The Librarian

For months I have been driving past a secondhand bookshop on my way to visit a friend. It was a big old rundown looking place, and somehow didn't appeal. But this week I had a bit of time on my hands so decided to have  a look. It turned out to be a bookish girl's dream come true. It literally had books bursting out of it. Room after room of books from floor to ceiling, in a great big messy jumble. It was a fluke to find things, but that somehow made the find all the more satisfying. I'm determined to collect all the books I read when I was young, and I found some real keepers here. It reminded me just how important it is to take the blinkers off sometimes. Take a look around, there may be some treasures waiting for you in a wee corner shop that you've never noticed before. Three Astrid Lindgren titles: Ronia, the robber's daughter, Emil Gets into Mischief, and Mardie, as well as another Sue Barton book for my growing collection Little Grey Rabbit by Ali...

A comedy of classic proportions My friend and I have been at war. She laughs in the face of danger, she claims   to dislike Jane Austen without even opening one of her books or at least watching the BBC version of P&P. While of course part of me is just miffed that she doesn't like something that I so love, the other part of me finds it hard to understand the lack of curiosity...after so much general female adoration of Mr Darcy, doesn't she at least want to see Colin Firth and that wet shirt scene? I thought maybe we would have to part ways until she gently reminded me that we liked lots of the same other sorts of things, like vintage tea cups, cute little chickens, op shopping, pretty scarves,  you know general sort of nice things, so maybe we could just overlook our differences about Jane Austen. Nothing beats a rational argument like that. Yet, though I knew she had a point, it was still abit of a niggle, so when she said one day "I don't like Jane Austen...

I know that I am more than due to check in for book chat, but I couldn't let Mother's Day pass without putting up a Mother's Day display.... In an ideal world, mums everywhere will be spending mother's day being pampered. Here is a selection of books that would be just perfect to dip into while propped up in bed, after a beautiful home-cooked breakfast and present-opening ceremony,                                                              happy dreaming! My French Life by Vicki Archer Miss Dahl's voluptuous delights by Sophie Dahl Vintage Knits for Modern Babies by Hadley Fierlinger and when you're done with dreaming, and need some light and lovely fiction to sustain you until the lunch tray arrives (imagine - a whole morning in bed with books!), Sarah-Kate Lynch is New Zealand's queen of chic lit. I love her books ...

There are some children's book illustrators who have made magic.  Tasha Tudor is one of them. She illustrated nearly 100 books in her lifetime (1915-2008). Hunt her out if you haven't found her already. My favourite (so far - I haven't happened across them all yet!) is her book 'A Time to Keep', a book of festivals and holidays, with the most delicious illustrations of family rituals and good times. I so want to own this book! I also want to track down the edition of 'The Night before Christmas' by Clement C Moore that she illustrated. I have seen some of the pages from it and it looks beautiful.

I should get this out in the open...I'm what they call a 'francophile'. It sounds a bit dinosaury but it's not. It's just that I'm mad on France. Anything French. The scenery, the language, the food, all those little churchy churches - I just love it all. So, I will pick up any book that promises a bit of a window into French life. I'm here to tell you there have been a few...but I have my favourites, and today I'm going share them with you, because even if you're not dinosaury-french-mad, I think you'll enjoy these books. My Life in France by Julia Child was definitely my 'book of the year' last year, because as well as being set in my fave part of the world, Julia Child is one inspiring woman! And such a nice love story too. It's a goodie. Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard is a light memoir written by an American girl who fell in love with a French boy and lived with him in Paris. This wasn't my all-time fave, but it wa...

Hello friends! Book chat time again. Thank you so much for your replies to last month's book chat. I love knowing you are out there!! Don't forget to add your latest book recommendations this month too.   My book recommendation this time is Common Table , a delightful little book written by two old school friends, Janice Marriott and Virginia Pawsey, who met at a reunion and began writing to each other. Their letters have been published in two books. The first, Common Ground , chronicled their gardens, one in central Wellington and the other in Canterbury hill country. In Common Table they share recipes and reflect on the differences between city and country life. It's lovely!     Remember, I promised I would bring food to book chat? Well, this month I am very excited to welcome bake club  to book chat. Have a look at their fabulous blog. And, aren't these macarons amazing. Basil lime macarons Talk soon. Love, Library ...

Books about mice are always so cosy and comfy. Sometimes I still imagine that I might come upon a mouse house in the local oak trees complete with bed chambers, four poster beds, fluffy quilts and unchipped sets of cornish ware china. That'd be a happy day. Till then I'll keep on reading my all-time favourite mice books - the Brambly Hedge series, The Foxwood Tales, and Angelina Ballerina. Check in next week - it's Book Chat week again. x