Mist in the mirror (Hill)

I wanted to read The woman in black for a Halloween read over the weekend; and Fiona from Vintage kindly offered to send me a copy. Unfortunately despite being sent over three weeks ago, it somehow seems to have been mislaid in the post, and the replacement copy won't be here until next week.

I was still keen to read some sort of ghost story, preferably something reasonably modern but I don't know very much about modern ghost story writers, so when I went to the library to get something else, I looked for another Susan Hill. I ended up taking out The mist in the mirror which sounded from the blurb as if it would be a classic ghost story.

I was not disappointed: the settings, Edwardian London and the Yorkshire moors were wonderfully gothic and Hill managed to slowly unravel a mystery which was both gripping and chilling. The book is about the story of Sir James Monmouth, who returns home to England after many years spent travelling abroad. He is on the trail (despite warnings not to) of an explorer named Conrad Vale who he wants to know more about. But Sir James is plagued by ghostly and strange events and happenings; he appears to be followed by a little boy, perpetually sobbing; he keeps seeing an old woman behind the curtain. Yet no-one else can witness these things.

I should really have read this book at night for the full effect, rather than sitting in the flourescent light of the staff room at work on Saturday, as I think that would have made the experience more chilling. My own caveat with the book was that I found that there were quite a lot of loose ends which didn't get tied up which I found ultimately spoiled the book for me; there were a number of ghostly occurrences to which there was no resolution which I thought was a shame; the book is a compact 184p. and it would certainly not have been excessive to write another 50p. or so to wrap it all up properly.

I am still looking forward to reading The woman in black which is supposed to be one of her best works, but I am also wondering about reading some other modern ghost story writers as it's that time of year. Can anyone recommend any?

A Meme for Saturday

I quite like to do Memes at the weekend, and I liked this one which I spotted on another cookie crumbles's blog which originally came from The Boston Bibliophile’s blog. Do join in if you feel like it!

1. What author do you own the most books by?

Easy - I have a complete collection of Chalet School books so it must be Elinor M. Brent Dyer. Closely followed by Daphne Du Maurier as I have nearly all of her titles in the new Virago Modern Classics edition.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?

The school at the Chalet by Elinor M. Brent Dyer; I have it in hardback, Armada paperback and Girls Gone By anniversary edition.

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?

I never got taught grammar at school so I'm hazy on things like that.

4. What fictional character are you seriously in love with?

Probably Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre; he was the first literary hero that I ever encountered so he has a special place in my heart.

5. What book have you read the most times in your life?

Probably The school at the chalet, that has been read a lot. Another book that I turn to for comfort reading is Village School by Miss Read or any of the Miss Read books. I capture the castle is another book I have read many times, although I don't own a copy.

6. Favorite book as a ten year old?

Difficult to remember what I was reading when I was ten, I suspect it was that year that I read Jane Eyre, so I shall say that.

7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?

I honestly can't remember as the good books stay with me, but the bad books just disappear. The book I least enjoyed recently was The lifted veil by George Eliot but I'm a great believer in that there aren't bad books, just books which aren't right for you on that occasion.

8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?

I've read a LOT of good books this year, but highlights would include: The music room (Fiennes), Small wars (Sadie Jones), We bought an island (Atkins), The reluctant fundamentalist (Hamid), Fortnight in September (Sherrif), Bricks and Mortar (Ashton), The magic toyshop (Carter)...the list could continue indefinitely. I am very lucky to have had some really enjoyable reads this year. Authors I have discovered include Barbara Pym and Rosamund Lehmann, both excellent.

9. If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be?

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Bit predictable so perhaps I should opt for her Vanishing Cornwall which is a lyrical exploration of the county which inspired so much of her writing, illustrated with wonderful photos taken by her son.

10. What book would you like to see made into a movie?

Invitation to the waltz by Rosamund Lehmann. Not sure if this has been adapted - I think it would be wonderful.

11. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

Gibbon's History of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire for my history degree. I couldn't get into it and just hated every minute I was stuck with it.

12. What is your favorite book?

Again, a tough question. Loved Rebecca, by DDM and her Vanishing Cornwall; I capture the castle (Smith), The music room (Fiennes), Liquid Assets (lovely book about Lidos), Brideshead Revisited... I also have the chance to work with some amazing rare books in Oxford; the Douce Pliny (see below) is truly amazing, as is Wolsey's Lectionary held in Magdalen College.

