Blog A Go-Go

In which you might be feeling a little morbid

If you're in the mood for something deliciously creepy--and about forty seconds long--I have the perfect book. Cherise the Niece by J. K. Benton of Happy Bunny fame is a picture book of the gory (Gorey?) kind. It tells the grim fates of the many aunts of Cherise, a little orphan girl with a penchant for mischief. I read about it first in the Murder by the Book newsletter and instantly e-mailed the store to order a copy. It is darkly hilarious, and as many others have pointed out, it will remind you at once of the Gashlycrumb Tinies. I intend to start giving copies to expectant aunts...as a friendly warning. http://www.jimbenton.com/cherise.html 

In which I have the perfect red lipstick

I have made no secret of my quest for the perfect red lipstick. It is astonishingly hard to find. The closest I came was with Besame's Besame Red--lovely, rich, adorable packaging, superb customer service. I do highly recommend them, and I thought I would never stray.

Until now. Poppy King, the irrepressible Aussie who started her own lipstick line fresh out of high school, has started a new line, Lipstick Queen. And Oh. My. God. The concept is pure genius--there are two groups of lipsticks. One, with about 10% pigment, is called Saints; the other, with 90% pigment is called Sinners. I ordered a Red Sinner and a darker Rouge Saint. The Sinners give full, MATTE coverage, which is almost impossible to find. It's glamorous and dangerous and reminds me of movie stars of the 1940s. The Saints are much more sheer, but still gorgeous, with a lovely stained effect that makes it look as if you'd just eaten berries. I adore them both, and at $18 each they are an affordable luxury. Go check out Poppy's site at www.lipstickqueen.com and follow the links there to order directly from Barney's. (You might also want to sign up for the newsletters from Barney's. They're written by the fabulous Simon Doonan of Eccentric Glamour fame. As a side note, the customer service at Barney's is insanely good. They estimated the lipsticks would arrive well after July 1 because I chose the cheapest, slowest shipping. They arrived June 26. And if you're looking for a good "girl power" read, particularly if you're starting off in business and need a bit of girlfriend-type mentoring, Poppy has a new book out herself, Lessons of a Lipstick Queen.)

In which you might be tired of the Tudors

There's been so much said and written about the Tudors lately, that I wonder if Tudormania will shortly give way to Tudor Fatigue. If you're yearning for some nice thick royal biography to read and Henry VIII and his crew just don't do it for you anymore, try Hannah Pakula. I recently finished two of her books and they were divine. They were crisp and engaging, and she did an astonishing job of summing up the convoluted European politics at the turn of the twentieth century.

I read The Last Romantic, a biography of Queen Marie of Roumania--the traditional historic spelling, not mine. Marie was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, a half-Russian English princess who married into an unstable and extremely new ruling family. The other book, An Uncommon Woman, chronicles the life of Queen Victoria's oldest daughter, Victoria, Empress of Germany. (If you're not familiar with the dynastic influence of Queen Victoria, peek at a family tree and see just how many of her daughters and granddaughters intermarried with the royal families of Europe. Practically every country on the Continent referred to her as "Granny", literally.

Both of them are engaging reads, so do not be put off by the length of either. These are weighty books, but Hannah Pakula is a superb writer. They read as easily as novels, and sometimes a nice thick dose of history is just what you want after lots of lighter fare. (Rather like tucking in to a juicy steak after too many helpings of cotton candy.) In any event, reading the books back to back underscored how desperately awful it must have been to be married away, even for "love", when dynasties were at stake.

(Also, if you're in the mood to hear a little more about the process, you can head over to the blog of the delightful Jamie Carie and read an interview I did last week. Jamie is another RITA finalist in the Best First Book category, and a nicer girl you would never meet. http://jamieprose.blogspot.com/ Next week, I'll be posting links and info about all of the nominees, so be sure to check back!)

