Paperback Reader » Virago

Congratulations to Verity and Ken!

Paperback Reader — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 06:30:09 +0000

It has been said often but bears repeating: one of the most surprising but wonderful by-products of blogging are the friendships that have been forged through a shared passion for books. I consider myself blessed to have met (in real life and virtually) so many people who I have an affinity with, “kindred spirits” as one literary heroine would refer to them. One such person is Cardigan Girl Verity who I have grown considerably close to over the last two plus years, conversing -through various technological means- daily. Through a love of Persephone Books and our mutual collections of Virago Modern Classics, Verity and I have come to know each other in a way that extends beyond our mutual love of reading and hosting our Persephone Reading events.

Those of you who follow her blog will know that Verity is off to get married and that happy event takes place today in Austria. The wedding lunch in Oxford takes place on the 13th and I am lucky enough to be attending and celebrating with Verity and Ken. In the meantime, please join me in wishing Verity and Ken good luck for the day(s) and a lifetime of happiness together. *Throws confetti*

*The inspired idea for this blogging reception of well-wishers was all down to the lovely Rachel/Joan Hunter Dunn of Flowers and Stripes. Verity has text to say that she is incredibly touched and is reading even though she shouldn’t be as internet use on her mobile is so expensive in Austria! She couldn’t sleep before her big day and went online to be greeted by such a warm outpouring of congratulations. She cannot comment from her phone but sends many thanks to all who have participated.

**The photograph above was my virtual participation in Verity’s Hen Party. I was unable to be there in person as that was the day I flew out on holiday but Verity sent me a Hen’s kit (minus the Philip Treacy fascinator-design challenge, sniff) and I partied in advance.

Virago Reading Week

Paperback Reader — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:30:04 +0000

In lieu of home internet access (*hopefully* resolved by next week) to type up a post I am providing a sneaky insight into what I am reading for Rachel and Carolyn’s Virago Reading Week. Reviews of both will be something to look forward to when I return. In the meantime I am joining in the reading week by, well, reading – both Virago books and some of the fascinating posts that have appeared.

Festive Acquisitions

Paperback Reader — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 08:15:03 +0000

A special seasonal Recent Acquisitions post for you including only those books received as gifts over Christmas.

Firstly, from my lovely, generous boyfriend (whom you may remember gave me this wonderful website last Christmas) I received Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, an epistolary novel that I have been wanting to read for a few years but had forgotten about until early 2010 when Nymeth read it. Other bookish gifts he gave me were the Moleskine Book Journal, which is a thing of beauty, and the Penguin Postcard Box (not photographed).

From the thoughtful and generous Thomas of My Porch I received two Persephone books: The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher and The Closed Door by Dorothy Whipple. I spoke of both of these in my Persephone Secret Santa reveal post but restrained myself from opening them until Christmas morning. If I had not been ill with a dreadful cold over Christmas then I would have devoured them both.

Also from a Secret Santa I received the delightful (ahem) gift of The Box of Delights by John Masefield. My (still) secret Santa was correct when she said this made delightful Christmas reading; I must post about it once I am fully online again so that you are inspired to read it next holiday season. This exchange was for the Book Bloggers’ Holiday Swap; I sent a copy of Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan to my Santee but I’m not sure if it has been received as it has not been acknowledged (this saddens me).

I was unable to resist participating again in the LibraryThing Virago Modern Classics group Secret Santa and the exceptionally kindhearted Cate/Bleuroses sent me an extremely exciting box of books. Beautifully wrapped along with a notebook, blue rose mints and Californian poppy seeds came green Virago editions of Christopher and Columbus and The Caravaners by Elizabeth Von Arnim, Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier and The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather. Cate put extraordinary thought and care into choosing my gifts, covering all of my wish-list bases and selecting some of my utmost favourite Virago authors; I’m at a loss as to which to read first as they all excite me but I think the Cather may be calling loudest (is it the song of the lark itself I hear?)

My last Secret Santa gift was received by Sakura of Chasing Bawa who is now a member of the Riverside Readers book group I attend (along with some other lovely book bloggers and civilians). Sakura had chosen one of her favourite books of the year, The City and the City by China Miéville, which subsequently made it onto my own top ten books of the year. I began reading it on the way home from the December meeting I received it at and loved every minute reading it. Thank you so much to Sakura for choosing it and for introducing me to a fantastic book and author; I will be posting my thoughts on this incredible book as soon as I can.

