It was one of those surreal chance things. There I was, browsing the Bookmooch forums when I came across a link to Blog A Penguin Classic.

What a fabulous marketing idea. Give one free copy of each classic to a volunteer who will then blog about their book on the penguin website and on their own blog. It’s a brilliant way to spread the word about some of the more obscure classics as well as to remind people of some of the fab books out there. Needless to say, I leapt on the bandwagon with gusto and have been allocated Voltaire’s Letters on England. It’s got a 5* review on Amazon and I laughed a lot when I read ‘Candide’, so I’m hopeful. The hubby, on the other hand, is donning his tux to read some Ian Fleming.

My current ‘to be read’ stash is full of light and flippant stuff. It’s a tough time of the year and bright and breezy stuff that doesn’t require a lot of brain power is definitely on the cards. I’m in the middle of Julia Quinn’s series on the Bridgerton family. I’ve read books 1-6 and am currently waiting Gregory and Hyacinth’s stories from lovely people on Bookmooch. I’m surprised by just how much I’ve enjoyed these books as I never would have gone out of my way to buy them. Julia Quinn is very witty and she develops characters that you really grow to care about. One of the things that I’ve loved about the series so far is that no matter where Colin goes, he’s hungry. Food miraculously materialises with long-suffering butlers, or he grazes from what food is there. Little motifs like that just make it for me.

The banter between the siblings is fantastic, but mostly I love how she develops her characters. The relationships between them are so well done, and of course, there is the constant question of ‘Who exactly is the mysterious Lady Whistledown?’ to contend with. They’re real feel-good books, and I’d definitely recommend them!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but life has been really mad with both work and kids and it’s exam season so it’s about to get madder! One of these days I’m sure I’ll have a normal life!

I’ve been reading Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ lately. I’ve always loved her as a poet, but I often find that poets don’t transfer well to being novelists and vice-versa. D.H. Lawrence is a prime example there. I love his novels, but his poetry just doesnt grab me. So, in Plath’s case I’ve avoided this book for many, many years - which I absolutely shouldn’t have done in retrospect.

Her prose is every bit as well crafted and beautiful as her poetry is. It’s melodic to read - lyrical, I suppose and the imagery is every bit as strong and effortless as it is in her poetry. The story of Esther is in some ways Plath’s own story - the biographical links are too strong to ignore: the academic overachiever who won prizes, the long-dead father, the loss of control and the time spent with shock therapies in the institute following a suicide attempt. One of the things I liked best was the alteration of style as Esther’s condition worsened, and then changed again when she began to recover and become more in control. The parallels between Esther and Joan were done well, and it was impressive that the reader was more shocked than Esther was at Joan’s eventual suicide when it appeared that she was doing so well.

A must read. Gorgeous, gorgeous prose and a fascinating story to boot!

No pink DMs in the post this morning, but instead another parcel from a certain friend in Canada.

I’ve been reading James Bow’s “Rosemary and Time” series (as they were then) and “Unwritten Books” as they are now for quite a few years, so it’s such a thrill to see them in print. I can only begin to imagine how James feels about the whole thing. It’s fun reading - not only because they’re great stories, but because it’s interesting to see how much they’ve changed in the process of editing.

Cheers to James for sending it over and for absolutely making my weekend. Best of luck with this one and you already know I’m looking forward to the next!

I’d recommend them to you if you’ve not started on Rosemary and Peter already. The latest is “Fathom Five" and the first in the series is “The Unwritten Girl".