Five Minutes Peace

BOOK REVIEW: Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster

I've already mentioned that Jen Lancaster is one of my favourite authors and I loved her latest memoir, Such a Pretty Fat, just as much as her first two.

It is, as the title - and the subtitle: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big; Or, Why Pie Is Not the Answer - suggest, a memoir of Jen's attempted weightloss. Because she has such a healthy ego, Jen's weight has never really been a problem for her, but when she realises that it's possibly becoming a problem for her health (and also, of course, when an author friend suggests it might be a good subject to write about), she decides it's time to step away from the pie and step onto a treadmill.

Read online with Lookybook

I've discovered a site where you can read picture books - in full - online: Lookybook.

My favourite is Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Little Pea:

BOOK REVIEW: Desperate Duchesses by Eloisa James

When I was sent this book, I looked at the cover, laughed, and thought I don't think so... And then I started reading it and I absolutely adored it.

Set in 1783, Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont has returned to London (and her husband) from Paris (and her lover(s)), but she's not planning to settle down, that's for sure. She fully intends to be just as independent and shocking in London as she was in Paris. And then a distant cousin, Lady Roberta, comes to stay. Roberta has fallen for the dastardly Duke of Villiers at first sight and wants Jemma's help in seducing and marrying him.

After giving Roberta a foxy makeover, Jemma challenges Villiers to a chess match, hoping to humiliate him as revenge for his dishonouring of another friend's husband and also mindful of the fact that if he falls for and marries Roberta, that will be the ultimate humiliation (Jemma's not a fan of marriage).

Have you discovered Marisa de los Santos?

Two of the best books I've read in the last couple of years were by the same author. And they were just gorgeous books. The kind of books you completely lose yourself in. The author is Marisa de los Santos and the first book is Love Walked In.

It's hard to write about this book without giving anything away and I really don't want to give anything away. Basically, it tells, in alternating chapters, the stories of Cornelia and Clare. Cornelia is 30 and when a man bearing a striking resemblance to classic Hollywood star Cary Grant walks in to the cafe she manages, she thinks he is her destiny. He's gentlemanly, stylish, charming, funny and mad about her.

Clare is 11 and her mother is behaving badly. And increasingly irrationally. Clare is frightened, but has no-one to turn to except her father whom she doesn't know particularly well or like very much.

I can't say anything else about the plot, but it's a beautiful, magical book. It's old-fashioned, cleverly crafted and constantly surprising. The characters all seem utterly real - they are flawed, intelligent and interesting.

BOOK CLUB: January - Asta's Book by Barbara Vine

It's book discussion time! Never having done this before, I have no real idea of the best way to go about!

How about we just chat in the comments and see what comes up? If that doesn't work, then next time we can have more structure, but I think free and easy might be the way to go this first time, no?

This month's book is Asta's Book by Barbara Vine and you can find my thoughts over the cut. (If you haven't finished the book yet, don't click because it's all spoilers!)

BOOK REVIEW: Under Pressure by Carl Honore

I found Carl Honore's first book, In Praise of Slow, fascinating, so when I heard that he was taking on the culture of "hyper-parenting" I knew I had to read more.

In Under Pressure, Honore visits schools and preschools that are taking a "slow" approach (including a totally outdoor preschool, which sounds amazing), along with looking at current research on how children learn and at the damage that hyper-parenting can actually do.

Lucy Mangan's Book Corner (and more)

Have you been reading journalist Lucy Mangan's Book Corner column in the Guardian? It's described as "A book lover's guide to building a brilliant children's library" and it's just lovely.

The choices haven't been particularly surprising so far (apart from Private - Keep Out! by Gwen Grant), but Mangan is very funny and clearly knows these books incredibly well.

Mangan's own book, Hopscotch & Handbags, is also well worth a read. Read more about it over the cut.

BOOK REVIEW: Friends Like These by Danny Wallace

I've loved all of Danny Wallace's books, so when this one arrived, I was keen to read it. A couple of chapters in, I was enjoying it so much that I thought I'd save it in case I have to go into hospital (to have this ridiculously overdue baby). I put it in my case. A couple of days later I took it out again because I couldn't stop thinking about it. And then I read it pretty much non-stop.

After his mum sends him a box of memorabilia from his childhood, Danny realises how much he regrets losing touch with his childhood friends. He gets in contact with a couple of them and it works out so well, he decides to try and find all twelve of the names in his little address book (before he turns 30, because these things always have to have an arbitrary deadline). And the quest takes him all over the world.

BOOK REVIEW: The Joy Diet by Martha Beck

To pinch from the M&S adverts, Martha Beck is not just a life coach, she's "Oprah Winfrey's life coach".

And The Joy Diet isn't a weightloss diet. Martha explains in the introduction that she's using the original meaning of the word diet, "a way of living or thinking," and the book's subtitle is "10 daily practices for a happier life".  The thing I love about Martha Beck is though she's that very new agey thing - a life coach - she's profoundly practical.  She's also extremely funny. 

The ten practices (or "ingredients") of The Joy Diet are "nothing" (i.e. meditation), "truth" - telling the truth about your life and situation (you should also, as Martha puts it, "offer compassion to your inner lying scumbag"), "desire", "creativity", "risk", "treats" (my favourite), "play", "laughter", "connection" and "feasting".  See, Martha is all about being good to yourself and listening to your body (and soul) to work out what's wrong with your life and how you can make it right.

What's in your TBR pile?

I've just ordered a bunch of books (mainly from Green Metropolis) and I'm quite excited. I do love having a pile of books waiting for me and not having to worry about what to read next. I bought:

No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay (which I'm reading now)
Friends Like These by Danny Wallace (which I started, but decided to save in case I have to go in to hospital)
The To-Do List by Mike Gayle
Unpredictable by Eileen Cook
It's So You: 35 Women Write About Personal Expression Through Fashion and Style
Raising a Reader: A Mother's Tale of Desperation and Delight by Jennie Nash
My Vintage Summer by Jane Elmore
Faith Without Doubt by Anna Blundy
Stuffed by Patricia Volk (one of Diane's favourite memoirs and one of mine too)

What's in your TBR (to be read) pile?