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January 2016 books read
Feb. 2nd, 2016 12:54 pmA History of Food in 100 Recipes - William Sitwell This was one of my very best Christmas presents from the thoughtful h![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hartleyhare. If I had my life to live again with the benefit of hindsight I might well become a food historian. I love old recipes and customs and the insight they give into how people lived. I once had a perfectly splendid dream in which I discovered an ancient family receipt book which I published under the title "A Foope for Peafe" and it became a runaway bestseller - I was so disappointed when I woke up. Alas the only family receipt book in my possession is my Littlema's notebook which I treasure and it may be that some future generation will thrill to its culinary delights. Although her pineapple upside down cake was to die for particularly when accompanied by a dollop of proper custard (which in this context is Birds), there are only so many cheesecakes a girl can cook and her favourite post war ingredients such as Nestles Cream and Dream Topping do not feature in my culinary repertoire. I do not know if I will cook much from William Sitwell's collection although I am fond of Toad in the Hole and have knocked up many batches of Rice Krispie Treats in my youth. However, it has been perfect bedtime reading - laugh out loud funny in places, and utterly fascinating. Perhaps best of all on page 109 I found a recipe for "Peas soope". Definitely my book of the year so far.
My Life as a Wife - Elizabeth Luard and Island Wife by Judy Fairbairns I have lumped these together as both are autobiographies which reflect heavily on married life. Elizabeth Luard clearly adored her alcoholic womanising husband and used her skills as an illustrator and cookery writer to keep the family (and herself) going while he indulged various whims. It was an interesting read but I did wonder why she put up with it all. And I am never particularly sympathetic to pleas of poverty managed by wealthy friends lending houses in pleasant places. I am sure I could cope beautifully with poverty if someone lent me a house with staff in Andalucia. Judy Fairbairns's husband, like Nicholas Luard, had an entrepreneurial streak which took them to the Isle of Mull where they ran a hotel and a boat trip business and he developed a reputation as a whale expert. Interestingly, the Luards also lived on Mull for a while and I wondered if they ever met. This book made me nostalgic for our life on Skye . I found it frustrating though - Fairbairns sounds as if she was depressed for most of the last forty years and only started to enjoy life when she began to develop as an artist and writer. Who knows? If Arkwright was a bit of a shit and I could paint and write perhaps I too would have produced an autobiography or two by now.
Murder Strikes Pink and Gin and Murder - Josephine Pullein Thompson Two recent Greyladies reissues. I had seen these recommended by several bloggers and I also found them rather likeable. Both are set in the horsey world of hunting and showjumping - presumably the adult equivalent of her children's pony books and both were quick entertaining reads; perfect for a dreary winter afternoon. There is only one more in the series which is a shame - I would have liked more of her DCI Flecker.
Death of a Doll - Hilda Lawrence Last year I read The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards, about the members of the Detection Club, together with a number of vintage crime short story collections, which prompted me to seek out some overlooked writers in this field. I saw this book in a green and cream Penguin edition (which is always an attraction for me) and thought I recognised the author's name. I was wrong as it tuned out - Hilda Lawrence was an American author and not a member of the Detection Club at all. She published a handful of detective stories and a spot of Googling suggests this is perhaps the best. It is set in a New York hostel for working girls and has some beautifully sinister moments which kept me turning the pages until late into the night.
This year I am also planning to include in my monthly book round ups a list of my cultural activities (haha!) - exhibitions visited, trips to the cinema or theatre etc. This month there are none although I do have a couple planned. I have been learning Italian via Duolingo and have not missed a day. It tells me I am 16% fluent which is a blatant lie but I have learned a pleasing number of nouns. I have not watched any films at the cinema but on New Year's Day we all cuddled up together and watched the dude's Christmas stocking DVD - The Commitments. I had forgotten how good it is. I can go months without watching much TV but just lately I have a few must-see series on the go (probably because I am knitting this so this month I have been mainly enjoying Endeavour (silly plots but splendid performances particularly from my lovely cousin James as Dr Du Bryn), Midsomer Murders, Stella, 100 Code and University Challenge.