13. What is your favorite play?

Shakepeare’s Macbeth. I have to confess that I'm not hugely into plays (I'd rather see something with a bit of music!), and definitely not Shakespeare which I find very difficult to understand. However, I studied this at school and so it is accessible and I have seen 2 productions of it and would happily go to many more.

14. Poem?

This is easy - it's Back home by John Betjeman which describes the discomfort of air travel and the contrasting loveliness of being outside in Cornwall and mentions one of my favourite landmarks in Cornwall, Stepper Point.

15. Essay?

Haven't read many essays, not since college I'm afraid.

16. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?

Dan Brown. I'm not really a book snob, but I am snobby about Dan Brown.

17. What is your favorite desert island book?

I dread the thought of being stuck on a desert island with only one book. I can't think of one book I'd be prepared to read over and over and over.

18. And… what are you reading right now?

A Kid for two farthings, by Wolf Mankowitz, which is one of the new Bloomsbury group titles.

Book buying update #2

This week I'll admit has been hard. Last week, despite postal strikes, there were still a few books ordered from the internet trickling in to cheer up my return from work. I also had a lovely parcel of Muriel Spark books from Virago.

This week there have been no parcels. And this is as much a result of the non-essential spending/book buying ban as the postal strike. I have been sorely tempted three times to buy books:
- Familiar Passions (Nina Bawden) was something I came across when looking for wedding themed reading that would also fit into my Virago Venture. But no library copies. Plenty for 1p on Amazon, but by the time that you factor in postage, it is £2.76. And while it is only £2.76 I've learnt that these can add up very quickly.
- Legend of a suicide (David Vann) reviewed by Jackie on Farm Lane Books. I have never encountered a novel about suicide, which is an issue quite close to my heart, and would love to read this. But no copies in my library.
- Murder at the Flood (Mabel Esther Allen) is the latest Greyladies title. I didn't know that they had issued another title (I collect this imprint), but the bookseller who I buy them through emailed me to tell me about it. It was very hard to email back and say that I am not buying anymore books at the moment.

However, there is extra impetus to my non-essential spending lark. My partner has resigned from his job, and we're not quite sure what we're going to do next, so it is sensible to watch the pennies especially carefully for the next few weeks.

And the bright side I suppose is the existence of the library. I had three good trips last week and came away with a whole lot of library loot. I've let myself make some reservations too, and these have been trickling in this week which has been exciting.

The TBR bookcase doesn't really seem to be diminishing as I've had all of the library books to occupy me and taken the opportunity to reread some old favourites. But I did manage to have a clearout of my main bookshelves and sent 25 books off to Oxfam books in Thame with my partner on Monday.

5 more weeks of the challenge to go.

Oxfam books online

A friend has just pointed me to this link; Oxfam now have an online charity store which includes books! Definitely worth a look as this is the first online second hand bookshopping experience I have seen that gives the money to charity.

I will be bookmarking it for future use; I'm still sticking to my book-buying ban and will update you on my progress tonight.

Reluctant Fundamentalist (Hamid)

It's very rare that a student or member of staff will request a fiction book in the library, so I was intrigued when someone put in a request for The reluctant fundamentalist by Hamid. Having read the back of it whilst cataloguing it, I sneakily took it home overnight to have a read myself (I wasn't sure if the requester might be a slow reader or not!). I was gripped: the remainder of the evening saw me cooking dinner with the book in hand, reading it whilst eating, and leaving the washing up until it was finished (the last sounds acceptable but it isn't really to me!).

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2007, this has been out a while, and probably read and reviewed by many. It tells the tale of Changez, a Pakistan-born Princeton graduate who is now working for a big business firm, Underwood Samson as a financial analyst in a position referred to as a "fundamentalist" - i.e. he tries to cut the businesses he deals with down to their "fundamentals" to make them more efficient and successful. However, this term is also used to later refer to his beliefs. The story jumps around somewhat, but we learn about Changez's childhood, his struggles to fit into life in America and an ill-fated love affair with an American girl named Erica who is still in love with her former partner. Of course 9/11 happens and this has a strong influence on his life in America; he realises that he will always feel alienated there however much he tries to fit it.

