Memories in Words and Pictures
I collect young people's books. I have a general collection of books published from the mid nineteenth century onwards which includes everything from Louisa Alcott, through Julia Green, Joan Lingard, Philip Reeve and John Rowe Townsend to Paul Zindel. I don't necessarily have everything by all the authors in this collection; it's more of a... Continue Reading →
Over on my young people's book blog (www.picturesandconversations.co.uk) I've been writing about books that have made me (want to) travel to their settings and places that have made me seek out books set there. For as long as I can remember, books and places have been inextricably linked. I didn't always realise it, but it's... Continue Reading →
I read a book today. It was about a woman who wrote a book. The book was about people the author knew. The book (the real one; not the one in the book) was a rewrite of another book. That book was also about a woman who wrote a book about people the author (the... Continue Reading →
Never judge a book by its cover - so the saying goes. But I expect we're all guilty of breaking that one sometimes, both literally and figuratively. I certainly did when I bought a copy of Crossed Skis by Carol Carnac. I'm fairly new to detective/crime fiction and I'm not hugely knowledgeable about it. I'm... Continue Reading →
Recently (recently enough to have to cut short my journey) I was travelling in Australia. As is my wont I tried to read books that had some relevance to my destination. Two such were by Nevil Shute: A Town Like Alice and the less well known The Far Country. I'm not an expert on the... Continue Reading →
Running alongside my love of reading are a passion for maps and a desire to travel – a real combination of my parents’ interests and all encouraged by them as I was growing up. For a long time my actual travel was very limited but my dreams and my interest never have been, with the... Continue Reading →
Last week I discovered that my job had become a victim of budget savings. In common with councils across the country, Moray finds itself in the position of having to save millions and so my job with its wonderful Libraries Service will end soon. I'm sad about this obviously. It really is the best Libraries... Continue Reading →
I can’t remember why and I can’t remember when, but a couple of years or so ago I took it into my head to read the novels of Dorothy L Sayers. I’ve always known that they exist and I was vaguely aware that they were about Lord Peter Wimsey and (as I thought) Harriet Vane. ... Continue Reading →
It's not just pictures of places that hold memories. This is my fiftieth birthday cake. I may have become rather over-excited about celebrating my half century, a state only intensified by a brief flirtation at death's door the previous year. Whatever the reason, I was determined to embrace my age and share my birthday with... Continue Reading →
