It’s been a pretty good start to 2017. I’m reading Elly Griffiths’ The Zig Zag Girlafter really really enjoying Toast & Marmalade, a memoir by Emma Bridgewater. She and her partner acquire china the way I acquire books. And she gives a lovely reason why:
“There was—is—continuously so much china in the house that it is silting up in boxes, in cupboards, and even spilling outside into the barn and sheds. We tried to call a halt to the shopping but it was no good, neither of us could pretend to be indifferent when passing a new junk shop or market. And besides, we realised that if we stopped feeling acquisitive about it, this had a negative effect on our designing; it seems to be a vital part of the creative process to keep one’s eye in and keep shopping. Indifference to an antique shop, even if completely feigned, is reflected in stilted design and much less of a feeling of happy anticipation at sitting down to create anything new.”
—Toast & Marmalade by Emma Bridgewater
If I had a barn it would be full of books, never mind the number I have half-read on Kindle and OverDrive!
But I appreciate different books in different moods, that’s why I need them all and more! I also read Liane Moriarty’s Truly Madly Guilty but didn’t love it as much as I expected to (maybe it’s best not to expect stuff) and JR Ripley’s Towhee Get Your Gun which was a lovely light fun read. And I’m enjoying the James Patterson Masterclass lectures.
But mostly I’ve been walking around talking to myself because I’m starting to outline the 5th Aunty Lee book. Wish me luck!
