But even as the dark, cold nights close in, I have my first primrose in flower. Don’t they know they’re not supposed show themselves until March? Just wait until I move them out of their cosy pots and into the open ground; then they’ll be sorry!
Catching up with Bookworm on the Net this week, I was reminded of author Pamela Frankau, whose theatre-based books I greatly enjoyed back in the 60s. She also wrote a memoir entitled "Pen to Paper" – no longer in print -- which was the first book I read in which a writer described “the process” of writing. There were no “how-to” books available back then and I devoured it, borrowing it from the library many times. PF was republished by Virago back in the 80s, but she seems to have slipped below the radar again. It may be that she wouldn’t appeal to the generation that took Bridget Jones to their bosom, but her characters linger in the memory, along with those of Monica Dickens and Daphne du Maurier, (pictured right) who I first read at about the same time. Of the three, only du Maurier remains popular but that, I suspect, is because so many of her books and short stories have been filmed. As an experiment this month, I’m going to phone in a list of titles at my local bookstore, rather than taking the easier option of ordering in from Amazon, or the “treat” of driving fifteen miles to browse at my nearest “chain”. The local shop is very small and doesn’t stock Mills & Boon; I’ll be interested to see if they can obtain single copies of the books I want to buy.
Top of the book shopping list this month, is "In the Arms of the Sheikh" the latest from Sophie Weston It’s been a while since there’s been a new Sophie Weston and you’ll find not only an excerpt on her website, but the story of her struggle with this particular book. Finally, from the Oxford “Love Quotations”,
“…love is like a precious plant …you’ve got to keep watering it…” (John Lennon)
6 comments:
Hi Liz! What great entries! It's funny that you mention going to the bookshop rather than ordering, I've gone the reverse, I'm afraid. The stores here seem to be so lacking in customer service that it's easier for me to go online and take care of it. I was in this bookstore I visit weekly because it has a nice cafe where I sit and write sans children, and I asked for a Seuss book for a friend who's having another baby. The woman acted as though I was asking the world of her, and worse, had been unable to locate the book for me, said it didn't exist. I went back into the cafe, logged on to the store's website and almost immediately pulled up the book I wanted. :( The Internet has me spoiled.
Hi Liz, great to read your blog!
Hi Danica
I am doing my best to support small businesses, not just the bookshop, but the greengrocer and the butcher as well. One of the books I ordered has already arrived, the M&B isn't pub'd until December, so that's test number two. So far, so good!
Hi Nell!
Ooh Liz, you've got a blog!!!! And it's taken me ***THIS*** long to discover it, sigh. Loved reading your entries - food for thought there. And thanks for the reminder that Sophie's book is out v. shortly - on my list to buy, too.
PS further to your post on Julie's blog - you are NOT old. We're talking about 70s and 80s rock bands.
Thanks for that, Kate. My daughter couldn't understand why I didn't know The Eagles, either. My excuse is that I wasn't in the country during the 70s, but mostly living in places where the only entertainment you had was what you carried with you!
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