Happy new year, readers! Instead of telling you my New Years Resolutions, I’m interested to hear what you would like to see from me.
I am hoping to bring you some exciting book related posts in 2013, but am really interested to know what you would like to see on The Book and Biscuit in 2013. If you have any ideas for blog posts in 2013, please submit them via the form below.
Thanks!
The Crimson Fairy Book
Recently, instead of catching up on the news while I wait for the bus, I’ve been reminding myself how much I love reading classic fairy tales by reading the stories of Hans Christian Andersen and The Brothers Grimm as eBooks on my phone. The stories are still great, but the lack the magic of settling down by the fire with a beautifully illustrated book. In honour of Christmas Magic, I thought I would share my top fairytale inspired Christmas presents. I hope you find them helpful when shopping for gifts for fairytale lovers.
The Yellow Fairy Book
No list of gifts for lovers of fairy stories would be complete without the Folio Society Fairy Books. Colourful, luxurious and beautifully illustrated with introductions from key names in folklore studies, I think they would make the perfect Christmas present. I’m tempted to start a collection as well, but where to start? They’re all so beautiful. The Folio Fairy Books are quite expensive at £44.95 but have real heirloom potential.
They don’t scream Christmas, but I love these toadstool tree decorations, £5.25 for two from Pipii, which could be used to add a little sparkle to the house all year round. They are made from glass though, so keep them out of the reach of tiny hands.
These fairy tale bookends, £25 notonthehighstreet, are the perfect way to keep your bedtime stories organized and are pretty to boot. The paper cut style reminds me of the silhouette illustrations in a copy of Cinderella that my great aunt bought me for Christmas when I was very small. Great for a reader who is decorating their house. Hint, hint, hint, family…
At £12, this Happily Ever After bookmark would make a really sweet secret santa present for a reader. A gift that will keep on giving any time they pick up their book, and which could easily be disguised in a Christmas card for a nice surprise.
This Once Upon A Time storybook necklace, £44, is made from solid silver, and can be customized with a personal message especially for your fairytale fan. It also comes in a really cute little gift box, which is a bonus if you’re no good at wrapping presents.
Passed from foster home to foster home her entire life, eighteen year old Victoria finds it difficult to connect with people. As a coping mechanism, she uses the Victorian language of flowers to tell people how she really feels about them while keeping them at a distance. But one day she meets a young man who speaks her secret language, forcing her to confront a past she is keen to forget.
As Victoria makes bouquets that fix her clients lives and gain her a cult following, she struggles with feelings of inadequacy, a legacy of the repeated rejection she experienced as a small child. In Victoria, Diffenbaugh has created a heroine who is vulnerable without being Dickensian, so though the novel highlights the plight of children growing up in care and young adults leaving the system, it never feels excessively like a sermon. Many of the minor characters are similarly engaging and well outlined, though at times, customers in the shop and other cast members felt a little like devices for advancing the plot.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh reads like a hybrid of White Oleander and Like Water for Chocolate- A young woman shaped by her life in the system, and a young woman who has grown up without expresses her feelings by making things which physically or mentally affect others. This isn’t to say that this is derivative, I don’t think it is, but if you liked either of these, you may well enjoy reading this title.
This is a nice gentle read, and the story is pretty engaging. It also comes with a handy dictionary of flower meanings at the back of the book, so if you want to fill your house or garden with secret messages, it’s a handy starting point.
You might be interested to know that Vanessa Diffenbaugh has founded The Camellia Network to support young people aging out of foster care. The meaning of camellia in the language of flowers? My destiny is in your hands.
I haven’t posted in a while and unfortunately, I’m doing it because I’ve got really sad news. This evening we had to have my best friend, Lettice the Rabbit, more commonly known as Rabbity put down as she had caught myxomatosis.
I know this isn’t my usual book or food related topic, but I thought that this was important news to share, as I had no idea that there is a massive outbreak of myxomatosis in the UK this summer, or that rabbits who aren’t in contact with wild animals can catch this. The vet tells me that this can be spread by insects such as fleas or mosquitoes. Even indoor rabbits aren’t safe. Rabbits can be vaccinated, and the vaccine should last a year, but they’ve had to euthanize animals who’ve had the booster as recently as six months ago, so if you have a rabbit please get it checked and vaccinated by your vet as soon as possible. I’m devastated to have lost my little friend, and I am hoping that by telling people I will be able to help keep their pets safe.
Please pass this message on to anyone you know who has a rabbit. Once they catch it there is nothing the vet can do to save them.
Rabbity Rabbit, you will be sorely missed. Who else will take as much interest in what I plant in the garden, cuddle me as I sunbathe and bite my ankles to let me know I’ve been reading too long and that it’s time to play?
Hello everyone, this is my first post of 2012. The first post of the year is always important, but for me this is more important than any post I’ve ever written. I’m going off the topic of books and biscuits to tell you about something very close to my heart.
