Books And Summer Daydreaming

The sun is shining in my part of the world, It feels great. We were beginning to think that we were all to remain a pasty colour ,but there is a chance after all that our milk bottle coloured Irish bodies will get a hint of brown .This will save me having to get the St Tropez out, the only thing I will be slathering on my skin is a good SPF. Bliss !!!!
So, when the good weather is here I like to read holiday ,exotic location type books. Here are the ones I am going to be trying to read this week while the sun lasts.

Do you enjoy a summer themed book while the sun is out?
I think I am a seasonal reader.. are you??

Book Haul....

While shopping this week I was fortunate enough to come across numerous book sales. I was happier then a pig in p**p!!
As I do read so many different books from so many genres I can usually find something that interests me when I am out and about. Thankfully this one particular day I found a good few.Yay!!!!
The first shop I stopped of at was Easons. The Irish bookshop chain.Here I picked up these two:

Sweetly- A retelling of Hansel and Gretel

Looks like perfect summer reading!!!
The next one was at the used bookstore, here I made out like a bandit..Every book 1 euro each.. yay Bargains all round... check out these beauties..

Yet another Little Women look for my library.. I must have about 6 different editions.

I have never read anything by Lawrence before but the blurb at the back of the book really interested me.

These two I may save for the autumn/winter

I have read this before but did not have my own copy of it. Now I do, Yay!!!

I saw this series recommended alot by one of the lovely ladies over at getbookish on youtube. We have similar book tastes so I thought I would give it a go. The entire box set of books 5 euro . Can you say bargain!!!!

The blurb on the back looked great and I don't think P.D James could write a bad book so I got this one.

Again another summer themed book.. Can you tell the weather has got better here.

Yep more summer reading!!!!

Next was a closing down bookshop sale- Here I picked up these.I was so fortunate this month.

The same writer who wrote The House Of Silk, this booked aimed for a younger audience.

How could I resist this book above.

All these stickers that bookshops put on their books drive me mad. Why do this to the books !!!!!!!!!!

It is always near impossible to remove them without damaging the books in some way.

My hardback edition of my favourite book arrived too. 84 Charring Cross Road.

I really enjoy the picture of the bookshop on Charring Cross Road on the back fly leaf. I only wish I had got to visit this place while it was a bookshop .

Blabbering And Blundering Along

So.. there I was, taking a wander down Diagon Alley to pick up a few bits before heading to the leaky cauldron for a few ice cold butter beers....well no not quite...
I was wandering from the kitchen after making rice crispy treats and a pot of soup . What is it with this weather.. summer my arse!!! I do believe I may have hallucinated sunshine last week.. it only lasted a few mins and it was very hazy so there is a good chance the fumes from lighting the gas cooker caused the sudden appearance of the imaginary sunshine..
All this non sunshine weather ( now known by me as second winter) is leading me to hobbies and food type things normally reserved for autumn/ winter.
I have found myself on more then one occasion wanting to light the open fire, put on a pot of soup and either watch Christmas movies or read wintry themed books. I did pretty much all of this except lighting the fire as the humidity is yackkk here right now and I would likely be admitted to hospital with a temperature rocking the early hundreds if I did that.

Have you felt the same my friends??

So what to read when the weather is both bad and hot...
We could go for a bustier ripping novel with some ravishing man on a horse/motorbike/really fast car but the chances are it would only raise our expectations and leave us a little hot under the collar and in need of a facial Spritz ( Caudalie do a good one (beauty elixir) )

Anyways.. to get back to what I was saying.. we could also go for something light and suitably seasonal.. A nice beach read.. You know the type.. There is tropical locations, cocktails, sexy Spanish waiters and jugs of sangria  but lets face it, it can get a bit much when you are at home , pale as an anemic ghost while trying to get your legs tanned while sitting on your back door step, trying to avoid the bees from nose diving your can of coke.