What makes the book so gripping is the way in which the story is told. You, the reader, are an active participant as the book takes the form of a monologue from Changez in a restaurant in Lahore, where you are dining together. You are an American, but it is not clear whether you are tourist, businessman or intelligence agent.

The only thing that let the book down in my opinion was the ending. Having read avidly through to find out what happens at the end, nothing actually did. The book quite literally came to a full stop. I guess that Hamid wanted you to make your own mind about how the story ended, but having been gripped all along, I felt that this was a bit of a cop-out. It doesn't stop me from recommending what was a very different read to some of the books that I normally encounter.

Trust me I'm a (junior) doctor (Pemberton)

One of my very good friends is in her first year post-medical school working as a junior doctor and I have always been fascinated by her study and hospital placements. When we met up last weekend I spent a lot of time trying to find out what her new job involves. I wish I had read Trust me I'm a (junior) doctor beforehand as it would have saved me asking a lot of silly questions.

Endorsed on the back of the book by Boris Johnson, it is not a terribly literary read, but it is laugh-out-loud funny, sad in places and hugely interesting. Pemberton wrote a column for the Daily Telegraph during his first year as a junior doctor and this book resulted. There is no plot as such and the characters are not particularly well developed, but the "what will happen next to Pemberton" makes it a real page-turner.

The most interesting element for me was the descriptions of his day to day work which enabled me to understand what my friend gets up to - fitting catheters, inserting canulas, finding mysteriously lost X-rays, signing patients in and out, and sadly signing death certificates. He describes the "Oh s***" feeling of being summoned to the patient's bed because he is the doctor, and the dreadful feeling of missing an important and obvious diagnosis that nearly leads to a patient's death. At the same time we see how hard the life of a Junior Doctor is (although I believe this was written before the cut-down in working hours); Pemberton barely gets any time to eat, let alone buy food or do his washing, and his time off essentially consists of sleeping. There is also a fair amount of debate; Pemberton is a staunch defender of the NHS and tries to argue against the downgrading of patient care that results from penny pinching (for example the problems caused by contracting out of the various services which make them difficult to access).

I shall definitely be borrowing the second volume of his diaries, Where does it hurt?, sooner rather than later.

If you're interested in this sort of thing, then I would also recommend Confessions of a Baby Barista which uses the same premise with regard to the work of a barrister in his first pupillage. Also hilarious it gave me a really good understanding of what my barrister friends get up to.

I wonder if there is room in the market for the memoir of a librarian?!

Bake of the week: Spelt cinnamon and sultana cake

Having quite enjoyed the spelt cake that I made a few weeks ago, I decided to adapt the recipe to see if I could make it fit my tastes better. And what a result I had with my Spelt cinnamon and sultana cake - it was seriously yummy. The ticket to baking with spelt is to add more liquid than you might do with wheatflour. This is quite a plain cake but good if you want cake but not something laden with butter icing or chocolate. Healthy I reckon.

The recipe:
4 oz butter/marg
4 oz caster sugar
2 eggs
5 oz spelt flour (I used wholemeal)
2 oz sultanas
sploosh of milk
2 tsp cinnamon (I like things to be really cinnamonny).

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in 2 beaten eggs. Stir in the flour, cinnamon and sultanas and a sploosh of milk to loosen. Bake in a 23cm round tin (or you can bake it in a 18 cm tin as I did and make a few cupcakes at the same time) at 180C for 30mins or until a knife/skewer inserted comes out clean (hence the little holes in the top of my cake).

I've now got some white/refined spelt to try so look out for another spelt recipe soon.

The beacon (Hill)

I had an incredibly relaxing weekend as for once I was neither working nor rushing away somewhere. I did have an afternoon out with my partner, did some baking (see tomorrow for bake of the week), and went to a wedding, but there was Quite A Lot Of Time For Reading. This was good as I amassed piles of library loot (the picture here only tells a third of the story as I made two further library visits last week!)

Having read Howards End is on the landing the other week, I was curious to read some more of Susan Hill's work. I greatly enjoyed reading Mrs De Winter a couple of years ago which I picked up because it was a sequel to Rebecca, but I had not read anything else by her. I'm hoping to read The woman in black for Halloween this weekend, but the copy I have been promised seems to have got stuck in the post. Having read about The beacon on Simon's blog, I thought that I would give that a try and the copy I reserved at the library arrived with commendable speed.

