Country Company

I have finished The Enchanted April - which is just as well.   I can no longer pretend I am in Italian sunshine as our boiler broke down at the weekend.  The sun (and delicious clumps of green and brilliant white snowdrops) peeking shyly out in the last couple of days have persuaded me that spring is on it's way.
I am immersing myself in this lovely book, with charming watercolours and observations about the British countryside to keep me distracted whilst I wait for one of those rare and fleeting appearances - no, not the first cuckoo, the plumber.

Etsy BeauBazaar

Time Travel

In an effort to bring spring forward I'm immersing myself in Italy.  I want to feel the sun on my face, bathe my eyes in lilac wisteria, drink deeply of an iced drink on a warm terrace.  Waiter......!

Book Snob

I have borrowed my title from a blog I follow (I like to think of it as positive plagiarism, a win-win for both parties?!)

I have a TBR (to be read) pile of quite some height at present.  But having been unwell for the past week  I felt unable to tackle some of the weightier tomes.  It was the same with food - only light would do. So I tucked into a book I had previously avoided, as I thought it too lightweight.  The book is Bill Bryson's Notes From A Small Island.  The book was a treat.  Bill (as I now call him!) is an unashamed anglophile.  Last night he was on the news, he's signed a petition to prevent the sell off of woodland to overseas investors.  He rails against litter and the ripping up of our ancient hedgerows.  He is the President for The Campaign To Protect Rural England.

These issues are close to my heart too.   Maybe my eating and reading diet will revert back to my old habits this week, but I will try and amend my judging ways and keep in mind the saying, don't judge a book by it's cover.

http://bookssnob.wordpress.com/

Love and Freindship (sic)

This is the title of the book I have been struggling to photograph. I love the way the gold of the title reflects off of the wood - the book sparkles and glitters, like the treasure it is.

www.etsy.com/shop/BeauBazaar

Anticccippaaaattion (as Tim Curry once said, whilst dressed in suspenders)

I am excited. I took a day out for hunting this week and found some good books, and one of them in particular made my heart beat faster, it was by one of my favourite authors, but a title I had never heard of, in lovely condition. I have taken a teaser photo of part of the front cover.

All I need now is some decent sun (ha!) light, so that I can take photos that do them justice.

Etsy BeauBazaar

Let there be light! Or, The One With Bulbs In

Bulbs - some in a jug found in 20p crate, more in an old olive oil can and the 3rd one in a tomato can covered in a risotto rice sack.

Gone but not forgotten

These are some of the books that have passed through my Etsy shop in 2010. I am looking forward to finding new treasures to fill the gaps left by these lovely books. I love finding them, it's hard to let them go, but I have a good excuse to go off buying again.

Etsy BeauBazaar

My Favourite Books in 2010

It was a tough choice but I have picked the books that left the biggest mark on me this year. In no order they are;

Venice because it is a love story that transports you to the city. I was there, standing on the ossuary island of Sant'Ariano, the hairs standing up on my neck.

Suite Francaise, for it's courage and prose, and the heartbreaking story of how Irene Nemirovsky's novel came to be.

Coco Chanel - A Life; for Justine's writing and her take on the woman behind the couture, and for Madame' s own ability to ensure that the legend is still shrouded in many layers - one of them being Cocos own ability to create a good story.

Love Child. This book may not have crossed my bows, had I not heard Allegra Huston speak at Hay. Not to be confused with a s'leb memoir, it is the beautifully written story of one woman's search for identity and family. It is suffused with honesty and love.

Flip It - I love this book for it's ability to make me see that a situation can be viewed in many ways, and how you can do that. I have dipped into it a few times to top up my optimism levels.

I would love to know which books left their imprints on you in 2010.

*Apologies for my lack of accents etc.