So are we destined to have nothing to read while our weather is on the dismal side??.. Fear not lovely people in blog land .. I have the answer..

Well actually no I don't .. Everyone I know is complaining of book slumps.. No doctor can prescribe a cure for this malady , the best I can suggest is drink plenty and ride out the storm..
It is  a curse .. you know "The Slumps"  ..it sneaks up on you, is a divil to get rid of and the darn thing can come back at any time.
It may be of some use to you to read over old favourites but as my friend Sabrina over at
http://www.abouthappybooks.com knows, book slumps can last longer then any book lover would like. The one and only good thing about book slumps is that eventually they do end and when they do it is a momentous occasion where our hope in books is restored again reminding us why we loved books in the first place.

The Wonderful Maeve Binchy

It was sad night  tonight when I learned of the death of the wonderful Maeve Binchy.

Growing up in Ireland , and loving books, there was no way that I could not read something by Maeve Binchy . In fact after reading one of her books you cannot help but read everything else that Maeve ever wrote. That is what I did.
Maeve could tell a story in a way that made you care very much for each and  every one of the characters. They were memorable and special, each and every one. You could almost picture them living real lives in the towns they were from.
Maeve had a unique and soothing voice and on the many occasions I watched her on Irish television or on the radio over here , I always found myself stopping what I was doing and giving her my full attention as she was interviewed by our presenters over here. Her voice was engaging and full of humour and wit, and it never failed to put a smile on my face.
I will treasure each and every book I have of hers as there will now be no more books to look forward to. I never dreamed she would be taken from us so soon. Ireland lost someone very special.

The first book I read by Maeve was Light A Penny Candle..OOhh how I loved that book.All of my copies are well worn and loved in paperback and hardback. The book had been out a good few years before I came across it but when I did I became a lifelong fan .
With all my favourite writers I collect all their books and I dread the day I get news that one of them has passed.

Authurs do not realise I think how much sometimes their books mean to us. Sometimes we pick up their books at times in our life when we need something.. perhaps part of the storyline is relevent to what we may be going through in our own life or perhaps we have read their book  at times when our own life has something wonderful happening in it .I can often think back to times in the past, and the books I was reading then, and when I open the book, maybe after many years, the memories coming flooding back,be it good or bad.
We ( the booklovers) will miss this wonderful writer, this charming and witty woman who told us so many stories and made us care for each and every one of them.

xxxxxxxxxxx
R.I.P Maeve

Cookery Books / Some Of The Best!! Part 1

Now, you may think these are strange types of books to collect, but I love them!!!
Some people might be thinking surely to heaven one good cookbook  is all you need but honestly.. just as you would not go round eating the same dozen meals during your entire lifetime neither should you limit yourself to just one cookbook.
A lovely friend of mine called Ruth who lives in America sent me this wonderful book last year.

I had previously asked Ruth which American cookbook she could recommend to me. I got such a surprise when it showed up as it covered just about every recipe you could ever imagine.
I am a note maker when it comes to cookery books and I like to add my own notes/post-its/pencil marks( yes I know.. look at me.. vandal!!). Cookbooks I am afraid take alot of my vandal behaviour!.
What can I say ,I'm a scribbler :0)

So guys, are you interested in chocolate and baking at all??
Yes.. OOhh good I'am glad..
Check out these beauties then so.
From our lovely Irish writer Marian Keyes we have this beauty..

Then this beautiful book by Trish Deseine... Ohhh this book will have you reaching for the chocolate quicker then you can say Willy Wonka..The pictures in this book are a chocoholics dream and I do believe it cannot be read when there is no chcoclate in the house.

Then we have the lovely Rachel Allen, daughter of Darina Allen equally as fabulous and famous. What these ladies can't do in a kitchen is not even worth talking about.

We are fortunate over here to have some lovely lads cooking and writing books about it.
Here we have : Donal Skehan. This young man can whip up a tasty meal while making it look a breeze.