hartleyhare. If I had my life to live again with the benefit of hindsight I might well become a food historian. I love old recipes and customs and the insight they give into how people lived. I once had a perfectly splendid dream in which I discovered an ancient family receipt book which I published under the title "A Foope for Peafe" and it became a runaway bestseller - I was so disappointed when I woke up. Alas the only family receipt book in my possession is my Littlema's notebook which I treasure and it may be that some future generation will thrill to its culinary delights. Although her pineapple upside down cake was to die for particularly when accompanied by a dollop of proper custard (which in this context is Birds), there are only so many cheesecakes a girl can cook and her favourite post war ingredients such as Nestles Cream and Dream Topping do not feature in my culinary repertoire. I do not know if I will cook much from William Sitwell's collection although I am fond of Toad in the Hole and have knocked up many batches of Rice Krispie Treats in my youth. However, it has been perfect bedtime reading - laugh out loud funny in places, and utterly fascinating. Perhaps best of all on page 109 I found a recipe for "Peas soope". Definitely my book of the year so far.My Life as a Wife - Elizabeth Luard and Island Wife by Judy Fairbairns I have lumped these together as both are autobiographies which reflect heavily on married life. Elizabeth Luard clearly adored her alcoholic womanising husband and used her skills as an illustrator and cookery writer to keep the family (and herself) going while he indulged various whims. It was an interesting read but I did wonder why she put up with it all. And I am never particularly sympathetic to pleas of poverty managed by wealthy friends lending houses in pleasant places. I am sure I could cope beautifully with poverty if someone lent me a house with staff in Andalucia. Judy Fairbairns's husband, like Nicholas Luard, had an entrepreneurial streak which took them to the Isle of Mull where they ran a hotel and a boat trip business and he developed a reputation as a whale expert. Interestingly, the Luards also lived on Mull for a while and I wondered if they ever met. This book made me nostalgic for our life on Skye . I found it frustrating though - Fairbairns sounds as if she was depressed for most of the last forty years and only started to enjoy life when she began to develop as an artist and writer. Who knows? If Arkwright was a bit of a shit and I could paint and write perhaps I too would have produced an autobiography or two by now.
Murder Strikes Pink and Gin and Murder - Josephine Pullein Thompson Two recent Greyladies reissues. I had seen these recommended by several bloggers and I also found them rather likeable. Both are set in the horsey world of hunting and showjumping - presumably the adult equivalent of her children's pony books and both were quick entertaining reads; perfect for a dreary winter afternoon. There is only one more in the series which is a shame - I would have liked more of her DCI Flecker.
Death of a Doll - Hilda Lawrence Last year I read The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards, about the members of the Detection Club, together with a number of vintage crime short story collections, which prompted me to seek out some overlooked writers in this field. I saw this book in a green and cream Penguin edition (which is always an attraction for me) and thought I recognised the author's name. I was wrong as it tuned out - Hilda Lawrence was an American author and not a member of the Detection Club at all. She published a handful of detective stories and a spot of Googling suggests this is perhaps the best. It is set in a New York hostel for working girls and has some beautifully sinister moments which kept me turning the pages until late into the night.
This year I am also planning to include in my monthly book round ups a list of my cultural activities (haha!) - exhibitions visited, trips to the cinema or theatre etc. This month there are none although I do have a couple planned. I have been learning Italian via Duolingo and have not missed a day. It tells me I am 16% fluent which is a blatant lie but I have learned a pleasing number of nouns. I have not watched any films at the cinema but on New Year's Day we all cuddled up together and watched the dude's Christmas stocking DVD - The Commitments. I had forgotten how good it is. I can go months without watching much TV but just lately I have a few must-see series on the go (probably because I am knitting this so this month I have been mainly enjoying Endeavour (silly plots but splendid performances particularly from my lovely cousin James as Dr Du Bryn), Midsomer Murders, Stella, 100 Code and University Challenge.