Lastly, I bought myself a belated Christmas gift a few days after the event. I was wandering around Waterstone’s before meeting a friend for lunch and picked up a copy of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and an incredibly cute Roald Dahl/Quentin Blake Matilda bookmark (the ribbon of which you can see sticking out of the book). I have been meaning to read Never Let Me Go for years and even had a copy, which I seem to have misplaced; the recent film adaptation and another flurry of rave book reviews urged me to purchase another copy and it will be my first book of 2011.

Which books -if any- did Santa Claus bring you?

Recent Acquisitions

Paperback Reader — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:00:46 +0000

I have amassed many books recently through the kindness of publishers and of blogging friends. In fact, as I was drafting this post I realised that I had acquired even more when I discovered a book stack photograph that I had forgotten to share with you.

The gifts in this pile are the ones teetering on the top: a Penguin copy of the first sequel to The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks, which I have recently read and will be sharing my thoughts on soon; the lovely Simon T presented me with The Backward Shadow at our meet-up on Saturday and also suggested (re-)reading it along with me so if anyone would like to join us… Also at the meet-up I received a copy of the food memoir of New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl, Tender at the Bone, from the generous Thomas; I have started to dip into this and is a mouth-watering read. I mentioned in my write-up of our meet-up that I was surprised by my Persephone Secret Santa and the gift they had warmly and thoughtfully chosen for me but I shall only tease about that just now and reveal in December on the official posting date (the 15th). The Persephone books that feature in the photograph are the new titles and the beautiful 2011 Persephone Diary (The Persephone 90 is a thing of beauty with all the -so far- ninety endpapers and opening lines of each book in the catalogue); these were very generously given to me by Nicola Beauman when I helped out at the shop last month sending out the Biannually to overseas readers (plus a couple of bloggers whose names I recognised!) I intend to write-up my thoughts on The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow by Mrs Oliphant for next week (according to my poll it is one of the titles I have read recently that you are most looking forward to reading more about).

In a nostalgic nod to my childhood love for boarding school literature I bought myself a copy of Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld but more on that in its forthcoming post. The very kind Scott Pack (@meandmybigmouth) of The Friday Project sent me a parcel of books after I lamented the lack of book parcels on one quiet day … it was obnoxious of me but Scott was a sweetheart for indulging my whim. One of the books he sent me is one I have been anticipating reading: Like Bees to Honey by Caroline Smailes.

I received YA ARCS of Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen and Matched by Ally Condie. Serendipitously I was approached by Hannah at Penguin when I was in the mood for some jazz-age literature (on the back of watching the amazing HBO Martin Scorcese show Boardwalk Empire) and Bright Young Things has Roaring Twenties New York as its backdrop so I devoured it immediately; Matched piqued my interest a few months ago when I discussed it with Amanda and I will be sharing my thoughts on its publication date.

Below Matched in the pile is my bounty from my last day of work experience at Random House. I have already shared with you the Vintage Classics I acquired (except for the Maugham photographed and a couple of others that have slipped through the cracks) but the others are some of the current and forthcoming titles from the CCV imprints that had caught my eye. There is also a little stack of some of their newest graphic novels and a signed copy of Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds (the film adaptation of which has recently been released) and The Whoopie Pie Book by Claire Ptak (I must visit Claire’s shop, Violet Cakes, soon as well as attempting my own).

The vertically-standing stack of books leaning at the side are all Viragoes. Sophie and Victoria sent this selection, minus the bottle-green copy of The Aloe by Katherine Mansfield, which I hunted down for myself. I would like to particularly mention Mad, Bad and Sad by Lisa Appignanesi at present because it is a book I have been lusting after for some time; Jane of Cobblestone Sea has written a fascinating post about women and mental illness -a subject I am particularly interested in- that mentions this book among many other recommendations (of films too).

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this loot whether it be by directly giving or sending me the books or by recommendation.

Publishing Experience

Paperback Reader — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:00:18 +0000

In my last post I may have unintentionally misled some of you in regards to the identity of the publisher playing host to me at the moment. Although Virago and Persephone Books are an imprint and publisher, respectively, that I would love to work for and where most of you thought my placement is, I am actually at Random House HQ in Pimlico. Vintage Books and Vintage Classics are imprints mentioned frequently on Paperback Reader because -as with Virago and Persephone- my preference when it comes to literature is backlist as opposed to frontlist titles especially classics or neglected classics. I am working in the CCV division, which encompasses the literary imprints of Jonathan Cape, The Bodley Head, Yellow Jersey, Square Peg, Harvill Secker, Chatto & Windus, Vintage, Vintage Classics and Pimlico. Working on nine imprints of prize-winning books and authors (and the potential Booker prize-winning C by Tom McCarthy) during one of the busiest times of year -with the upcoming Cheltenham Literary Festival and the publication of the high-profile titles for sale in the lead up to Christmas in full swing- is exciting and enriching.

