Love For Books

Threadless T-shirts: Nude No More

If you like books, and you like funky pictures, quirky slogans and groovy text, check out Threadless T-shirts.

Although they aren’t books, there are plenty of literary references on them, and there are many that would make us literary types have a chuckle or two, whilst leaving others confused as to what the joke is.

Here are a couple of examples of the text – obviously, not being quite so delicately designed as the actual t-shirts:

“Shakespeare hates your emo poems”

“Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator.”

“Movies: ruining the book since the 1920s.”

There are also plenty of literary references in picture. One is of Edgar Allen Poe in his grave, with a raven on his tombstone above, and another is a picture of books putting on jackets (get the joke there?).

Threadless only have certain numbers of each Tee printed, so if you see one you like – buy it!!

Orange Prize for fiction

This year is the 15th Orange Prize for Fiction and Waterstones are celebrating by deciding which book from the last 14 years’ winners lists is the top of the crop.

The shortlist includes some massive hits, from Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche’s Half of A Yellow Sun to Carol Shields’ Larry’s Party.

There are prizes up for grabs for voters too, including an HTC Desire Black smartphone and a pair of tickets to the Orange Prize for Fiction Awards Ceremony.

Check online and register a vote for your chance to win, and make sure you keep up to date with this year’s shortlist too, as Waterstones are offering a massive 40% off their RRP!

New Covent Garden and Co – Soup & Beyond

I picked up their recipe book for £1.99 from The Works, and have already made 6 of the recipes (in two weeks). They are easy to follow, written with a bit of flair and humour, and they have a good pinch of reasoning and background.

There are no pictures of the food (which would normally really turn me away from a cookbook) but, actually, I quite like not having to conform to a style.

Their other books are just soups, but this one covers falafel, risotto, crisp bakes, snacks and a whole heap of different breads. There are far more ideas than just soups and you can even turn some of their starters and sides into delicious main courses: like the Lemon and spinach chickpeas – with a little tofu, a few potatoes and some broccoli, it is a tasty, filling dish.

Austen – Chick Lit for snobs

Chick Lit is widely criticised by people in the writing world. English, Editing and Proofreading graduates are generally sure of one thing: the lack of substance in a Chick Lit novel.

There will be a central character who is probably doing pretty well for herself. Then something happens with her guy-friend, her sister is heartbroken and she doesn’t know who she can trust about what. She will probably end up getting together with a guy she never even considered, in fact, she probably started out hating him.

Sound familiar? Yep, hundreds of books a year are based on this and thousands and thousands of people read it. There are so many literary snobs who would rather burn it than read it as they can predict what is going to happen from the first couple of pages.

Many people like that believe in real women authors: Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, Jane Austen.
But – hang on – haven’t I just described Pride and Prejudice? The plots of Jane Austen are about as Chick-Lit as you can get, but it is the writing which makes it stand a huge way above the tripe. Austen’s characters are three-dimensional, the dialogue is believable and her witty descriptions and original ideas are a wonder to read.

But just remember next time you get on your high horse about someone reading Wendy Holden; if you have Austen in your hand, you should really think about what kind of criticism you’re going to give.

Relax in the garden with a good book

It may be a cliché, but that doesn’t really bother me. When it’s sunny, and the air is warm, I like nothing more than sitting outside with my sunglasses on, an ice-cold glass of rose and a good book. Whether it’s Tolkein, Fforde, Twain or Carter, immersing myself into another world with the comfort of the sun on my skin is like nothing else.

If you enjoy reading and you enjoy the sun, but rarely combine the two – make some time for them this summer. Treat yourself to an afternoon off with a glass of wine (or juice) and a good read.

But don’t forget – protect your pins with sun cream or you’ll look like a one-sided lobster by the end of the day!