Then the lovely :Kevin Dundon
Anyone who has seen this man on tv cook will understand. He cooks with great humour and charm and you cannot fail to smile watching him cook his delicious meals.

Above are some of the wonderful recipe books by the legend that is Julia Child. Retro Fabulous right here folks !!!! These were also the inspiration behind the book Julie and Julia that was also made into a film of the same name.


We have a wonderful cookery magazine over in Ireland called Easy Food. It covers everything from recipies for breakfast,lunch,dinner,snacks ,desserts. It is always seasonal and the reipes delicious and told in a way that will make even the most nervous of cooks feel like a chef in their own kitchen. They are great at recommending /mentioning great local producers of food and where to find up to the minute kitchen products and merchandise and stockists.

These next two books are by two more awesome Ladies.Both British(as far as I know)
First Sophie Dahl, granddaughter of the writer Roald Dahl who was most famous for his books for children.( He wrote adult books too)
Sophie's book is both pretty and full of unusual recipes. The cover alone is worth buying this for.

Now the second lady who deserves a mention is the stunning Gizzi.. This stunning lady struts her retro look on tv while serving up some grub that could make your toes curl in delight. Is the cake on the front cover not reason enough to convince you??

Do you have a recipe book you turn to again and again.. If so let me know in the commenst below. I would love to hear from you xxxx
Until next time my lovelies xxx

Look What I Won!! The CozyChicks Kitchen Cookbook

A little while ago the ladies over at The Cozy Chicks were running a comp to win their cookbook.
I was lucky enough to be one of the winners.
Well today look what arived in the mail.

For those of you who don't know The Cosy chicks are a group of female writers who write cozy mysteries . These lovely ladies can be found here:
 On their blog:
http://www.cozychicksblog.com
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/CozyChicksauthors

If you enjoy a cosy mystery these are the ladies to follow.
The Cozy chicks are : Leanne Sweeney,Kate Collins,Deb Baker(Hannah Reed),Heather blake Webber,Ellery Adams,Maggie Sefton,Lorraine Bartlett.
All their links can be found on their facebook page and their blog.

Looking forward now to trying out these delicious recipes!!!!
Review to follow!

Reading This Week.

Inkspell..

I had tried reading this second book in the inkheart trilogy before without success. I had got half way through and abandoned it. This time I am having better luck with it . The plot is complex and I can't really read other books while reading this as my brain would end up like a bowl of spaghetti. Most of the time I can dip in and out of ten books easily and remember what's going on.. not this time...
The trilogy in short is about books that come alive when read by certain people . Those people can read the story and bring people out of the books and some people can go in too. (sometimes unintentionally) .
This trilogy is really for fans of books about books. It is a Children's/Ya book but any adult will equally love it.
There are some wonderful characters in this  trilogy.Inkheart,Inkspell,Inkdeath.

 My favourite characters are Mo, Meggie, Elinor and Farid. Mo is a bookbinder/book doctor (as I adore books  I think a doctor for books makes me warm to Mo as much as I did). He takes care of all the sick and near dead books with tender loving care . It is not just work to him he loves to read too. Meggie is Mo's daughter and Mo has passed on his love for reading to his daughter who shares his passion for the written word. Elinor is Meggie's aunt and she is quite the character. Full of wit and sarcasm she collects/reads/worships books. They really are a family of book lovers. It truly is a book about books.

 This trilogy takes my imagination on trips to many different worlds as I try and picture all the books I have read and wonder what if the characters could be read out of the books.. or I could be read in...
Would I be hiding out in a room in The Overlook hotel  from the book The Shining  by Stephen King  as weird and wonderful things happen in the hotel and the crazed authur is trying to kill his family..
Could I be down the rabbit hole with Alice and having tea with the mad hatter.
Maybe I am on top of the Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton on my way to lands and adventures far away...
Would I recommend these books. You bet your socks I would!!!!
Books are wonderful for the imagination.. esp in children and in the few adults who have not forgotten how to dream.