My cousins
In the picture you can see the lovely little family that are my cousin Ceri, his fiance Nic and their gorgeous little ones Mae (8) and Finn (5). In May 2011, Nic was diagnosed with an inoperable tumour on her brain stem. Surgery and chemotherapy are impossible because of the location of the tumour, and radiotherapy has stabilised it, but it will soon begin growing again and there’s nothing left that the doctors in the UK can do.
We would like to send her to the US for pioneering treatment which has done wonderful things for people with similar problems, at present it seems like the only way to make sure that Mae and Finn get the time they deserve with their Mum, but to do this we need the help of all of our friends and some incredible strangers.
I’m hoping that you might be one of those incredible strangers. If you are, here’s how you can help:
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read this. Thank you to those who will spread the word. To those who will do even more than that, there are no words to tell you how grateful I am.
Keep your piggy fed
Cash strapped? I know I am at the moment, even more so since I started trying to scrabble together each and every spare penny for a deposit for a house. Inspired by this I decided to put together some handy hints on ways to get the books you want to read at a price you can afford. On the bright side all of these tips are environmentally friendly, because you are reusing rather than demanding the print of extra books.
1) Libraries
Making use of your public library or school library is probably the easiest way to get hold of the best sellers for free. Sign up for a library card and you can rent a selection of books for weeks at a time, just make sure that you renew or return by the due date to avoid fines. Libraries have the added advantage of having a great sense of community spirit, and if you make friends with your librarian they will get to know your tastes in literature and be able to tell you when they have some great books in that you are likely to enjoy. I’ve been introduced to some great books and authors this way, including the fabulous Gatty’s Tale by Kevin Crossley-Holland.
2) Set Up a Swap Table
At work we have a swap table in the lobby where you can take your books when you’ve finished reading them and pick up a new book in exchange. This doesn’t even need to be limited to books. Our table is fairly book dominated because of the nature of the publishing industry, but I’ve also seen CDs, DVDs, cake and in the summer a glut of allotment fruit and vegetables. All the benefits of swapping with a friend of family member but with much greater variety.
3) Charity Shops
As well as clothes that I’ve realised just don’t suit me, I take books that I’ve read to my local charity shop. I have regular clear outs, and not only do I get the exercise benefits of lugging along some pretty weighty tomes on the way there, but I invariably end up finding something I haven’t read but want to. On my last charity shop book buying spree I ended up carting home eleven books for six pounds. Now that is amazing value.
4) Green Metropolis
If you prefer to be able to select the book you want rather than have fate choose the book for you, greenmetropolis.com is a great site to allow you to boost your financial wellbeing at the same time as your eco credentials. There is a flat fee of £3.75 for each book, and 5p from each sale is donated to the Woodland Trust. Not only does the site sell cheap books with great green clout, but you can sell the books back when you’re done and receive a fee for £3 per book. You’ll have to pay for postage out of this, but can still turn a profit when recycling packaging and sending via second class post.
5) Book Mooch
Or if anonymous swapping is more your thing (I don’t know who left the Mills and Boon and Jackie Collins books on the swap table, I’d die if anyone thought it was me…) then swap online via bookmooch.co.uk . Though you do have to be patient while you wait for the book you want to appear, there is an immense sense of satisfaction in hunting down that little gem. Especially good for classics such as The Great Gatsby or set study texts.
What are your money saving reading tips?
I won’t be very active on the blog for a few days because I’m in the USA for work- my first time here and I’m loving it. I had plenty of time to read on the flight out, especially as I didn’t manage to sleep and arrived on the verge of a migraine and ready to have a real temper tantrum!
I was sat in between two people on the flight out, a very friendly guy and a woman who avoided eye contact for ten hours and ten minutes. This seemed a little unfair at first, but after I started reading may have been justified. I picked up a copy of Sarah Winman’s When God Was a Rabbit and spent the early part of the book laughing, and the latter part- you’ve guessed it- sobbing and rubbing my face into my sleeve. Oh and occasionally doing both at the same time.
I will post my review when arrive home, then you can read the book and let me know whether my emotional outbursts were perfectly understandable or the work of a mad woman!
Photographic evidence that reading with my parents caused my obession with books…
It’s that time of year again. We haven’t even reached Halloween, but there is wrapping paper and tinsel in the shops. I annually bemoan the fact that I hate this cynical commercialism and the premature climax of the festive season which comes about as a result. By December 21st, I have something of a Christmas hangover induced by the incessant repetition of Christmas carol covers and Glitz-will and Schmaltz to all mankind. So I apologise for broaching the subject of Christmas this early.
