All posts tagged: books

Books I have read, am reading and want to read.

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I always have a pile of books to wade through and wade through them I rarely do! There are so many great books at the library I want to borrow them all and read them so I borrow them and sometimes read them and sometimes don’t. Is this a common problem? I think it may be. The joy of the library is that if I don’t read what I borrow I can at least come back and borrow again. There are a couple in here which I bought so of course I will never get around to reading them! Don’t you find that the pressure of a borrowed book makes you read it rather than the luxury of owning it and putting it to the bottom of the pile because the library books need to be read and returned. This is why I don’t buy novels, I would never read them! In fact the only time I do treat myself to a novel is when I go on vacation as I would never trust myself …

Three good books

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I have these books from the library and I am really enjoying them. Husbands that Cook is full of interesting, delicious but accessible vegetarian recipes. I have already made the one pot pasta which was a family hit, even with the teens!  I am looking forward to making more from the list of potential family dinners I have got from this great book. Zen Camera is one I first spotted at the library in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY.  Yes I am the person who visits the library wherever I go!  Once I got home I borrowed it from my library, it is full of ideas and tips which are doable and inspiring. Everyday Watercolor I have only flipped through, but I can already see lots of ideas and creative tips for using watercolor paints, I can’t wait to get my brushes out and have a go at some of the ideas in here. What books are you liking now?  I always like to see what people are reading, both fiction and non-fiction. Happy Thursday x

Good books

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I have just finished reading ‘The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden’ by Jonas Jonasson of 100 year old man fame. This book was in-depth with lots of characters but it wasn’t a laborious read it was interesting and witty at each turn. Nombeko is an endearing leading lady and holds her own without bashing you over the head with all her good points. It is full of subdued drama and dry wit and I loved it! The book I have literally just started (last night) is ‘Little’ by Edward Carey and it was only when I read the list of other books he has written that I realised that he is the author of the Iremonger Trilogy which I read to my son when he was a tween. This series of books was the last we read together and we still talk about them now that he is a teenager and taller than me. Consequently I went into this book with high hopes and so far I am not disappointed. I will only …

Books I like and some on my wish list!

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Here are some books that I have borrowed from the library and love and a couple which I have not seen inside but I really really want to! Ottolenghi Simple This is a book full of really interesting and delicious sounding recipes like ‘Thai sticky rice with crispy ginger, chile and peanuts’ or ‘Sweet potato mash with lime salsa’ which also are completely doable. The ingredients are not a mystery and the method is straightforward. Breakfast with Beatrice I love me a cook book or even better a pile of cookbooks, even though they are huge and heavy to carry home, I don’t even care! This one also has a beautiful cover (yes, I do judge books by the cover). ‘Walnut pear coffee cake’ and a delicious sounding ‘Belgian waffle’ recipe are on my ‘to bake’ list. Some more unusual ingredients in this one, but nothing inaccessible. Smithsonian Flora I have not clapped eyes on this book but I have seen a couple of peeks on the interwebs and it looks so gorgeous I need to see it! …

‘I like’ Friday – Books I Read in 2017.

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I never go for a record breaker in the amount of books I read in a year.  I have no loyalty to a book just because I have started it, if I don’t like it 50 pages in, it goes back to the library and I start on the next title on my list.  All of the books I have read are from the library unless I am on holiday and I never never take library books on holiday, so those I buy! This is all the books I finished over the year, I started many which I didn’t finish but these are the ones I made it from beginning to end. Britt Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman Another great read from the author of ‘A Man Called Ove’.  Britt Marie is an equally good character in my opinion. We are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly A fast, dramatic read. The Girl with the Glass Feet by Ali Shaw Not at all the usual book I would pick up but it is a magical …

