There's nuffink like a puffin...

"There is nuffin', nuffin', nuffin, like a Puffin, Nuffin' like a Puffin book to read, yes indeed. A Puffin's so exciting, the finest kind of writing, Yes there's nuffin' like Puffin book to read".

As most of my regular readers know, as a child, I read voraciously. And quite a lot of the books I read were published by Puffin. I remember once sitting looking at my shelves and comparing the numbers of books by each publisher (yes, I was that weird!); I had a lot by Red Fox (mainly because they published my favourite Monica Dickens World's End and Follyfoot books and William Corlett's Magician books), but the imprint which I had most of, was Puffin. I have a huge number of Puffin books among my collection (well, 59 out of 1400+ according to librarything.com - very early Puffins which were passed on from my mother (The Fell Farm Books), some of them are absolutely classic Puffins (The Family from One End Street which my father read to me), and some of my favourite books of all time (Ballet Shoes, the Carbonel books, Milly Molly Mandy, and Laura Ingalls Wilder).

The Puffin imprint was initially established to mirror the work of Penguin, in making books accessible and cheaply. The first editor of the Puffin list was Eleanor Graham, a lady who may be familiar to Persephone fans for her Children who lived in the barn. Over two decades from 1941, she built up the list to 150 titles, initially focussing on publishing books which had already been published in hardback. This was not without difficulty; librarians, teachers and authors were all sniffy about paperbacks and didn't want to release their titles to be published in paperback. The very first title was Worzel Gummidge, and other early titles included The family from One End Street, Ballet Shoes and the Adventures of Professor Branestawm.

This year is the 70th Anniversary of Puffin and there are two absolutely wonderful books which anyone who read Puffin books as a child should own. The first is the new biography of Kaye Webb, by Valerie Grove, called So much to tell.
A hugely fascinating woman, Kaye Webb was the second editor of the Puffin List, and was responsible for much of its success. Whilst she was fortunate in entering the industry at a time when children's books were entering somewhat of a golden age, she built up the list and effectively changed the face of children's publishing. Webb had read that during childhood the average child could read around 600 books, and she was determined to make as many of those books "count" and be worth reading, and this was the stimulus for her work. Webb was also responsible for the creation of "Puffin originals", books which were published first in paperback. Stig of the Dump was one of the first of these. But one of the things which Webb was most famous for was the establishment of the Puffin Club, and reading about the fantastic competition prizes (trips to Lundy Island to see Puffins for example, or a trip to Alderley Edge with Alan Garner to see the locations of his books) and the huge involvement of the Puffins authors made me feel very unfortunate to have been born too late to be involved.
There's so much more that I could write about the history of puffin, but you will have to get hold of the book and read it for yourself!

The biography also tells the story of Webb's personal life, which Webb herself admitted was somewhat of a failure in comparison to her career in publishing. Two short-lived marriages preceded her ultimately unsuccessful marriage to Ronald Searle (of St Trinians fame) and it seems that she wasn't the best of mothers either. Her life certainly revolved around her work, and she found it a big wrench to retire.

The other book is Puffin by Design, by Phil Baines, who wrote the wonderful Penguin by design. Like the earlier book, this is a history of the covers used by the imprint and is illustrated with lots of lovely images of the books throughout the ages. There are many books which I haven't heard of which look absolutely fascinating!

Anyone care to share a favourite Puffin book? And which one is your favourite out of the 7 Puffin modern classics (one chosen from each decade?) - mine has to be The family from one end street.

Comfort reading?

I had an interesting response to my "My reading taste in a picture" post last week.

