy it.

2) Do go and see a lovely review of Joyce Dennys’ Henrietta’s War on the very wonderful blog Paperback Reader. This should even please my brother Colin (who says he reads my blog but ‘skips the booky bits’) since the blog title is adapted from the Beatles song ‘Paperback Writer’. The review takes the form of a letter from Henrietta, and picks out one of my favourite moments in the book, concerning offal…

3) How have I lived this long without buying any of the gorgeous New York Review of Books Classics titles? Possibly because that’s such a mouthful. But incentive, if incentive were needed, has arrived – they currently have a 20% off sale. Actually, I had to go to Amazon because I don’t have a credit card, and so I don’t know what postage costs to the UK are. But any American readers should head that way immediately… I bought Barbara Comyns’ The Vet’s Daughter, because it’s one of hers which I don’t have yet and I hate the new Virago cover for it. But they also do all sorts of Stuck-in-a-Book favourites and would-be-favourites including to-die-for editions of Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book; Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Lolly Willowes; Elizabeth von Arnim’s The Enchanted April, and Ivy Compton-Burnett’s A House and Its Head and Manservant and Maidservant. All of those should be pictured below, and if I’ve done things correctly, clicking on the image will take you to the NYRB page in question. My friend Erika says “They really are lovely editions–the paper is good quality and bright, the binding is tight, and it just has a good feel to it in your hands!” They should put me on commission…

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Something new I thought I’d kick off here – at the weekend I’ll pick three or four things I’ve noticed in the week beforehand, and point you in their direction. It’ll usually be other bloggers or blog posts which I’ve enjoyed, but will also include books I’ve spotted or snippets of information I’ve been emailed.

1) First off, Libby Cone’s novel War on the Margins was published on Thursday by Duckworth. She sent me a copy ages ago, but sadly I’ve not got to it – but it’s definitely the right territory for Stuck-in-a-Book, based as it is in wartime Guernsey. All of us loved Mary Ann Shaffer’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, didn’t we? Lynne at dovegreyreader wrote about War on the Margins here, in its self-published incarnation. Isn’t it great when a self-publisher manages to get published in the conventional way as well? Libby sent me a very sweet email asking me to mention that the book was now out, suggesting I say the following: “She’s barmy! She’s driving me nuts! I haven’t been able to read it; read it for yourselves, for goodness’ sake, so she’ll leave me alone!” But I will read it one day, Libby, I will… see if you can beat me to it.

2) There are quite a few things that readers of Siab agree on, more or less – two of them are that reading is great, and that Virago Modern Classics are wonderful, when they appear in their dark-green covers. Witness the Virago collage I made a while ago:

Well, Verity (of The B Files, see left-hand column) has set up a subsidiary blog, Verity’s Virago Venture, documenting her attempt to read as many of the VMCs as possible. I can’t remember how many there are, but it’s A LOT. Go along and see her progress – authors/books already covered include Barbara Comyn’s Sisters By A River (which I wrote about in April) and the works of Antonia White.

3) I’m a little in love with Lisa’s blog A Bloomsbury Life, which has (I quote) “sporadic posts about style, travel, food, literature, gardens, eccentrics and their foibles.” It’s a quirky riot of colour, very stylishly so, and is a simply beautiful place to be. Most adored post recently is this one, in which Lisa compares the photographs taken on her travels with objects and designs around her home – how the one has influenced the other. For example, below – she has drawn connections between the beautiful saris she saw, and the way she shelves her books… beautiful. Do go and read the whole post, with lots of great photographs.