Happy Weekend, one and all! Colin is coming to visit this weekend, and will be roped into all manner of baking tomorrow, as we prepare for our housewarming on Sunday. Should be fun - but will not conducive to me finishing Villette by next Wednesday. Oh well, fingers are crossed...
The Weekend Miscellany is a bit more disorganised this week, as there were so many things I wanted to mention, and I thought I'd forget about them if I decided to wait til next week. They'll all be a bit of a jumble...
1.) Elizabeth Jenkins died this week, aged 104 - she wrote novels and biographies including Cornflower Book Group choice The Tortoise and the Hare. Nicola Beauman (of Persephone Books) wrote her obituary, a link brought to my attention by Lyn.
2.) Hannah Stoneham alerted me to Dorothy, a publishing project. They have a website and a Facebook page, and describe themselves as publishing 'works of fiction or near fiction or about fiction, mostly by women.' The reason I'm excited is that one of their first books (in November) will be a reprint of Barbara Comyns' incredibly good Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead with fantastic cover art by Yelena Bryksenkova. Bad news for me - and good for a lot of you - is that they're based in the US.
3.) Several people alerted me to an interview with Debo Devonshire on Radio 4 this morning - if you happened to miss it, you can listen to the interview here. It's rather wonderful, and has me chomping at the bit to read Wait for Me.
4.) A book that sounds fun is Matthew J. Dick's Pistols for Two - Breakfast for One. Hugo Hammersley is formerly of the HM diplomatic service, and is investgating the murder of a notable British citizen in Italy, and the disappearance of the priceless gold coin he had carried. That's before the Mafia get involved...
5.) Other people who know me well have alerted me to these videos - the first is the latest Ikea advert; the second is the 'Making of' that advert. Ikea and cats are two of my favourite things (along with, of course, brown paper packages tied up with string) so I am naturally besotted.
Flying out the door for the weekend, but while waiting on directions to print I scanned your Misc. Good news for you on the book after all -- NOVEMBER -- sounds like a good bday present to send to you. You'll have to send your new address between now and then. :)
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend with Colin and the housewarming!
I'm totally besotted with the Ikea ad as well - I think my fluffy one would have loved to have been a part of that!
ReplyDeleteThat's a gorgeous cover on Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead! And, though I'm definitely not a cat person, even I found the IKEA ad cute.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I love that Ikea ad, and the thought that went behind "what a cat finds comfortable".
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Debo interview link. Have a lovely weekend!
Yes what a shame about the state side only-ness of "Dorothy" and her edition of Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead - it will be available on Amazon of course which I think will be the easiest way of getting it in the UK (apart, of course, from those lucky enough to have a lovely scout in the US who can send...:-)) I am looking forward to reading the new introduction.
ReplyDeleteTa ta Simon,
Hannah
Clicked over to the interview with the Dowager Duchess and see that it will show up on my Woman's Hour podcast!!! Very much looking forward to that, thanks Simon!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the authors mentioned but I did enjoy the Ikea cats.
ReplyDeleteHow funny - I have been telling EVERYONE I know about the new Ikea advert as I love it so much!!! It is simply perfect.
ReplyDeleteI am desperate to read Wait for Me. I will listen to the interview asap.
Oh I do love the cat advert, I dont get the point but I dont care because of the cats. I must tell my Gran about The Dorothy Project as she is called Dorothy.
ReplyDeleteCats doing their best Risky Business slide imitations--love it!
ReplyDeleteSusan - I like your thinking! Maybe I should casually mention where I live now... The housewarming was great fun - so much cake!
ReplyDeleteKaren - I could watch it all day... but I loved Ikea already, so they're preaching to the converted.
Claire - it's lovely, isn't it? I think I might very likely find myself having another copy... And I would so have had you down as a cat person!
Kate - it was such a good idea on Ikea's part - I wonder what the cats thought of it all...
Hannah - Thanks for alerting me to it - I suppose it's only fair that our friends across the Pond get these things sometimes, as most of the American bloggers I know seem to spend all their time shipping things from Britain!
Darlene - and it was a fab interview, wasn't it?
Sandra - I am besotted with them...
Naomi - they've definitely picked the right thing to go viral. I've started Wait For Me! now, though not very far - loving so far, of course! But Silent Playgrounds ('A terrifying novel of psychological suspense') is looking at me... eurgh.
Simon - yes! She should definitely gets books from her namesake.
Patti - what's not to love!