David Nolan quoted from my post and commented:

" "I like to be reassured and comforted and find the familiar in my reading."
- Some overly intellectual types might sneer at that - I think it's brilliant. "

This made me think quite hard about my reading and my blogging. I have never had any shame in the fact that I read chick lit and children's books, and reread children's books as much as I read the latest literary fiction and the occasional classic fiction. However, it wasn't something that I necessarily spelt out on my blog. Maybe from shyness, maybe also because I felt that these things didn't merit writing about so much or wouldn't interest people (although, I read a number of blogs which do fantastic reviews of the latest chick lit) - I think I have mentioned chick lit just the once here. Then my blog got a little bit overtaken by writing reviews of the books that I had recieved for review, and recently I've been trying to redress the balance somewhat by focussing it more on *me*. Narcissistic possibly, but I'd rather that the blog was a reflection of the things that are most important to me. Also once I started posting lists of the books read each month there is no escaping from the fact that part of the reason I manage to read so much is that quite a large proportion of my reading is re-reading of children's books.

Anyway, as I've mentioned previously, the last few weeks have been fairly stressful and I have been taking comfort in quite a bit of rereading of children's books. Over the last year I have also been collecting more of the children's books which I enjoyed as a child; it's nice to have them available on my shelves should I feel for the need for something reassuring and easy and which I know I will definitely enjoy. I think the key is that they provide escapism into a safe environment.

So to redress the balance and substantiate the statement that David highlighted I thought I'd share pictures of a few of the series that I have recently been building up, from different genres of children's books (important I feel to have a variety), and have on my shelves for such moments.

One of the worst decisions I made as a teenager was to SELL my Enid Blytons. I didn't get very much money for them and I didn't even have a particularly good collection, mainly second hand ones acquired at jumble sales etc. But I have started to buy the odd favourite when I see them, and am particularly looking out for the Famous Five books.
I've already mentioned The babysitters club on the blog - it's a current pleasure to read my way through such undemanding books.

A colleague recently mentioned that she liked horsey books which reminded me of Ruby Ferguson's Jill books. I had several, but have gone on to acquire most of the series (all bar the first one!).


Earlier in the year I started collecting Lorna Hill's ballet books and these are also wonderful comfort reads.


There are many other books that I like to revisit for comfort reading - this list is by no means exclusive. I wonder if other readers have favourite series that they like to turn to for reassurance.

A foray into the domestic arts (part 3)

I spotted a rather wonderful elephant making set in the craft shop whilst buying cross stitch and couldn't resist getting one, even though it is aimed at 10 year olds (and I have to say that I think my nine-year-old-niece-in-law could probably have made a better job of it than me!). I spent a happy Sunday afternoon making them.



The elephants remind me of the ones in the London elephant parade! And, as the pattern was very simple, I'm quite tempted to get some fabric in different colours, make some more and have my very own elephant parade!

(The kit by the way is made by Buttonbag crafts - they have some lovely things - I bought the peg dolls for my small cousin's birthday).

Orange Wednesday: Paradise (Morrison)

My first Orange Wednesday choice back in April was Love by Toni Morrison, and having enjoyed it so much I was keen to seek out her other title from the list - Paradise. Fiona from Vintage Books very kindly sent me a copy to read.

Paradise is a commanding piece of literature in terms of structure, story, themes and the writing. It tells the story of a black town called Ruby, Oklahoma, the only black town in the state which was founded in the 1940s. But the attempt to make a life following the emergence from slavery was not as easy as it seemed on the surface. When the town begins to suffer internal divisions, a cause is sought, and found in "The convent", a group of four women who live nearby to the town. The story is cleverly told through eight chapters, each with a woman's name (although not necessarily about that woman), and each chapter builds up another layer of the story.

It required a lot of attention to read this book as there was so much going on and to take in - it was really necessary to engage with it, but it did repay the effort. For that reason I didn't enjoy it quite so much as Love but I would certainly recommend it to all those interested in reading great women's writers.

Triathlete's treats

I think I've mentioned before that one of the reasons I get to bake so much cake and not put my fiance into a clinically obese state is because he is much more energetic than me and does triathlons. Whilst I am content with the odd swim, he likes to include a bike and a run as well. Last weekend saw the Blenheim triathlon, and as usual I went along and made myself hoarse in cheering him on, but it also involved some extra baking. We had been discussing his nutritional requirements for the day (pasta the night before, porridge for breakfast, and something carby before setting off), when the latest issue of 220 Triathlon Magazine arrived with a 23 page nutrition special. As I had suggested making flapjack, when I saw a recipe for cranberry, apple and oat bars, I thought I had better make those instead. After all I would feel dreadful if my regular flapjack didn't produce as good results!

