Kirstie Allsopp's Homemade Home. I was mad about the series and so had to preorder this one. Not only am I a Kirstie fan but this book is even better than I expected. My photographs don't do justice to the lush layouts and all the beautiful images within. It's filled with all the loveliness you would expect from Kirstie. Wallpaper hints, op-shop hints, crafty tips. And it smells totally divine.
Selina Lake's Romantic Style is totally my style.
Now that's my idea of heaven. A stack of beautiful vintage books seated next to a vase of divine flowers.
And if it's a scary ghost story you are hankering for as a break from the prettiness, you can't go past The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I loved this book and couldn't put it down. It truly did give me nightmares and the character of the doctor was superbly done in my opinion. I'll write more about this one on my official writing Blog. I'm a great lover of a gripping ghost story and this one really captured me. It was our book club's choice and not everyone enjoyed the slow pace – but for me it was a perfect read.
For loveliness around the Blogs this week, you can't do better than my Blogging friend, Carla Coulson. Carla has written and photographed some of my other favourite books such as Italian Joy. I love her work. She has been very kind to Tale Peddler and often pops in. I was delighted to see on her fab Blog that she married recently. You can see more about her work and life HERE.
Signing off for another busy week with the ever romantic and pretty Johnny Depp. xx
image of johnny depp source
I LOVE Sarah Waters, but struggled at first with The Little Stranger. I got to page 100 and began to despair that anything would ever happen! I ended up liking it (and a couple of spooky passages really gave me goosebumps:*so* well done), but i ended up still thinking it needed much tighter editing. I agree though the doctor character was well written, very sympathetic character.
ReplyDeleteI know she got a lot of flak from the lesbian community for not having a lesbian character. And a lot of people had concerns with the ambiguous ending, etc. There is a very interesting article by SW on the book and responses to it, if you haven't seen it, at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/07/bookclub-sarah-waters-little-stranger?intcmp=239
I will be interested to see the direction (both stylistically & thematically) her next book takes. Sorry for long comment!
Hello Janiece,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link. I did know of that one as the book was my pick for the bookclub and so I had to be mod so had to do some reading beforehand. Those interviews on the Guardian were fantastic. I hadn't read any Sarah Waters before and so was bowled away by her narrative powers. I didn't care either way about the lesbian characters or lack of but she really handled the doctor beautifully. I know there was a lot of flak that he was 'boring' but I found him fascinating. She's such a skilled writer to have pulled him off as well as she did. I do have to read some of her other books but what attracted me to her was the ghost story. I hope she does another spooky. She does say in one of the interviews she would like to.
We haven't had our meeting on this book yet but I know from talking to a couple of the ladies who read it that they also agree with you that it needed editing and they found it a bit plodding. I love it the way it was for the pace. I made the mistake of reading it when my husband was away on a research trip and totally freaked myself out.
No need to ever apologise for a long comment! Thanks for visiting. I do try to pop over to you but you're set to private so I replied here. xx
Thanks Josephine - i don't have a blog yet. Considering it though. Anyway you MUST read SW's 'Affinity', as that's a spooky one too.
ReplyDeleteAnd for the writing craft, read 'The Night Watch' - the book starts at a certain point and works *backwards* from there, all the way to the end.
Hell, just read them all, I say! ;)
Thanks for the tips. I will read them. And when you start your Blog let me know. I will follow you.(Sounds like a song!) xx
ReplyDeleteI love books with fun ideas~
ReplyDeletei like the look of that kirstie allsopp book, there's nothing like losing yourself in a big lush book full of inspiring photos. have you seen the new movie with johnny and angelina being shot at in venice? (can't remember the title). i saw a trailer for it on a rare trip to the cinema and wish i'd seen it rather than eat pray love!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I haven't see the film as I am not a big fan of Jolie. Although I didn't mind her too much in The Changeling. I hope they didn't kiss! And you would love the Kirstie book and show. If it ever comes back onto Foxtel, I'll tape it for you. I have your Dahl tape and as soon as I get a chance to get it together, I'll post. I'm sick this week!
ReplyDeleteCatherine, these books have lots of fun ideas. Well Kirstie's has. But both are filled with joy, joy and beauty. xx
How funny is that, I ordered Romantic Style the day I ordered Velvet Pear! Still waiting for both to arrive... We really do have the same taste.
ReplyDeletePhoebe and I watched Kirstie's homemade home last night. She was helping this couple find pieces of furniture and fireplaces with this couple's 6 bedroom Victorian house. They made a stained glass window. Really interesting to watch.
Will pop over to see Carla now.
Take care
Isabelle x
I like you so love the smell of a new book and even more so when it grips my heart with it s content. I come here often but never miss a friday when you so often share great stuff. Today I saw no books to excite me for the first ever time LOL. Have you read the Stieg Larson trilogy of books the best read I have found in a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI am mad for Carla's photographs. And that shot of her and her new husband is a beautiful and joyful one.
ReplyDeleteHope you and Johnny Depp have a romantic and literary weekend.xoxo
I LOVE kirstie allsopp and series two of 'homemade' starts this thursday (I think that's what the television man said, I was so busy swooning and being excited at the prospect of round two that I missed the details. but i am ever vigilant...jxx
ReplyDeleteYou have chosen some lovely books to show us. Kirsties telvision series homemade home started last week. I thought it was abit similar to the first series but still enjoyable. She always makes you feel all cozy and homely X
ReplyDeleteP.S Johnny Depp.......Oooooooooooh yes X
Your official blog? Can you please send me a link? I keep missing Kirstie's show here in the UK...need to pin that lady down and watch it! I am totally with you on the books front too! Got so many piled up right now though and being a painfully slow reader it is most infuriating! xxx
ReplyDeleteO Dear I Came over o my fab friday and it was not here hope you are ok.
ReplyDeleteI totally love Kirstie, she's just so forthright and fun and tells it like it is, but always makes me laugh. I wish she lived next door!
ReplyDeleteHugs Jane
Hello Josephine,
ReplyDeleteThat was so lovely to see Carla and Francesco's gorgeous wedding shot on your blog.....it is such a happy time for them...I almost feel like I got married myself! Those two deserve all the goodness in the world.
I shall look at those books...they sound like my kind of reading. Have a happy weekend, xv.
Thanks for the tip about The Little Stranger - I just got it from the library and it looks extraordinary. I've been loaded down with psychotherapy books lately, for work, so great to get back to a good novel. Also, thanks for your earlier post about Velvet Pears. I have just read this (also from the library!) and am now buying it for my mum for Xmas. Beautiful book - beautiful gardens. But all those pics of pristine interiors really got me thinking.... lovely, yes, but so so uniform now - featured in just about every house and garden magazine and style blog - endless endless amounts of this now. Maybe it's just me, but I'd really like to see something less homogenous/vintage, and more eclectic/individual/vintage, and representative of a real home filled with real people, children and chaos!
ReplyDeleteThis lovely blog is like going for a walk through a vintage department store, flicking through a gorgeous magazine and visiting a particularly tasteful friend's house and rifling through their wardrobe, all at the same time...
ReplyDeleteHI Josephine, I just wanted to say thanks for your lovely wishes on our wedding day.. We are so thrilled and so lovely of you to send a note.. Thanks for putting us above Johnny.. What an honour. Carla x
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