‘I Like’ Friday

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Lots of things to like this fine Friday! A modest trip to Art Mart to get some book tape.  Came out with deep violet high flow acrylic, gold fluid acrylic a new sepia pen and a Jon Snow key chain (for my teen).  Any art shop which sells Funko Pop key chains has my vote! Moon phase stickers from Stickerdoodles. I keep borrowing this fabulous book from the library, it might be time to buy it! Stunning cigarette cards from the gorgeous shop of Beets and Birch.  I adore these cards as I already have lots which my grandma gave me.  Mine are a mix of tea cards and cigarette cards. They were given away in each pack of tea or cigarettes until the 1970’s I think.  Grandma kept all hers and gave them to me in the 1980’s carefully kept in a ‘British Home Stores’ bag! I am very pleased to have these cards to add to my collection. The new Art Journaling magazine has two of my Get Messy friends inside it’s covers …

‘I like’ Friday

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Here are some things I am liking this fine Friday – I have been using smoked paprika a lot in recipes lately and I love to put it on fries, especially with an egg. Yums! Zines and handmade books  are the subject of a new Creative Bug class which has totally made me want to make a zine or two.  I have been making sketchbooks lately and the zine format is very appealing. The book I am now reading is Harmless Like You by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan and I am enjoying it so far.  I started a couple of books which I gave up on, but I think this one is a winner. Neocolor II crayons are my art supply of the moment.  I used water soluble crayons in art collage about a hundred years ago but I have not revisited them until very recently.  I have a handful of colours and I love to use them with a little water or gesso to spread them around. Handmade jewels used to be something I made all …

‘I Like’ Friday.

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Some things I am liking this fine Friday, last day of March. Posca pens are something new in my art supply arsenal and I love them!  I have tried and failed with paint pens before, they seem to either explode all over the page or they don’t work at all. Posca pens work like a dream and no explosions yet! Making your own books is also a new thing in my world and I love it! So far I have only used the basic bookmaking skills and I intend to venture out further into the bookbinding forest with the help of these classes – Get Messy Art Journal Bookbinding and CreativeBug book making. ‘Grand Designs’ is our nightly viewing at the minute but we are nearly at the end of the Netflix supply, so will have to find another watch.  Any recommendations? Hot cross buns are always a winner at Easter and I like to make them aplenty before Easter!  I have a batch in the oven right now in fact.  I use the recipe …

I have a List of Books I want to Read.

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I can’t keep up with all the books I want to read, I am currently reading ‘The One in a Million Boy’ by Monica Wood and enjoying it, it is not totally gripping to be honest, but I am intrigued to see how it ends.  I intend finishing it, but other books I really really want to read keep arriving at the library and I have to keep passing them by to finish my slow read of ‘The One in a Million Boy’. I need to learn speed reading! Here are some of the books I am very keen to get stuck into, it is a good years worth of reading for me because I am not a fast reader. I wonder how many I will finish and how many I will desert after fifty pages? Harmless Like You sounds like a fascinating read about an artist in New York from Japan with lots of story and interesting stuff going on. Lincoln in the Bardo I want to read this because it sounds completely bizarre. Ghost story …

‘I like Friday’ 13 things.

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On this icy cold Friday 13th I am sharing thirteen things I have liked this week. The new Hipstamatic lens/film park – Boulder is super cool and I also am loving the Frutiger film which adds the random imagery to your picture like the typewriter on my shed door above! The seeds below are taken with the Boulder pak. Project Runway Junior is rather addictive as usual! Lots of tea in my biggest mug. I have been using my vintage Polaroid Onestep 600 with a Duo-Chrome 600 Yellow film and it is very dramatic.  Instead of the pale tones they are replaced with yellow. Flora Bowley books, YouTube and Creative Bug videos are so inspiring to me at the moment, her method is much freer that I usually do, so I am trying to loosen up in my paintings and art journals. Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman is another fabulous read by Mr Backman.  So good. After falling in love with the A3 Moleskine sketchbook, I discovered a giant Strathmore 500 series mixed media sketchbook. It …