In which you might be feeling quirky

If you're in the mood for something quirky to read--like Raffaella Barker's Venetia Summers books--you might be deeply satisfied by a dip into Mavis Cheek's Mrs. Fytton's Country Life. I love stories of reinvention, of ordinary people who, because of chance or circumstance, remake themselves, fashioning the bits and scraps of their lives into something new and better. Angela Fytton is just such a person. Discarded by her successful husband, she sets off for the country to create the life she's always wanted, a rural idyll to restore her battered spirits. What she gets is nothing like that, and that is the charm. It is an unexpected and clever book, populated with all sorts of eccentric and memorable characters and with a delicious, twisty ending. A lovely read.

In which I am domesticated, again!

I know, two posts about cookbooks in a week is unheard of at the Blog A Go-Go. But wait! If you haven't gotten your hands on a copy of Tessa Kiros' absolutely delicious Apples for Jam, you don't know what delights await you. It's a lush, lovely book of recipes and remembrances of Tessa's childhood, as well as little vignettes about her life in Tuscany. She is half Finnish-half Greek/Cypriot and married to an Italian. The result is a rich and colorful household that is both charmingly old-fashioned and completely modern. There are loads of recipes, organized by color, a quirky and original idea that I appreciated. (I did NOT appreciate how pale the typeface is against the page, but since the contrast is my only quibble with an absolutely wonderful book, we won't speak of it further.) I was tickled to learn that Tessa has other books in print and have already added them to my wishlist. If you love to cook, this book will be a delight; if you don't, it will be an inspiration to start.

On a completely unrelated note, a reader recently e-mailed to inquire why my blog entries always begin with "In which..." To which I must reply, because of Winnie-the-Pooh, of course. Everything I write, be it book or blog, has at least one homage to something I've read and loved, something that shaped me as a reader and a writer.

In which I am almost inspired to cook

I have a love-hate relationship with cooking. When I'm in the mood, nothing is more soothing than mixing scone dough or stirring up a big pot of bolognese. When I'm not in the mood, nothing is more hateful than having to think about what to cook, let alone actually DO it. Summer can be an oddly domestic time for me. I feel lazy, too lazy even to put on decent clothing and go out to dinner. Some nights I would rather stay in one of my tattered Gypsy skirts and bare feet and have a plate of something cold. (I recently amused my friend Scarlette by remarking that when it's hot I don't want to cook, but I have no objections to arranging food.)

The very best sort of food when I'm in this mood is Mediterranean. I want olives, with the pits please, dark and salty as the Aegean. I want creamy goat cheese infused with herbs de Provence and lavender, good Greek yogurt and honey, and some Middle Eastern salads with cucumbers and tomatoes. And while I'm nibbling at my cool supper, I want to read about the lands I'm not getting to visit. The Olive and the Caper is one of the most glorious cookbooks I own. It is part recipe book, part travelogue, part love letter to Greece, written by Susanna Hoffman. I love this book, but I only pull it out when it is so hot I can close my eyes and pretend I'm standing on a Cretan beach, foamy waves breaking over my toes. There are essays about Greek culture and history and loads of pictures, and by the time I'm finished flipping through it, I am homesick for a country I've never visited. Now THAT is some superb writing.

In which I am still all about the books

I don't usually post book recommendations three days in a row, but I've hit a lucky streak recently and have been reading some really superb stuff. On Sunday I spent five hours lying on the sofa reading Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher from cover to cover. Outstanding. It was suggested to me by two of my readers, and let me just say, they know me well. It's a nonfiction account of the investigation into the murder of 3-year old Saville Kent--a most intriguing crime. Like the Lizzie Borden ax murders, this story has a locked house, maids under suspicion, bloody nightdresses, and family tensions seething under the surface. It was a brutal crime that shocked mid-Victorian sensibilities and provided fodder for several of our most famous early detective novels--Henry James, Charles Dickes, and Wilkie Collins all drew from the murder. Summerscale writes with all of the engaging detail of a novelist, making this an informative read that is highly entertaining as well. Loved it!

