Stuck-in-a-Book's Weekend Miscellany

All those book reviews I promised you... well, we've had one or two, still more to come next week - during which I'll be off to Northern Ireland, and at the end of which I'll be moving house. But I'll try and prepare some posts to appear during the week... But, without further ado, let's have a book, a blog post, and a link.

No, wait, we will have further ado. I thought you'd like to know that Jane Austen Poll seems to be working now, and has accrued 125 votes so far (wow!) with Pride and Prejudice an unsurprising winner. Next up is Persuasion, then Emma, then 'Don't make me choose! It isn't fair!' My own favourite, Sense and Sensibility, is limping in at fifth...

AND - I promised you a winner for the Tove Jansson book! It's a bit buried in this colourful Miscellany, I'll put the winner in capitals... Using a randomiserthingummy (because it's too hot for Patch to do anything but lie down and flop his ears) the winner of Travelling Light by Tove Jansson is....

MYSTICA!

So Tove will be travelling off to Sri Lanka. Email me your address, Mystica, and I'll get it in the post to you.

1.) The blog post - I don't think I've ever had such an easy choice for blog post as this week. True, I did link to a few days ago, but whoever said you could have too much of a good thing? (Oh. Oh, right.) Here's a link to Rachel aka Book Snob's lovely musings on she and Jane Austen - basically it says everything you've been thinking about JA if you're a Janeite - and, for good measure, here's a rather funny post about falling off the book-abstinence wagon. Snarf.

2.) The book - I'm cheating on all counts this weekend. Not only was my blog post really blog posts, my book is going to be books. Many books. Because for some reason I've only just discovered (or at least only just remembered, if I'd forgotten) that Dodo Press have reprinted oodles of A.A. Milne's books. Mostly the early whimsical sketches and things - including, pictured, Once A Week which I've just re-read - but also some plays. I don't own any Dodo books, can anyone else comment on their quality? They also, quite bizarrely, don't have a website - here is a link to their Milne reprints on Book Depository. That includes a James Milne, by the way...

3.) The link - I thought I'd draw your attention to a new link I've added to my Places of Beauty section, down in the left-hand column. It's Photo Books from a company called Bags of Love. Usually I turn down advertising offers, but this one really appealed to me - and I included it on its own merits. Yes, they have sent me a lovely photo canvas to say thank you, but this is the first company's offer I've accepted - I think their photo books and other photo-ideas would make lovely gifts... and my birthday's in November. Just saying ;-)