My first week has flown by in a buzz of activity with every task and day varied, highly-pressured and insightful. A wealth of experience is being had and also fun. I love to be busy and thrive on it and there is so much to see, learn and do in CCV with never a dull moment. Yes, there are tasks that could be considered mundane and administrative in nature -photocopying and mailing out- but I am truly loving all of the different aspects of the publicity department; I have also designed fliers, made up showcards for book events, sent author mail, sought and compiled reviews, drafted party invite lists, planned other parties and events, data entry and I also putting my book blogging and digital experience to good use.

Of course I love being surrounded by the books and some of my favourite authors’ work -Rushdie, García Márquez, Morrison, Coetzee, Murakami are all published there- but publishing is a business and although a passion for the product is tantamount an understanding of how publishing works is an essential requirement for working in the industry. My brief time so far in Random House is providing me with that crucial insight.

I will, however, share some of the bookish joys here on my site. On Thursday I had a lunch consisting of several recipes from Nigella Lawson’s new cookbook, Kitchen; the RH canteen cooked up a storm to celebrate the premiere of Nigella Kitchen premiering that night on BBC2. I can testify that the Pappardelle with Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese and the Panzanella (bread salad) are both completely and utterly delectable.

Lunch on Friday was spent with my mentor, Lisa, who kindly offered me anything on her Vintage Classics shelves after we discussed our shared love for classics; a spare five minutes later that afternoon and some exercise of restraint on my part resulted in the conservative pile above.

I’ve been wanting to read Yukio Mishima for some time but Simon of Savidge Reads convinced me to start with The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea, which I thought back to when perusing some Mishima books on the shelves.

I mentioned a couple of months ago that it was the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks this year, which meant that I had to read it; Lisa gave me the fiftieth-anniversary edition (click on the title link to see the cover) and I plan on reading it next.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood was my first Atwood novel and remains a favourite. Vintage Classics are reissuing it with a striking new red and white cover for its twenty-fifth anniversary (click on the title link to see the cover), The Handmaid’s Tale is as pertinent in its dystopian vision of the subjugation of women as it was when first published. My copy of the book is one I loaned and never received back so I could not resist owning it again especially with its new jacket design, which I love.

Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is the favourite book of one of my closest friends, consequently one that has been on my wishlist for some time. I couldn’t resist taking a copy of this when I saw it especially as I was meeting the same friend for dinner that night (she is currently based in the US so it was great to see her); we discussed the Soviet novel a little over dinner and she then told me that it took her a month to read, which she had neglected to mention before.

Speaking of Russian literature, Lisa gave me an amazingly beautiful hardback edition of Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, a new translation -the first since the 1958 original- to celebrate Harvill Secker’s Centennial (the bookbag I brought the books home in also commemorates the imprint’s landmark). I read Doctor Zhivago years ago for a Slavonic literature course at university and would love to reread it one day especially in this lovely snowflake copy and its new translation.

Coincidentally I am at present reading a Vintage Classics book -as you can see on the right-hand side of the post- for the Riverside Readers. The lovely Polly of Novel Insights chose On the Beach by Nevil Shute as this month’s book; I am particularly thankful to her as I was supposed to read this for a Writing the Disaster module at uni several years ago and didn’t.

I hope to be able to share more books with you next week. In the meantime feel free to ask me any questions you may have about my placement or Random House in general.

Recent Acquisitions

Paperback Reader — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:00:23 +0000

Ahem. I seem to have acquired a good few books over the last month. A number of these, if not all, have transpired from my recent desire to return to my reading roots and the above reflect my true and yet diverse reading tastes. Very few of the titles are actually new fiction but those that are follow a pattern of series reading or timeless fiction.

Bought: Verity and I visited the Notting Hill Book Exchange recommended by Simon T, which allowed us to indulge in our favourite activity of book shopping whilst culling some of our collection (I exchanged over twenty books for six others and credit for my next visit). Anyway, I came away with six books that I have been wanting to read and/or own.

Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul: Shiva is the younger brother of V.S. Naipaul and Fireflies is a family saga novel that has been on my radar for some time but the novel is out-of-print.

Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips: a review by Jill of Fizzy Thoughts brought this novel to my attention a few months ago; I borrowed the book from the library, read the first fifty pages and realised it was a book that I had to own. When I saw a perfect copy of this for a £1 in the bookshop I gladly added it to the pile.

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers: I have read and enjoyed McCullers’ novella, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, and been looking for a (pristine) copy of her critically-acclaimed first novel in the silver Penguin edition.

Hetty Dorval by Ethel Wilson: I read this Persephone book during the first Persephone Reading Week but had borrowed it from Verity. I can never leave an unowned Persephone in a secondhand bookshop.

Rule Britannia by Daphne Du Maurier: this is not a novel I have come across mention of before but I would like to own (and of course read) all of Daphne Du Maurier’s books one day and picking up good copies secondhand makes a start at least.

Rabbit Redux by John Updike: I have still to review it but I read and adored Couples by Updike last month and good not resist picking up another of his novels (in a matching white Penguin edition); now I need to find Rabbit Run before starting the Rabbit series.

I also separately bought copies of The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon and The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. The former was mentioned by Kim of Reading Matters at book group last winter and then chosen as this month’s read; the latter is a book I have been very curious to read, one Steph raves about and the buzz surrounding Franzen’s forthcoming novel has reminded me to finally read this one.

Received from publishers: Some of my favourite publishers conveniently publish older books and as I have been craving older books in my reading, I requested some, along with receiving a few newer and forthcoming titles.

After enjoying A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood, Indira of Vintage Books generously sent me Mr Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin.

Excitingly Alexandra of Scholastic Books sent me a copy of Mockinjay by Suzanne Collins, the third in the Hunger Games trilogy. As the book was under international embargo I received it on the day of its UK release and read it immediately; my review is forthcoming.

Sophie, Judith and Zoё each sent me a Virago title. Zoё sent me the paperback edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood; I have been seeking more Atwood in my life but I’m undecided still which novel to read next. Sophie and Judith, respectively, sent me the latest Virago Modern Classic titles: Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule, a reputed lesbian classic, and When Rain Clouds Gather & Maru by Bessie Head, a double-header from the prominent Botswanan writer.

The lovely Kirsty of Oxford World Classics sent me a number of classics to fuel my current craving, especially for Dickens. I am already rereading Great Expectations, one of my favourite Victorian novels, and looking full of anticipation for The Pickwick Papers and The Old Curiosity Shop. I also shamelessly requested a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas after a real hankering to read it (it should last me a while on its own…) and Kirsty sent me Tarr by Wyndham Lewis, a modernist novel that I am intrigued to read as my Master’s degree covered the modernist period.

Hand Me Down World by Lloyd Jones is his latest novel. I loved Mister Pip when I read (and recently reread) and look forward to reading his new novel. John Murray amazingly invited me along to a dinner with Lloyd Jones, who is visiting from New Zealand to promote the book, and other book bloggers, publishers and book industry people. It was an exceedingly enjoyable evening with fascinating bookish chat and Lloyd kindly signed my proof copy of the book.

Lastly we have a proof copy of Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin sent to me my Alison of Transworld Books. This is by far the most exciting book I have yet received as a book blogger; I am a huge fan of Maupin’s Tales of the City series and this, the eight book in the series, is not released until November, and I read it immediately.

Many thanks to the publicists who contributed to my most recent acquisitions.

Have you read any of the books from this extensive installment of recent acquisitions?

Recent Acquisitions

Paperback Reader — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:55:07 +0000

My latest acquisitions have been accumulating in a couple of piles over the last few weeks and are a mixture of books bought and sent.

The Viragoes at the top were both one and the other; the stunning lilac edition of Janet Frame short stories was kindly sent by Sophie of Virago (please have a look at the beautiful front cover here). The older Virago (both are Modern Classics) was one I succumbed to online; when Verity and I were shopping together last month, she spied a copy before I arrived and I was most envious as it is a VMC I have been keeping my eyes open for for some time. The first story in Enormous Changes at the Last Minute by Grace Paley, “Wants”, is one I read in the Angela Carter edited, Wayward Girls and Wicked Women and I have been wanting to read more (Verity has posted about the the volume in full).

The Persephones were both a stroke of luck; It’s Hard to be Hip Over Thirty by Judith Viorst was snagged in Oxfam Books on Marylebone High Street for £2 (and kindly bought by my boyfriend) whilst the lovely Elaine of Random Jottings sent me a copy of Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson that she was culling and for which she looking for a loving home.

