Tuesday, February 8, 2011

What's Milne is Yours


Happy Wednesday one and all, and to celebrate this momentous occasion (which, lest we forget, happens only a seventh of the time) I've got a couple of books by A.A. Milne to give away. Much as I love to spread Milne's works amongst as many as possible (and he is an author I love dearly, and wish more people read), I'll confess that the pun-derful title to this post was a definite incentive.

The books are Milne's autobiography called It's Too Late Now, and a collection of humorous essays under the title Not That It Matters. Both are duplicates that I felt should pour some sunshine into someone else's life.

It's Too Late Now (1939) is one of my favourite books. To be honest, only a fairly small segment is devoted to his life as an author, and only four pages are given over to Winnie the Pooh et al. Instead, he talks of life during childhood; at university; as a soldier in WW1; as assitant editor of Punch, and so on and so forth. I love Milne's whimsical but perceptive tone wherever I encounter it, but probably no more so than in this brilliant and diverting account.

Not That It Matters (1920) is representative of his humorous, light-hearted work at the beginning of his writing career. The essays are collected from various newspapers and magazines, and cover a miscellany of amusing topics - perfect for dipping into as and when. For a taste (or, if you so wish, to read the whole thing) click here.

I'm happy to send these off anywhere in the world - just put which one you would prefer in the comments (if you'd be happy with either, that's fine too) and I'll do a draw sometime next week.

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