They were a bit more fiddly than flapjack to make, as I had to heat the butter with apple juice, honey and sugar in a saucepan before adding the dried apple, cranberries, oats, sesame and sunflower seeds, whereas usually I melt things in the microwave! And they didn't stick together quite as well. (In fact, I thought the recipe was pretty rubbish, they didn't specify what size baking tray to use, nor what it should look like colourwise when taking it out - but then, it is a sports magazine. I did wonder if anyone had actually tested the recipe as the way I made it they would have been impossible to eat on the run). Obviously it's impossible to compare whether they were better than flapjack, but he got round the course, with an absolutely fantastic time on the swim, and I was as usual ridiculously proud at the finish line (although soaking wet owing to a thunderstorm commencing an hour in...)

It is also becoming traditional for me to make a celebratory millionaire's shortbread when he finishes a triathlon - partly because they are a bit of a fiddle to make having to let each layer cool before adding the next, but mainly because they are really just sugar and fat. But after a hard sporting event I think that they are well earned. This one suffered slightly from the humid weather - the chocolate and base set hard but the centre did not set so well and squidged out when cut. Luckily this didn't make any difference to the taste.

TBR

It's been a while since I've shared a picture of my TBR, and as it had to move home recently, owing to the chronic shortage of shelfspace at the cardigan residence, I thought it was time to share it with you. It's now a stack of 24 books*, a far cry from the days of last summer when it took up not just a shelf but a whole bookcase. Judicious weeding and focussed reading during my book buying ban at the end of last year got it down to more manageable proportions, but nevertheless there are some books on the pile which have been languishing for quite some time and which I hope you might convince me to read. However, I do save books for holidays, and as I have a weekend away in Cornwall in July and a week in the Lakes in September I shall probably save some of the most attractive ones for then.

Starting at the bottom...
* I picked up The camel bookmobile (Masha Hamilton)in a remainders shop last year - the title was appealing, but I've not got around to reading it.
* Sandy: the true story of a boy growing up in Cornwall in the late 1800s was a title that appealed to me for its Cornish connections - I think I read about it on Fleur Fisher's blog. Will probably save this to read around the time I go to Cornwall.
* I got this copy of Burning Bright for 2.99 with The times over 2 years ago; although I've enjoyed some of Tracey Chevalier's novels, this one hasn't appealed to me so much, I think because I don't know much about the period in which it is set.
* Fugitive pieces (Anne Michaels) is one of those books that I feel I ought to have read, and picked up in a charity shop for that reason. As it won the Orange prize, I really should get on with it for my Orange Wednesdays theme. Another one that has been languishing for some time.
* The white tiger was another Times book offer, and is another book I feel I ought to have read, but somehow never seems to appeal enough to make its way off the TBR - and has thus been waiting for over a year.
* I bought Nick Hornby's Juliet Naked a while ago and am sure I will enjoy it - it is the perfect holiday reading material, and I took it on my last holiday, and it was just bad luck that I didn't get to it then. Definitely this year!
* The next two books are Capachin Classics, The green hat (Michael Arlen) and The green child (Herbert Read). The first I won in a giveaway from Hannah Stoneman and the second was kindly sent to me from Capachin to review.
* Six ponies (Josephine Pullein-Thompson) is a recent republication by Fidra books, which I discovered was the prequel to a favourite trilogy of horsey books (Pony club challenge/Pony club team/Pony club cup) and I am looking forward to meeting some favourite characters again.
* The next three books are the latest Greyladies titles; these make exceptionally good holiday reads.
* I like to keep up with current children's fiction, and Skate school was a title I happened on in Oxfam - it seemed to be a modern variation on the boarding school story.
* The summer before is a newly released prequel to the Babysitters Club books which I am currently rereading, and so this will be a fun complement to that. Am not sure whether to read it now, or when I am done rereading the older books that I bought recently.
* South of the lights (Angela Huth) was something I picked up in Oxfam as a treat for having to work on the Bank Holiday. I've enjoyed most of her novels but hadn't come across this one, and find her relaxing and fairly undemanding.
* I was bowled over by Angela Du Maurier's Treveryan at Easter, and when I discovered that another of her novels was still in print, I had to order it. The road to Leenane isn't set in Cornwall but Du Maurier has plenty of Cornish connections and I am hoping for another intensely gripping read.
* First term at Cottisford is a school story from Bettany press who specialise in republishing books for fans of British girls fiction. I am sure I will have a treat in store here.
* The next two books were sent to me earlier in the year by Honno Press for review, and seeing them there reminds me that I must have a look at them so that I can write about them here. They are A burglary and Queen of the rushes. Both look fascinating and I have no excuse for letting them linger in this pile.
* I thought I had read all of Monica Dickens books, but it turns out that I haven't; I've still got The fancy, which I bought from ebay recently. As this really will be my "last" Monica Dickens, to save or not to save is the question.
* Simon from Stuck in a book recently lent me Miss Matty which he had written about on his blog; having enjoyed that, he kindly lent me 2 more Richmal Crompton books. I do love her adult novels, although they are very hard to find, for their discussion of family life and emphasis on domesticity. There are definitely similarities with Monica Dickens.
* Finally two childrens books which I picked up in a charity shop, just because they were by authors I hadn't come across and which I thought would get to have a look at when I fancied something gentle - Ponies plot (C Northcote) and Private keep out (Gwen Grant)

