World Book Night - 5th March 2011

You may or may not have been aware that Saturday March 5th was World Book Night. Taking place two days after World Book Day, World Book Night was an ambitious project supported by the Publishers Association, the Booksellers Association, the Independent Publishers Guild, the Reading Agency with libraries, World Book Day, the BBC and RTE. It saw one million books given away by volunteers to random members of the public across the UK and Ireland. I applied to be a volunteer and was sent 48 copies of Sarah Waters' fantastic book Fingersmith to give away. I spent Saturday 5th walking the streets of Leeds giving out copies to lovely people.

It felt really satisfying to give things away to grateful individuals and the event rekindled my love of literature. World Book Night also inspired me to make a new version of "The Bookworm" Ring. Consisting of a bronze tone adjustable ring base and a miniature book with real paper pages, this little homage to literature is a great way to show your love of reading. Plus, it is available in four colours - red, blue, green or brown - and is the perfect gift for someone special as you can write a secret note in its tiny pages! Cute!

The Bookworm - £8/$12, Available for purchase here http://www.etsy.com/listing/68313437/the-bookworm-blue-red-brown-or-green

If you're as obsessed with literature as I am, why not head over to www.judgingcovers.co.uk. Judging Covers is a book review blog written by women, for women. You'll be sure to find honest reviews of interesting books. Who knows it might help you decide what to read next.

Adieu x 

Salt's Mill - My Mecca

If there's one place in the world I never ever get fed up of it's Salt's Mill in Saltaire, Yorkshire. Not only does it have a beautiful art shop that really makes me regret the fact that I no longer have time to draw, but it also has the biggest and bestest (Urban Dictionary says this is a word so I'm going with it) book shop I've ever seen filled with obscure texts from some of my favourite authors and some I have yet to discover. It's also filled with David Hockney works, gorgeous cafes and restaurants, a cutting-edge interior design and homeware shop, a clothes shop, a smaller art gallery exhibiting work from a local artist, another exhibition area currently projecting still life pictures of flowers created by David Hockney on his iPad and a fantastic antique shop. I always stop and look in the glass cabinets at the stunning pieces of antique jewellery on offer. The Mill is a sprawling wonderland that stirs your creative juices and stays in your thoughts for a long time after your visit. I can't wait to go back there and discover more nooks and crannies I didn't find the first time round and peruse the bookshelves in the hope of finding some unusual and brilliantly written piece of literature.

I visited Salt's Mill two weekends ago and my hoard from that day consists of three fantastic books I can't wait to get stuck into:
1) Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Vitezslav Nezval
2) The Glass Books of The Dream Eaters, G.W. Dahlquist
3) Tips For Knitters, Debbie Bliss

Ok so the last one isn't a piece of literature, but I took knitting up before Christmas and am now a little obsessed with it. When I saw the book I just had to buy it. I can only do one stitch at the moment as I'm still a beginner so I'm hoping it will improve my range and that I'll have some lovely pretty things to show you soon.

The second book, The Glass Books of The Dream Eaters is one I've wanted to read ever since I saw it described as an "adult Harry Potter". Enough said.

The third book, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders was initially picked up by my friend who thought it looked interesting. I don't think she anticipated how persuasive a picture of a headless girl and a comparison in the blurb to F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu would be to me. I'd bought it within five minutes of my friend discarding it. Bring on gothicy, pulpy, erotic Czech modernist literature. In the unlikely event that anyone would want to read what I have to say about it once I've read it, I will be writing a review of it for the brand spanking new, wonderful, fantastical, marvellous book review site www.judgingcovers.co.uk, which I have somehow managed to become a reviewer for. I'll keep you posted so watch this space.