The Book Tower
debut novel coming soon

• The Guardian report today that Doctor Who has nudged The Beano aside as this year’s top-selling annual in the UK. I’ve noticed more annuals in the shops this year and, although my annual reading days are over, they are a welcome alternative to biographies of celebrities I have barely heard of. I remember as I child rushing into department stores to check if the year’s batch of annuals were on the shelves. My favourites were Whizzer and Chips, Buster and Lion. Later I moved onto Marvel annuals and later still 2000 AD. But I still have my Beano Book 1975 somewhere.
• Staying nostalgic, Julian Barnes writes a fantastic account of family life in the Christmas New Yorker. This doesn’t appear to be available in the online edition so, like me, you may have to buy a copy. But it’s worth it, and there’s some excellent fiction in this issue too. In fact I’ve spent most of today reading it.
• Bought a second hand copy of Goldfinger this afternoon. Ian Fleming’s opening reads:

James Bond, with two double bourbons inside him, sat in the final departure lounge of Miami Airport and thought about life and death.

• What a guy! After downing two double bourbons I’d probably forget where I was and miss my flight.
• Seasonal footnote: to my surprise, I make a mean pot of mulled wine, with our Christmas guests last night waiting in line, drinking and rejoining the queue in an endless loop. I even made a second batch, perhaps with a little less care, but by then our friends formed a merry bunch.

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After overdosing on Golding and Dickens in the last two weeks, I decided to find myself a comfortable read in the run up to Christmas. Tidying up the spare room for our seasonal guests, I discovered a copy of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon which met my requirements exactly.

Continue reading Comfortable Reading [1]

Against my better judgement, I drove out to the shopping mall on the edge of town yesterday morning clutching my shopping list. The trip was a disaster; I couldn’t find anything I wanted as I battled through the frantic crowds and the whole expedition was cut short when I realised I’d left my wallet at home.

The experience taught me several things. Not to visit the shopping mall a week before Christmas, not to go out without my wallet and not to attempt to buy anything in bookstores. Wherever I went, I just saw the same old titles.

Continue reading Stocking Fillers [2]

Even though I’ve seen one or two interesting book challenges this week I’ve decided not to take part in them. Not that I’m really struggling with my current challenges, I just feel a bit challenged out. There’s also the worry that I’ll be proposing a reading challenge for books left over from reading challenges challenge in six months time.

Reading challenges are great fun but I’m not so keen on all the planning ahead. Rather than know what books are lying in wait for me I prefer to find them as I go along. Sometimes other books jump out of the shadows, sometimes you just change your mind.
I pass my pile of reading challenge books every time I walk down to the kitchen. Henry James is there staring at me with a “when are you going to read What Maisie Knew then?” Charlotte Bronte gives a conspiratorial nod with “and he hasn’t even touched Jane Eyre yet!”

I’ll get to them, but The Thirteenth Tale is going to be in my stocking this Christmas so that might take precedence.

Comment [1]

We’re into December and end of the year book lists are popping up everywhere. I thought it was time to compile my own short selection. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few, so I’ll be adding to this post as I remember.

Continue reading Book Ends