Meike of Peirene Press contacted me to ask if I wished to review the second title her small, independent publishing house has released, Stone in a Landslide by Maria Barbal; after hearing such wonderful things about this press from other bloggers, I acquiesced and also requested the first title, Beside the Sea by Véronique Olmi to find out what all the (presumably deserved) fuss is about!

Katherine of HarperCollins pitched The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman to me last month and at the time the “Little Women on mushrooms” blurb from this book review in The New York Times sounded exactly what I needed and it was. A review of this is forthcoming.

Another of the books from these piles that I have already read is French Milk by Lucy Knisley. I finally caved and bought this graphic travelogue after seeing several reviews around the blogosphere since the beginning of the year and will be adding my thoughts to the mix shortly.

The top four books (well, five, considering the Gallico is a double-header) are the newest titles in The Bloomsbury Group series – don’t they look lovely? The pink and blue will be read swiftly and surely, I promise.

Lastly is a volume of short stories that Vintage Books have been teasing me with for months with another stunningly attractive book cover. Alison, Editor at Vintage Books, suggested Stories to Get You Through the Night to me earlier in the year as it collects short stories by some of my favourite writers -Carter, Mansfield, Woolf, Chopin, Murakami- and had a copy sent to me last week when it was released. I think these are stories that will get me through the day, night and week.

What do you think of my most recent acquisitions?

The Vet’s Daughter

Paperback Reader — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:34:54 +0000

Last month I mentioned that I was participating in an informal read-along of The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns with Simon of Stuck in a Book and Polly of Novel Insights. Serendipitously I picked up a Virago Modern Classics copy of the book (at Verity’s persuasion) on the day of the UK Book Bloggers’ Meet-Up, to which Simon brought another copy to add to the book swap and Polly was the recipient; it was apparent to us that we should co-read it and I have to thank them both as, otherwise, it may have been some time until I picked it up myself. As I alluded to yesterday, I have been in something of a bookish slump of late but The Vet’s Daughter was one that managed to hold my attention. Buried in Print commented on yesterday’s post that she was “sure even a short book like the Comyns was a struggle focus-wise” and, to an extent, she was correct; at less than two-hundred pages, the book still took me a good few days to read but even only reading forty pages at a time over several sittings, I was gripped and savoured it in short spurts.

I read one other Comyns’ novel, Our Spoons Came From Woolworths, pre-blogging and although I enjoyed it, I did find it peculiar. The Vet’s Daughter was also enjoyable but decidedly odd. Apparently Comyns’ later novels, a number of which I have on hand, are thoroughly surreal whereas the supernatural element of this one is subtle to begin with before developing into a fully occult -and tragic- denouement.

The short novel is narrated by the eponymous protagonist – the vet’s daughter- Alice Rowlands. Alice is a naïve young woman who tells her story in her own childlike, innocent way; the prose is simplistic, as is Alice’s outlook, told in a matter-of-fact approach. The style of The Vet’s Daughter is straightforward and accessible and at once Alice’s voice seems credible and endearing. Alice’s father, the vet, is a bully and her mother downtrodden; Alice is oppressed and lives a bleak, unexciting life until she manages to break free of it subliminally. I was conflicted in whether to reveal Alice’s supernatural power or not but I have decided to; if you would prefer not to know than please move on to the last paragraph (avoiding the indented quote). Alice begins to levitate, a subliminal release, in the aftermath of a traumatic event; the novel culminates in another tragic event that results in the exploitation of Alice’s peculiar gift.

I lay that night for the first time in my little room over the hall. The bed was most comfortable, and I was just drifting off to sleep when a strange thing happened: I seemed to be floating. I tried to touch the mattress with my hands; but it wasn’t there. I was floating above it and the bedclothes were slipping from me. In the darkness I was moving up and up- although my stomach felt as if it had been left behind and I think I must have almost touched the ceiling.

Despite its surreal element, perhaps due to it, The Vet’s Daughter presents dark themes -domestic abuse, sexual assault and suicide- in way that may not be light but is not as devastating as it would be in a realist novel; seeing events through Alice’s childlike eyes softens their blow. The quirkiness of the novel and its detached narration were what allowed me to be transfixed by the shocking events without finding them emotionally wrenching. Its South London setting and supernatural backdrop reminded me a little of Affinity by Sarah Waters and also of her latest work, The Little Stranger. Comyns is deft at building suspense and I was avidly scanning and flicking pages on occasion to discover what would happen next and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Recent Acquisitions

Paperback Reader — Sat, 15 May 2010 10:30:40 +0000

This latest installment of recent acquisitions actually filtered in book by book a few weeks ago but I haven’t had a chance to post about them until now. These all happen to be review copies sent my publishers but I do have some purchases to share soon.