But in the interests of spreading the financial cost of Christmas (as espoused by Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert) I am getting some of my shopping done early. Normally I wouldn’t worry too much; I don’t have to do a “full” Christmas- by which I mean dinner, kids and relatives descending, but I am saving for a house deposit in the unlikely event that there really is a housing crash which would bring a nice little terrace house within my budget… but I digress.
Christmas presents. I like to get the people on my Christmas list books. What if they don’t like to read? Well a. people (you know who you are) persist in buying me perfume, bubble bath etc. when I have eczema and b. they are no friends of mine if they point-blank will not read on principle. Snobbish? Probably, but I don’t have time for pig-headed anti-intellectualism. Anyway, here are my key gift list members and the books I will be getting them. And I’m taking a risk because I haven’t read ANY of them!
If you are a sibling DO NOT read any further!
Father: An obsessive compulsive reader, probably where I get it from.
I spotted Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt. Everyone knows that Churchill was plagued by the black dog (his name for his depression). Mr Chartwell, a massively imposing black dog, as he pays court to Churchill and a young woman called Esther Hammerhans, bringing their very separate lives together for possibly very strange and dark purposes.
Older Sister: Likes to read the book of the moment.
Room by Emma Donoghue has been gaining a lot of media coverage this year. Shortlisted for the 2010 Booker Prize, Room is narrated by a very young boy who has been only ever known the small basement room in which he lives with his mother, the victim of a Josef Fritzl style criminal. The subject matter is horrific, but the critical acclaim is fantastic. It’s certainly one to talk about.
Older Brother: Devoted reader of my blog 
I read a short story in The Observer magazine the other weekend, which was kind of like a modern fable. You can read it here. It’s an extract from a book called Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Wicked Bestiary which seem pretty witty and amusing. Plus it draws on my brother’s teasing me about my obsession with rodents and any small creatures.
Little Sister: Chaotic Student
My little sister is currently in her second year at university and, like myself when I was in my second year at university, seems to be keen on stamping her identity on her surroundings. Photos on walls, fancy dress items displayed as modern art and bed linen which you intended to sum up your personality but ended up reflecting more on your budget… Anyway, she’s a fan of Audrey Niffennegger’s writing, and when I saw that she’s actually written a few picture books as well, I thought that The Night Bookmobile, a graphic novel, would be the perfect book to read and display.
Boyfriend: Bibliophobic Football Addict
Can We Play You Every Week?: A Journey to the Heart of All 92 Football League Clubs is a compromise which should keep him quiet when I’m trying to read my books.
Niece: Chubby Cheeked Ankle-Biter
When buying a book for a toddler you want to make it The Gruffalo, failing that, The Gruffalo Child. As it is, I’m pretty sure that my niece has both of these, so you can imagine my excitement when I found Stick Man from the team behind the mighty Gruffalo. Mr Stick lives with Mrs Stick and his little sticks in the family tree. However, he’s having a hard time getting back to them as he is ruthlessly chased by a dog, used as a building material by a broody bird and has a worryingly close encounter with a fire. I just hope it all turns out ok in the end…
I often enjoy reading teen/adult fiction, because the authors are generally happy to tell a decent, well written and engaging story without getting bogged down in literary pretentions of feeling the need to be, well, boring. I would hasten to add here that the Twilight Series are a clear exception here- I think they’re poorly written and thought the Wuthering Heights references were pathetic. So shoot me.
However, some books for young adults which have impressed me recently, and which will be enjoyed by old adults as well are listed below:
Before I Die- Jenny Downham
Tessa is 16 and like most teenage girls, she has a whole list of things she wants to try before she dies. But Tessa is dying of leukaemia. Before I Die tells the poignant story of Tessa trying to cram those important life milestones: getting drunk with friends, losing your virginity and falling in love into the short time that she has left. A beautiful bittersweet book which was totally devoid of melodrama, I cried my eyes out.
Th1rteen R3asons Why- Jay Asher
Imagine this. One day you come home to find a mysterious package on your doorstep. You open it to find that it is a shoe box full of cassettes, with numbers painted on them in nail varnish. When you play number 1, you realise that they are recorded in the voice of your first love and they want to tell you something important. That’s what happens to Clay Jensen. The only problem is, Clay’s first love Hannah is dead having committed suicide a fortnight before, and everyone named on the tape contributed to Hannah’s decision to kill herself-including Clay. Truly thought-provoking, this book made me reassess the way everyday interactions can have far seen effects upon an individual.
Before I Fall-Lauren Oliver
Sam Kingston is not your typical 18-year-old girl, in the sense that she is self-assured, a member of the most popular group of girls in school and loves her gorgeous boyfriend. In short, she lives what she believes is the perfect teenage life. That is until she is involved in a horrific car crash, bad enough to kill her, and she wakes up forced to live out her last day on earth over and over until she gets it right. A fusion of Th1rteen R3asons Why and Groundhog Day, Sam’s story makes you think again about how you treat your peers, regardless of where they come in the pecking order.