Phew! Along with my library books and VMCs I am quite well provided for...

* I do also have a separate pile of Virago Modern Classics TBR, which numbers around 10 books at present, but I keep them separate to make things less overwhelming.

My reading taste in a picture

There have been some fascinating posts over this last week as bloggers have responded to Simon at Stuck in a book's challenge to sum up personal reading taste in a picture that doesn't include a book! I have been wracking my brains all week over this; really I wanted to post the above picture of my own library (actually quite out of date as I have many more Persephones now, and three tall bookcases as opposed to only two) - the shelves holding a huge assortment of books of all shapes and sizes really seems to sum up my liking for diverse books, and the familiarity of my own book collection would reflect my desire to read reassuring literature and frequent revisiting of the books that I love.



But this was not permitted, so I had to find another picture. I've come up with a picture taken on holiday last year in Polzeath. Whilst it is obviously a "room with a view", I'm not implying that my reading taste is EM Forster! I chose this picture because being on holiday is an escape, and that is something that I try to find in my reading, something sunny that cheers me up when I am feeling down. It's also a very familiar view to me - I spent 20 years holidaying and looking at that view for 2 weeks at a time, so it is reassuring, and I like to be reassured and comforted and find the familiar in my reading. And finally it is in Cornwall; regular readers of my blog will know that I love to read books set in the county.


(And as a bit of a cheat, I'll share the picture I nearly chose - me, baking in my Persephone endpapers apron - this sums up a different aspect of my reading taste - it shows the domestic streak in me, and portrayals of domesticity are something I seek out in books. Obviously it reflects the fact that I adore Persephone books which themselves often centre around the domestic. And I thought that the presence of the biscuits reflects the importance of children's books to me - how many children's books involve picnics, cake and eating!)

A foray into the domestic arts (part 2)

While I was finishing the knitting I realised that it was the perfect occupation to accompany watching television. I watch television most nights when I am too tired to do anything else, but it feels like a bit of a waste of time sometimes and I don't really like staring at a television screen after staring at a computer screen all day. This realisation coincided with the demands of a friend in hospital for some cross-stitch, and shopping for something to satisfy her, I ended up with my OWN cross stitch project, a picture of The snowman. Unseasonal I know, but I have a great fondness for The snowman, and it was reduced (because not many people want to do a cross stitch of The snowman in May)

Those who know me well will know that patience is not an attribute that I possess. Unfortunately patience is something that seems to be needed in bucketloads for cross stitch. I was anticipating needing patience for doing the actual stitching but I should have applied my patience a bit earlier. Suffice to say, that failing to understand that I should have started in the middle, failing to identify the colours in the kit correctly, and failing to split the threads into the correct number of strands, along with an inability to count the squares, led to a huge amount of undoing, a very big mess, and eventually (following 3 whole evenings of cross stitching) a trip to the art shop to buy the same set again to start over.

