Five Minutes Peace

BOOK REVIEW: 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

I was aware of this book - of course I was - and I'd seen the film many years ago (Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins, delightful). What I'd failed to grasp, however, was that the book wasn't fiction.

84 Charing Cross Road is the true story of a twenty year correspondence between New York writer Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, the chief buyer for an antiquarian book shop in London.

Hanff first contacted the shop in 1949, searching for classic and British literature editions, and a friendship evolved between her and Frank, and many of the other staff members at the shop.

Drawing With Light by Julia Green

Reviewed by Jenni Nock

When I was a teenager I spent most of my time reading fiction aimed at adults with YA making up a smaller proportion of my book pile. I think if I'd been reading YA fiction written this well those proportions would have been very different.

Emily barely remembers her mother who left when she was a toddler. An offhand comment by her photography teacher about how much Emily's work reminds him of her mother's starts her wondering about the woman who deserted her. Everything is changing in her life - her dad's life is moving on with his new wife, her sister is finding her own way at uni and Emily herself is starting a proper relationship with Seb. Does she really want to find the answers to the questions she has about this mystery woman?

BOOK NEWS: Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Eep! After writing three action-romance collaborations with Bob Meyer (Don't Look Down, Agnes and the Hitman and Wild Ride) Crusie treats her fans to an all-Crusie title.

However, Maybe This Time isn't a return to 'classic' Crusie. She is following a recent fascination with the paranormal, mixing a spooky old house, ghosts, and a story loosely based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

The first chapter is available for free on Jennifer Crusie's website.

It's out (in the UK) at the end of the month and has a fabulous - very red - cover. Look out for our review soon.

Hand-crafted owl brooch

Designer Ellymental uses vintage ephemera such as 1950s books and Victorian newspaper to make jewellery.

This owl brooch is sweet without being too cutesy and is varnished to make it hard-wearing.

£14 from The Literary Gift Company.

BOOK REVIEW: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

Let me begin by explaining that I am not a long distance runner. Nor will I ever be. Truth be known, I am not a short distance runner, either. Without appropriate motivation (being chased by a horde of fleet-footed zombies, for example), I'm highly unlikely to break a sweat.

I am, however, entirely obsessed by writing and books about writing. While this short memoir is ostensibly about Murakami's long distance running habit (formed as a young novelist when he realised writing was a sedentary activity and that he had put on a little weight), it is also about his writing habits and philosophy on life in general.

BOOK REVIEW: Forbidden Pleasures by Jo Rees

Ahhh, it's been a while since I read a Bonkbuster. I've read and enjoyed Jo Rees before when she was writing with her husband (Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees) and particularly enjoyed Come Together (especially as I was a single girl about town at the time) so I couldn't wait to open the book and get going.

The last few books I've read like this have thinly veiled pots with weak women and, more often than not, violence towards them. Forbidden Pleasures, however, was refreshingly different. The story revolves around two strong and assertive female characters both of which wish to turn their lives around. Throw in the heady world of gambling, some fabulously handsome men, sumptuous surroundings, vices, glamour and French accents and you have everything you need for a page turner.

It was just a lot of fun to read. Proper holiday reading fun.

A word of warning though. If you take this on holiday your family will see nothing of you until you emerge, blinking, from the final page.

Read as part of the Transworld Summer Reading Challenge

BOOK NEWS: Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

Hurrah! A new Jackson Brodie story. This is the fourth in a series of mysteries from literary novelist Kate Atkinson that feature ex-cop and private investigator Brodie.

Kate Atkinson's mysteries are character driven and combine several different plot strands to form a complex, satisying read.

Started Early, Took My Dog sounds like no exception. Hop over the cut for the publisher's description.

BOOK REVIEW: After You by Julie Buxbaum

I've been keen to read Julie Buxbaum's second novel since I first heard about it a while ago, but as I started to read I worried I might not be able to finish. After You is the story of Ellie, who travels to London after her best friend Lucy is murdered in front of her 8-year-old daughter, Sophie. I can't bear reading about children in peril or pain. I never really liked it, but since having children of my own, I really can't bear it. But I decided to give After You a chance and I was glad I did. 

Once in London, Ellie finds she doesn't want to leave. She loves Sophie and the distance also helps her avoid problems in her own marriage, at least to begin with. But then she learns things about Lucy that makes her question their life-long friendship along with relationships in general and, through taking care of Sophie, learns things about herself.

I'm struggling to describe it without making it sound really worthy, but it's not. It's an easy read and a rewarding one. I really enjoyed it. There's a cover quote from Jodi Picoult: "Highlights, beautifully and compellingly, the truth that sometimes we have to lose the people closest to us to find ourselves" and that sums it up perfectly. (With the quote and the cover, I think the publishers are targeting Picoult's audience, but it's not as dramatic or as issue-led as Picoult's books.) 

I haven't read Julie Buxbaum's debut, The Opposite of Love, but after reading After You, I've added it to my list. 

Read as part of Transworld's Summer Reading Challenge.