Five Minutes Peace

BOOK REVIEW: Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis

 

Auntie Mame is one of those pop cultural things I've been aware of for as long as I can remember without actually knowing what it was. It was only when I read about the rerelease of Patrick Dennis's book that I even knew it was a book. Or rather, it was a book first and then a play, a musical, a couple of films and a TV show. I had utterly no idea what to expect but it was set in New York in the 1920s so I thought it was probably my kind of thing and I was right. 

 

I loved it. I loved the character of Mame and that of the narrator, ostensibly Pat Dennis himself, although that was a pseudonym and the book is fiction (albeit originally marketed as memoir). And although there were a couple of chapters focussing on the racism of the time, which I found both shocking and fascinating, in the main it's actually charming and laugh-out-loud funny.

 

It reminded me a lot of Joe Keenan's novels, particularly My Lucky Star. 

 

Women dominate prize list - for once!

Five out of the six authors on the shortlist for the Dylan Thomas prize are female. The founder of the prize, Professor Peter Stead, said the judges were "both surprised and pleased" to see the final six are mainly women.

The Dylan Thomas prize is worth £30,000 and is open to any young writer (under the age of 30) writing in English. It commemorates the Swansea-born poet (pictured) and is funded by the University of Wales.

The 2010 shortlist represents a diverse range of writing including two poetry collections. Hop over the cut for the list in full.

BOOK REVIEW: Operation Sunshine by Jenny Colgan

When I reviewed Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend I said it was my first Jenny Colgan but that it wouldn't be my last... True to my word, I just finished Operation Sunshine.

Evie is desperate for a good holiday. She's tired, overworked - as administrator at a Harley Street cosmetic surgery - and haunted by the ghosts of disastrous holidays past. When her employers invite her to attend a conference in the the south of France, Evie thinks that her dream might've come true.

The conference turns out to be exciting in ways Evie never imagined. She becomes embroiled in an investigation after discovering that her employers are involved in something more morally-questionable than lunchtime Botox.

Grace (Eventually) - Anne Lamott

I love Anne Lamott's books so much. They make me feel joyful and tearful and appreciative. They make me want to move to California (although that is always in the back of my mind anyway). 

Grace (Eventually) is a collection of essays ranging from the time Anne jumped from a too high ski lift, the time she lost (temporarily) her beloved dog while out on a hike, to the time she slapped her 17-year-old son. It also includes an incredibly beautiful essay about how she helped a terminally ill friend to take his own life. Another essay, The Born, expressed my feelings about abortion better than anything else I've ever read. 

That makes it sound sadder and harder work than it actually is. Anne never loses her sense of humour or joy and I found that, once I started reading, I didn't want to stop because I find her voice so comforting. (And yet I wanted to stop reading because the more I read, the sooner the book would end - I hate that!)

The essays are beautifully written, filled with humour and compassion. 

I read this sitting in Northumberland with a cup of coffee and a beautiful view, which was the perfect way to read it. Like Lamott's other books, Grace (Eventually) made me feel glad to be alive. 

Literary tea towels by Kitchen Sink Dramas

There is nothing that's going to make washing up fun for me, but these literary tea towels by Kitchen Sink Dramas may help just a little.  

Pictured is Tea by Carol Ann Duffy, but you could also have an extract from an Edwardian novel, like The Escape by Katherine Mansfield or get the kids involved with something from a children's book - Alice in Wonderland or The Secret Garden. 

They're silk-screened by hand on 100% cotton and as likely to be framed as used, I would imagine. 

[via SwissMiss]

Brilliant book storage for kids

I recently received one these bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox boxes to review and I LOVED it. So much so, I raved about it over at LittleStuff.  

As I said in the review, every home should have one (or more). 

BOOK REVIEW: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

People have been recommending Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games to me for a while. Actually "recommending" isn't quite strong enough - people have been evangelical about it. When the third book in the trilogy - Mockingjay - came out a couple of weeks ago, Twitter went wild with it. And then I read that it had sold 450,000 copies in its first week of publication and decided maybe I should see what the fuss was about. 

Plot summary: 

Katniss Everdeen is a survivor. She has to be; she's representing her District, number 12, in the 74th Hunger Games in the Capitol, the heart of Panem, a new land that rose from the ruins of a post-apocalyptic North America. To punish citizens for an early rebellion, the rulers require each district to provide one girl and one boy, 24 in all, to fight like gladiators in a futuristic arena. The event is broadcast like reality TV, and the winner returns with wealth for his or her district. 

BOOK NEWS: The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry

Happy publication day to the multi-talented and charming cultural phenomenon known as Stephen Fry. It's thirteen years since the memoir of his childhood - Moab is my Washpot - hit our shelves, and I'm beyond ready for the next installment.

The Fry Chronicles promises to be just as touching, honest and entertaining as Moab and it's going straight to the top of my to-be-read pile.

Hooray for book shops!

Hooray for book shops! Especially when they are independent lovelies like this one, battling (and winning) in uncertain financial times.

In my other life (one of the many I dream of), I run a book shop just like The Mainstreet Trading Company.

It has everything on my list; light and bright decor, a little cafe with homemade delicacies, gifts and antiques for sale alongside the books and a beautiful location (St Boswells in Scotland).

Oh yes, and a healthy dose of industry recognition. The shop scooped The Children's Independent Bookseller award at The Bookseller Industry Awards 2010.

What do you think of the One for the Money cast?

I know we weren't all happy about the prospect of Katherine Heigl playing Stephanie Plum in the forthcoming (now filming, in fact) movie of the first book in Janet Evanovich's wonderful series, but we're all going to have to just accept it. I'm more interested to know what you think about the rest of the cast. 

I've only ever been able to think of The Rock for Ranger, but they've messed around with this adaptation for so long that he's now too old. Fortunately, they've gone for Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me) and I am totally on board. He's cool, he's sexy and he has what I believe the young people call a smokin' bod. 

I've always struggled to think of an actor for Joe Morelli. I definitely come down on the Morelli side of the Ranger v Morelli argument and I have a very definite picture of him in my head. Young Patrick Dempsey maybe? If, when he was young, Patrick Dempsey had actually been as hot as he is now rather than a big dork. But they've cast Jason O'Mara. I don't know him, but he doesn't look like Morelli to me. 

I'm actually really happy with Sherri Shepherd as Lula. She looks pretty much exactly as I picture Lula. 

But the most interesting casting - for me at least - is that of Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur. I always imagined Grandma Mazur as rather unglamorous and quite wizened. But Debbie Reynolds is made of awesome and I can't wait to see what she does with the role. 

What do you think? Are you happy? Outraged?