memoir

84 Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff

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I heard about 84 Charing Cross Road through Slightly Foxed a few years ago, and it’s been patiently waiting on my shelf ever since. The moment to read it finally arrived after I finished the harrowing Between Shades of Gray and was in desperate need of something cheerful to warm my heart. I couldn’t have chosen a better book to make me smile!

This is a lovely little book about a struggling American writer in New York and her correspondence with an antiquarian bookshop in London. The first half is a copy of the letters, starting with Helene inquiring after certain out-of-print books that she couldn’t get hold of. What follows is twenty year’s worth of letters, mostly between the reserved (and very British) bookseller Frank and the more chatty Helene. Continue reading →

Under the Tuscan Sun – Frances Mayes

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Have you ever wanted to simply drop everything and move to Tuscany? Well I have, many times! Reading Under the Tuscan Sun brought all those feelings back to me.

This book is a mixture of memoir, travel guide, recipe book and there’s also a good deal about house renovation, all told with the beautiful backdrop of Bramasole, the impressive house Mayes and her partner have taken on.

It was so easy to slip into the relaxed pace of this book and it’s exactly what I needed  a few months ago, during a particularly busy spell at work. Continue reading →

When You Are Engulfed in Flames – David Sedaris

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If you’re a regular follower of the blog, you’ll already know of my  love for David Sedaris. I turn to his writing when I’m feeling down or if I can’t sleep. His entertaining memories always have me in stitches but I also find his words reassuring, and often there is a poignancy to his stories.

Being a bit quirky himself, Sedaris attracts some rather strange people. Many of them wouldn’t be out of place in a Dickens’ novel. This book in particular has some real corkers. There’s his opinionated and crude New York neighbour who sounds like just the sort of person I would avoid. But she makes for great reading, especially with lines such as  Continue reading →

Eat Pray Love – Elizabeth Gilbert

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Eat Pray LoveAfter being extremely unimpressed with the film, I avoided reading Eat Pray Love for a number of years (even though friends recommended it). However, researching for my upcoming trip to Indonesia, I kept coming across it in book and travel blogs. Bearing in mind that I started reading with negative feelings, I actually got more out of Eat Pray Love than I had expected.

This memoir leads us along Elizabeth Gilbert’s journey to ‘find herself’ after a traumatic marriage break-up. She heads to Rome to explore the idea of indulgence, India to find enlightenment and Bali to learn to love again. Or something like that. Continue reading →