Alice from Bloomsbury sent me a copy of Paper Towns by John Green, which was only published in the UK this week (it was published in the US in 2008). Nymeth has raved about it and when she raves about a book, I pay attention; I read this at the beginning of this week and will share my thoughts soon.

Katherine from Harper Press sent me The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale. This book has been nominated for this year’s Orange Award for New Writers and sounds completely riveting; I am planning to immerse myself in this soon.

Polly from Sceptre sent me Sunnyside by Glen David Gold; I haven’t read Carter Beats the Devil but look forward to reading a fictional account of Charlie Chaplin.

Sophie from Virago sent me the latest re-issued Elizabeth Taylor novel, The Soul of Kindness. To date, I actually haven’t read any Taylor but this may be the one I start with as the synopsis really appeals.

Gemma from Faber sent me both Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot (I’ve been coveting this book for so long!) and A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore. The Moore has been shortlisted for the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction; I’ve fallen behind in my prize reading for this but would like to read this before I attend the shortlist readings earlier next month (if anyone would like to go to this then please let me know as I have a spare ticket).

Have you read any of these?

I have family visiting this weekend and a family event so I’ll probably be a.w.o.l.

Claire’s Corner

Paperback Reader — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:28:45 +0000

If you’re in London then you may have noticed some elephants around. Between May and July there are 250 baby elephant sculptures dotted around Central London, each with a unique design by an artist; the Elephant Parade is a “conservation campaign that shines a multi-coloured spotlight on the urgent crisis faced by the endangered Asian elephant.” The above photograph was taken by Verity when we met in Notting Hill Gate at the weekend and shows elephant #51, Oran, designed by artist Adam Bridgland. I find the charity event exciting and inspirational; I am hoping to volunteer my time and become involved as well as finding and photographing as many of the elephants as I can over the coming weeks. It is lovely to see London with so many splashes of colour (some of the elephants have wonderfully wacky and psychedelic designs) and it is such a fun initiative to raise the profile of the endangered elephants; I have been enjoying discussing it with fellow tweeps (that’s Twitter people to lay-people!) and sharing viewing experiences. I am also coveting my own miniature elephant (ornament, not a real one), which you can purchase here, in the official shop in Carnaby Street, Selfridges or Greenwich Central Market. I fully support the campaign and what it is set out to achieve; elephants are one of my favourite animals and the desolation their extinction would bring is beyond my imagination.

Thank you to Verity for the use of the photograph; I don’t have any of my own yet as the first few elephants I saw in early May, I was completely oblivious to what they represented and was out shopping without my camera. Verity and I had a fun day book-shopping in Notting Hill (in the amazing book and comic exchange, where we could happily lose ourselves for hours seeking green and grey spines and reminiscing about children’s literature we read) before the UK book bloggers’ meet-up. The meet-up was such a fun evening and perhaps the first of many; a second in Oxford this summer is already in the pipeline. Along with a lot of bookish chat and an ice-breaker hosted by yours truly (many thanks for that, host Simon T!) we also had a book swap; I received a hardback copy of a book I have been wanting to read for some time, The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford, from Katy of Fifth Estate. Polly of Novel Insights received from the swap (from Simon T) a copy of The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns; serendipitously I also picked up a green Virago Modern Classics edition of the book earlier that day (credit to Verity who picked it up for herself before realising that she already owned it and has reviewed it here) so we have decided to read-along together at the beginning of June. For anyone who also has a copy of the book or can borrow it from their library, then please join us in reading it; it’s a short book and from the Comyns I have read before -Our Spoons Came from Woolworths- and the reviews I have read of her other books, it is bound to be a little bizarre!

Speaking of Virago Modern Classics, I am excited to see that Capuchin Classics are reissuing The Aloe by Katherine Mansfield later this year. I had been under the impression that Virago were themselves bringing it out again but this way I now have an excuse to take advantage of Capuchin’s online offer… From those familiar with my blog, you may know that Katherine Mansfield is one of my favourite writers and one whom I have waxed lyrical about in the past; I look forward to reading this earlier work that eventually became her acclaimed Prelude.