As my family and friends in the UK are hopefully enjoying longer sunnier days, we are officially in Winter here in the Southern hemisphere. Autumn’s crisp yet warming rays have faded now, rudely pushed aside with gusty and rainy days to mark the first month of the colder months. I do enjoy the cosiness of Winter and somewhat retreating from the outside world in my bookish nook with a hot chocolate and a stack of books. Here are some of the books and things that I’ve been enjoying so far.
A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
The Sheedy sisters had lived in Stone House for as long as anyone could remember. Set high on the cliffs on the west coast of Ireland, overlooking the windswept Atlantic Ocean, it was falling into disrepair - until one woman, with a past she needed to forget, breathed new life into the place. Now a hotel, with a big warm kitchen and log fires, it provides a welcome few can resist.
This was Maeve Binchy’s final book which was published posthumously in 2012. The windswept Irish coastal setting make this the perfect Winter read and each chapter tells the story of a different character and their reasons for ending up at Stone House. Most have a secret or a past that they would rather forget and Maeve interweaves the stories and the characters in her usual gentle but empathetic style. While I enjoyed this cosy read, I did find that there were perhaps too many characters and every chapter seemed to end with a neat resolution for the character and their issue which was satisfactory but rather contrived in places. It was a cosy Winter read and if you love Maeve Binchy and are looking for a lighthearted read then this is perfect.
Uprooting: From the Caribbean to the Countryside – Finding Home in an English Garden by Marchelle Farrell
I loved the floral cover of this book which immediately jumped out at me from a library bookshelf. Each chapter is named after a flower or plant that Marchelle discovers in her blossoming English garden and it begins in the depths of an English country Winter. While I appreciate gardens, I’m not a gardener myself but enjoyed reading about Marchelle’s growing attachment to her garden and her new home as well as her challenges during lockdown with a husband on the frontline, homeschooling, missing her family overseas and her own internal journey.
The joy of Op shop Book finds
One of my favourite things to do at any time of the year is to browse the book section of my local op shops for Children’s classics and Adult books as well. I picked up a Week in Winter on one of these visits and will most likely re-donate it however sometimes I find some Gems which will make great additions to my now bulging bookshelves. Added to this I’m a children’s book reviewer for the wonderful Just Write for Kids Australia blog so building up quite a collection with review copies kindly sent from Aussie publishers as well as my own finds.
I love this vibrant yellow cover of this Winnie-the-Pooh edition written by A.A.Milne ‘with decorations’ (love this term) by E.H.Shepherd who alongside Beatrix Potter is one of my favourite illustrators. Of course, I could not resist The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by one of my all-time favourite children authors and illustrators. This is Potter’s second book after her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, published in 1902 by her publisher Frederik Warne to great acclaim. Potter’s illustrations were based on several gardens at the Lake District estate of Fawe Park, where Potter spent the summer of 1903. I loved the tabby cat cover of Dick King-Smith’s Martin’s Mice illustrated by Jez Alborough, a new discovery for me. Dick King-Smith wrote the book The Sheep-Pig which the film Babe was based on.
Mary Berry's easy biscuits recipe - BBC Food
If like me you love to bake and enjoy a biscuit with your cuppa, then here is a simple and quick biscuit recipe from the Queen of Baking, Mary Berry. I have tried all combinations of these and when I made them last week decided to make the almond recipe but used orange rind as we are lucky enough to have an orange tree in our garden. I also didn’t have any lemons and found the orange and almond combo delicious and went down very well with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
Vlogs that I am enjoying
Miranda Mills - This has to be my favourite bookish vlog and I particularly enjoy Miranda’s videos with her lovely Mum Donna. They talk about books over tea and cake and Miranda has a free monthly Comfort Book Club, this month’s read is one of my favourite’s Pride and Prejudice. Miranda has given me lots of bookish inspiration and now my TBR pile is huge and filled with lots of classics as well as new discoveries.
Hippy Highland Living - I’m really enjoying following Molly Ella’s weekly vlogs and also her Substack articles on living a simple life, thrifting and her tiny home in the Scottish Highlands. Most of all I love seeing her border collie Skye who pops up in most of her videos, such a sweetie.
Jessica Rose Williams - I discovered this vlogger through Molly so knew I would also enjoy it and Jessica is an expat creative living in Paris. She has a stylish capsule wardrobe, a cute dog, lots of great advice and insights into living more meaningfully and who doesn’t love gorgeous footage of Parisian life.
I have some exciting new to share! I just found out as I was about to publish this post that one of my illustrations will be included in Edition 5 - Toys for The Toy magazine, which is a UK based magazine that publishes children’s writing and artwork. I look forward to receiving my copy soon and seeing my artwork in print. This is my third submission to this publication so it just goes to show that you should not give up and keep trying as you never know when that yes might come.
I hope that you are enjoying the first month of Winter and staying cosy, would love to hear what you are reading, watching or baking.
Congratulations Gemma! How cool to have your drawing published! xoxo