In which I am cross-eyed with fatigue

I just read the whole day through to finish Ruth Brandon's book Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres, and it is SUPERB. Brandon takes an unflinching look at the life of the 19th century governess. She draws upon first-person accounts from journals and letters, and let's just say that if you thought Jane Eyre was an exaggeration, you are SORELY mistaken. At the best of times, governessing was a challenging occupation. Neither fish nor fowl, the governess was often lonely, isolated, and subject to slights from both the servants and the family. At the worst of times, it was an appalling business I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

The beauty of this book is that Brandon explains why the 19th century was the heyday of the private governess and how the rise of universal education finally eradicated the occupation. And I have to confess, I was extremely pleased to find so many references to unorthodox relationships or unconventional behavior. There is a profound misconception that NO ONE in Victorian times ever acted badly, and this book takes off the rose-colored glasses. She describes betrayals, illegitimate children, stolen legacies, abductions, seductions, lesbian affairs, and households with beatings, drunkenness, and the odd menage a trois. (I list lesbian affairs here not as a perjorative thing, but simply because it was not the norm and because it could provide the grounds for a great deal of damaging gossip, particularly to a woman whose respectability was the foundation of her employability.)

So, if you loved Jane Eyre but thought it a little far-fetched or simply long to know more about the plight of ladies in distressed circumstances, run out very quickly and get a copy of this book.

In which I pre-order

I have made no secret of my mad girl-love for Alicia Paulson and Jane Brocket, of the blogs Posie Gets Cozy and Yarnstorm respectively. Both of them are bright, talented, domestically crafty women who improve my life on a regular basis. Alicia's first book, Stitched in Time, and the American edition of Jane's book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity, are now available for pre-order. I have NO doubt I will love Alicia's book, and I can promise you that Jane's is full of delicious things because I own the English edition which I've already gushed over on the Blog A Go-Go. The release dates are a few months away--September for Jane and November for Alicia, but it will be WELL worth the wait, and honestly, in our culture of instant gratification, it's nice to be able to savor the anticipation, no?

In the meantime, you can find Alicia's blog at http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/ and Jane dwells at http://www.yarnstorm.blogs.com/. Honestly, they should both stop posting pictures of their homes because I would happily stalk either of them. (And I have been lucky enough to get e-mails from Alicia and Jane both, and they are absolutely delightful. In fact, they're so nice, you should buy LOTS of their books and give them for gifts.)

As a side note, I spent the better part of yesterday immersed in the letters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, researching my little tailfeathers off. As a reward (although I have to say, the book, Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters, is superbly done and a pleasure to read), I concocted one of the most deliciously lethal things I have ever drunk: equal parts pineapple juice, orange juice, and Malibu. Oh, my.

In which you might want to write

If you want to write, or you're just curious about the writing life, you will want to read Nancy Peacock's A Broom of One's Own. It's a memoir about her experiences as a housecleaner and a published writer, and it is superb. It is very easy to believe one's own pretensions as a published writer, and Nancy deftly bulldozes through them. She talks about her own insecurities--our insecurities--as well as the moral conflicts that come from being published. (Bet you didn't know there were moral conflicts that come with being published, did you?) But don't let that fool you. The book is funny and moving and helpful. (The best piece of advice she gives is to "pay little attention to those who tell you what you must do". That is from the interview tucked at the back of the book. Don't miss it.)

The other piece of excellent advice that she gives is on page 72. I'm not going to quote it because I want you to read the book for yourself, but it has to do with not talking about your book before it is written. I gave the very same advice during my NaNoWriMo pep talk and managed to offend a delicate writer from England who took great exception to my belief that the best writing is the kind you bottle up and tell only to the page. Nancy expresses, much more eloquently than I did, why this is a necessity if you want to write as well as you can.

Anyway, it is a quick and charming read, but there is something about the book that hangs around after you put it down. It's a "thinking" book, in the very best way, and I am extremely glad I picked it up yesterday. Nancy Peacock is a woman I would love to have tea with, and it feels a little like I just did.