Anyway, two weeks after my foray into cross stitch I can share with you the completion of my first ever cross stitch.



I've been given some other pieces of advice too - to stitch so that the top crosses all point in the same direction (and in fact, the back of the packet advised stitching a whole line of half stitches and going back and making the crossover), and also to get a hoop to keep the fabric at the right tension. This has made a huge difference to cross stitch number two (happy stitch even!)


And, I've concluded that it's something I find really relaxing and really enjoy. I went back and bought three more Snowman designs from the art shop, and then went on ebay and ordered some more Forever Friends kits for something a bit less unseasonal! And I hope to have more cross stitch to share with you all in due course. So watch this space!!

Orange Wednesday: The white family (Gee)

The title of this book is extremely clever; when I read it, I thought that it described a group of people based on their skin colour. In fact, "White" is their surname, but this misreading is I am sure intentional as the book centres around the themes of multiculturalism and racism.

Using a multi-voiced narrative which cleverly reveals the perspectives of different members of the family and builds up the story, The white family tells the story of an "ordinary British family". Dad, Alfred, is a park-keeper, who has been with his wife May for forty years. They have three children, Darren, a successful journalist based in the US, Shirley, a social worker, and Dirk who still lives at home, working in a nearby corner shop. Sounds fairly straightforward, but Alfred has managed to alienate the first two children - particularly Shirley, who upset him years ago by marrying a black man, and when being widowed, finding herself another black partner. And he doesn't understand his youngest son who has failed to make very much of himself and who has absorbed all of his father's worst beliefs to become extremely fascist.

This unsteady state of affairs comes to a head when Alfred suffers a stroke. This opens up a can of worms as many of the hurts of the past come to light at a time when the family should really be drawing together. We come to realise that Alfred was not a good head of the family but rather an abusive patriarch.

I thought this was a hugely good read, and was not surprised that it made the shortlist in 2002. The characters are realistic, and, although not always likeable, extremely believable - I think this was the result of incorporating different narrative voices.

I've read a number of Maggie Gee's books, most recently My driver and My cleaner, a wonderful pair of books. Another of her books, The flood, was longlisted for the Orange prize in 2004, which was the first year that I started reading books from the Orange list. I can't remember very much about it now, but I read on Amazon that it is a follow on from The white family, so I think it may be time for a re-read of this. Maggie Gee has also recently published a memoir, My animal life, which I am patiently waiting for at the library.

Fiona Cairns bake and decorate

I wrote recently about my acquisition of Bake and decorate by Fiona Cairns. Without a question this has to be the best cake book that I own. Fiona Cairns has years of experience as a cake decorator and supplier (you can find her website here), and the whole book is scattered with helpful advice for the cake baker. The first half of the book is a collection of fantastic cake recipes, such as this carrot, orange and pecan cake with maple sugar and orange buttercream icing, and other wonderful recipes which I am keen to try such as orange drizzle cake and Very lemony crunch cake, in addition to old standards such as a variety of different sorts of sponges and fruit cakes. The second half of the book builds on these recipes and shows you how they can be utilised for a variety of occasions to make truly spectacular occasion cakes. I don't really have many "occasions" to bake for, but I would love to have a go at the gold leaf gilded fridge cake or the chocolate Christmas cake decorated with model sugarpaste Penguins. There is a fantastic recipe for mini tiered cakes made out of cupcakes which is definitely on my "must-bake" list.

I did make these rather gorgeous mini fairy cakes, which enabled me to utilise my new sugarcraft cutters - they use the crunchy lemon cake sponge that I mentioned and are baked in mini petit four cases, so are just little mouthfuls of loveliness! (Although mine aren't quite as beautiful as the ones pictured in the book).