Stuck-in-a-Book's Weekend Miscellany

It was fun last week, so let's try it again. I had meant to write about a few books I've recently finished, but somehow it hasn't happened. Next week, I promise.

1) This video is hilarious. I subscribe to communitychannel's videos on YouTube, and though her humour is unfortunately sometimes what Our Vicar's Wife would call "near the knuckle" (does anyone else use this expression?) her sketches are usually very amusing. Just watch the sketch at the beginning - I think you'll enjoy it.

2) Do go and see a lovely review of Joyce Dennys' Henrietta's War on the very wonderful blog Paperback Reader. This should even please my brother Colin (who says he reads my blog but 'skips the booky bits') since the blog title is adapted from the Beatles song 'Paperback Writer'. The review takes the form of a letter from Henrietta, and picks out one of my favourite moments in the book, concerning offal...

3) How have I lived this long without buying any of the gorgeous New York Review of Books Classics titles? Possibly because that's such a mouthful. But incentive, if incentive were needed, has arrived - they currently have a 20% off sale. Actually, I had to go to Amazon because I don't have a credit card, and so I don't know what postage costs to the UK are. But any American readers should head that way immediately... I bought Barbara Comyns' The Vet's Daughter, because it's one of hers which I don't have yet and I hate the new Virago cover for it. But they also do all sorts of Stuck-in-a-Book favourites and would-be-favourites including to-die-for editions of Tove Jansson's The Summer Book; Sylvia Townsend Warner's Lolly Willowes; Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April, and Ivy Compton-Burnett's A House and Its Head and Manservant and Maidservant. All of those should be pictured below, and if I've done things correctly, clicking on the image will take you to the NYRB page in question. My friend Erika says "They really are lovely editions--the paper is good quality and bright, the binding is tight, and it just has a good feel to it in your hands!" They should put me on commission...


















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