Essentially it is the story of a family, told in two time frames, who inhabit an old farmhouse called The beacon. It tells the story of the children, Frank, May, Colin and Berenice growing up, and it tells the story of May clearing out the house after their mother's death. In this latter time, the family have been devastated by the publication of a book by Frank. Frank has written a so-called misery memoir, a book in the style of Pelzer's A child called it, outlining the miserable circumstances of his childhood. Like the family, the reader, has seen that nothing like this ever occurred in his upbringing. But, like the family, the reader is left wondering if they have missed something, did Frank really endure something bad? Were the rest of the family covering things up?

Having read The beacon, I felt that I could see where some of the style of Howard's End is on the Landing had come from. The book is short, almost a novella, and the chapters, like those in Howard's End were also short. I felt that this worked successfully in this book; the chapters followed on from each other to weave a story from the different threads and I kept turning the pages to complete the picture. I thought this was an excellent premise on which to write a novel; there have been one or two cases where misery memoirs have been questioned. But aside from that, I found the characters' lives interesting, their growing up and moving away from home.

Fingers crossed for the arrival of The woman in black by Halloween!

Book buying update

Or what has turned into a Non-Essential-Spending challenge.

I have managed to avoid buying any books this week (the advice of not going into charity shops is hard to follow but definitely the best course of acton). Since I tend to divert my spending, I decided to forbid ALL non essential spending and am pleased to announce that I have not bought any clothes or DVDs this week either. It has been hard to avoid Amazon when I use it at work but I have stayed strong.

I did have a misfortune and lost my mobile phone at the weekend; although I got it back the screen was damaged and it has had to be replaced, though I'm hopeful of claiming on house insurance for it. I have also booked two ballet trips, but one is our Christmas present to my partner's nieces and the other will be my Christmas present from my Gran. I shall be blogging about those in due course (12th Dec and 2nd Jan) as both ballets are based on books!

We're about to apply the same policy to our groceries for the next month, so I shall be compiling an inventory of all of my baking ingredients and working out what I can make with them rather than buying whatever I need to create the bake that takes my fancy each week.

It has been difficult, but I am feeling pleased with my progress!

Library loot

It has been a while since I've done a post on the theme of library loot, not in fact since I took a picture of my library TBR shelf for Booking through Thursday in July. As you'll see from here, the library books shelf has been somewhat diminished owing to the need for space for books actually owned by the Cardigan Girl.

I had hoped that spending less money on books would give me an incentive to get on with the piles of books on my TBRBC (To-be-read-book-case); sadly no. I went to the library (this almost sounds like the start of one of those memory games that I used to play as a child...) on Monday to return a book and ended up having to utilise the plastic bag that I keep in my handbag for emergencies such as these and returned with a whole stack of books.

I got:
* Strangers (Anita Brookner). This is her latest novel which I have been wanting to read for sometime and have already read.
* Next big thing (Anita Brookner). Spotted this when looking for Strangers and thought it looked good - I enjoy Anita Brookner.
* Lost lady (Willa Cather). Have not read any Cather and this is a Virago Modern Classic for my VVV challenge.
* Love on the supertax (Laski). Reserved this after reading Desperate Reader's review.
* Beacon (Susan Hill). Reserved this after reading several bloggers writing about Susan Hill. I felt a little let down by Howards End is on the landing, but I did love Mrs De Winter (sequel to Rebecca) and I wanted to read another book by her before I read The woman in black for Halloween.
* At home in Mitford (Karon). This was recommended after I reviewed Miss Read; JoAnn mentioned that this author was similar.

I have already read Anita Brookner's Strangers, and it was very good.

The rest of the books on this shelf have been languishing there for a while.
* I picked up the Wilkie Collins omnibus after following Simon Savidge's Sensation Season and read the first novella (which I enjoyed) but have yet to read the rest.
* Waterland by Graham Swift needs to be read ASAP as I have run out of renewals on it; I'm not sure why it is taking me so long to get around to reading it. I love Swift's writing and like the look of the theme of this - it is partly that I don't really like the look of this edition (and have seen a much nicer 25th anniversary edition in Waterstones...)
* The same applies to The truth about love (Hart); it needs to be read, and it looks interesting and is published by Virago, but it has just not leapt out at me.