The Sunday Salon: Le Dossier: How to Survive the English by Sarah Long

A lazy Easter weekend, I've recamped to my Mum's for this first week of half term, so so far I've watched more TV in the last 24 hours than I've seen in the 2 weeks previously, I've scoffed biscuits, pizza and chocolate. That doesn't even mention that Sunday lunch which I had at the pub my sister manages (which was gorgeous).
The rest of the day will be spent lazing around the house, with Alias Grace and The Autobiography of Alice B. Tolks. As of tomorrow I'm on a 5 hour a day marking schedule until the mountain of coursework is marked.

I finished yesterday Le Dossier: How to Survive the English. This book was a small independently published book at first, but soon was translated to English with comic effect. Hortense de Monplaisir is a Parisian housewife brought over to live in London by her husbands career. She criticises and views every aspect of the English life, from our eating habits, body shapes to our manners. The book revealed some truths - we love cheap clothes shops so we can look like the celebrities and still afford to change our looks as often as them, we spend far more money and time on our homes than anything else, and treat children and pets with equal priviledge. But the book also shows up a sharp contrast with our European neighbours - she can't understand that we queue politely and uncomplainingly, that stop at traffic lights and follow speed limits and that we say sorry if someone bumps into us. This was a funny read, something light and comic. If your Englsih and don't mind being criticised this is worth a read.

My Thoughts: Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

Angela Carter has always been this scary author for me who sat on the shelf waiting to be read. I'm not sure what it was about her that kept putting me off. I was expecting a difficult read, full of feminist angst and gothic settings. Not that these things put me off in other authors. After all I have an English degree and MA and will quite happily tackle Salman Rushdie, moderninsm, post modernism and magical realism over lunch.
I picked up Nights at the Circus with trepidation, although excited by the synopsis. Fevvers is a 6 foot plus, 14 stone woman as large as life. Big blonde hair, big breasted and hardly delicate. Yet this woman is an aerialiste, flying through the air in graceful archs above the circus audience. What this woman has that other aerilistes don't is huge wings.
Abandoned as a baby, she is adopted by an ex-prostitute turned cleaner of a brothel. She grows up in a house of prostitutes, with a small humped back. Yet as a teenager out of her back spurts a magnificent pair of wings. As she grows up she spends time at the 'freaks circus' then moves on to a regular travelling circus ending up travelling through Russia.
The story changes narrative at various points. It starts with Fevvers being interviewed by an American journalist, determined to discover whether she is the real thing or a Hoax. He is in awe of her and follows her into the circus as a clown in the hope of securing a story, the truth and the girl herself.
There's far too much in the story to even try to describe, it bursts at the seems with adventures, magical characters and moments. A great start to the Once Upon a Time IV challenge for me.

Once Upon a Time IV: Short Story Weekends

For this weeks Short Story I went back and visited a site which I love but haven't looked at in ages, The Endocott Studio. The site features lots of mythical and fantastical short stories, poems, images and articles and is well worth checking out.

I only have time to read one story today, so chose 'The Boy Who Was Born Wrapped in Barbed Wire' by Christopher Barzak.
The young boy is born not only surrounded by barbed wire but with the wire actually growing out from his skin. As a result of his birth his mother dies and he is left alone with just his solitary beekeeping father. The father is a distant man, never able to touch his son for fear of getting hurt. The boy becomes an outcast until their is a revival at the local church and the local woman all decide that his sould needs saving.

The Sunday Salon: Dewey's Read-a-Thon sign-up post

I'm hoping to get some reading in today, I really want to finish Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter, I'm half way through and absolutely love it! Although I have a copy with a teeny font. Stopping me completing it will be stacks of housework, marking and bits and bobs to do in town. I'm also supposed to be off to the cinema later, which will no doubt include food.

I'm also officially signing up for Dewey's Read-a-Thon. I took part in both of last years and really enjoyed it both times. I've never managed the full 24 hours, maybe I'll manage this year as it is half-term so I will have plenty of time to recover.
Worryingly, I've been eying up the books on my stacks for the last few weeks making mental booklists of what I should be reading. At the moment I'm veering towards some novellas, The Hunger Games and some of my Once Upon a Time choices. I'll also make sure I have some graphic novels and an audiobook on hand for those tired moments.
I'm still debating whether to be a cheerleader or not. Last year I had problems with pages not loading properly, and a few sites made my computer open them hundreds of times and then crash my computer. I'm considering searching through the signups before hand and adding 10 participants to my google reader and just cheerleading those few. That way I can pick readers with similar book tastes to me and I will have checked out their pages before hand.

See what everyone else is doing on a Sunday at The Sunday Salon

All in a (creative) afternoon's work...

I was supposed to be marking, and had good intentions but feeling grotty and having had enough of coursework all week I persuaded myself (it didn't take much) that an afternoon being creative was in order.
I had a set of spring fat pages (4x4 embellished pages) to get started. I rummaged through my supplies for ages but nothing seemed to fit and I almost gave up in a grump, but then I remembered this cute little dress garland I'd seen on another blog. So I stole the idea and created away. The little dresses gave me a chance to use up some scraps, by girly, and avoid the flower path which the other members of the swap all seem to be going down.

Pictured is the front cover of the book I will use to collect each members contribution. I like the fresh feel of this, and added the clouds as we seem to have had a lot of those these past couple of days - England in spring is a real clothing conundrum!

The inside pages all have a large tag with a quote from Ellis Peters. 'Every spring is the only spring a perpetual astonishment.'
Sorry for the quality of the photos, not only is it dark today, but I had to use the camera phone as my camera has run out of batteries. They look brighter and more cheery in the flesh.

Off for an evening of reading Nights at the Circus, watching Lost, and errr sitting in the dark for an hour for Earthhour.

My Thoughts: Love and Summer by William Trevor

After complaining yesterday that I wouldn't have much time to read I managed to get a whole book read. Love and Summer has sat on my bottom step (where library books and bookrings live, for fear of mixing them in with my personal tbr pile) for a good 6 weeks. Its a bookring so should have been read and sent of asap, ideally within 4 weeks of receiving it. I just kept putting it off and reading anything but it, as its cover and the title just made me think romance yuck! (Can you tell I'm oh so very single at the moment!). However I picked it up last night thinking I'd manage half an hour and whizzed through it.
Set in rural Ireland, a a tiny village where nothing happens 2 people meet and fall in love. Ellie, was first a maid then a wife to a local widower, lives a secluded life on the farm. She travels into town to sell eggs, pick supplies and pick lavender once a week. One week, during the funeral of a well to-do lady in town she notices a photographer, which sparks off feelings of love.
The pair meet regularly, but nothing really seems to happen between them accept the knowledge the her love for him exists.
Its a book of moments, there is little action, but it is an easy and comforting read - kind of a literary beach read. I'm not sure if I'll remember it next week, let alone in a year but I'm thinking that I may buy a copy for my Mum's next birthday/holiday.

Once Upon a Time IV: 'Snow, Glass, Apples' by Neil Gaiman

Mirror available here - isn't it gorgeous!


Neil Gaiman is a god!
I sat down to read 'Snow, Glass, Apples' a (free to read) short story by Neil Gaiman, expecting it to be good and it was far better than just good.
Gaiman twists and turns the Snow White story in his own wicked way. The story is a monologue by the 'wicked' Step-Mother with her take on her daughter. Snow White, no longer a figure of innocence is feeds off her father and the people of the forest, heart removed she survives.
Whether you like short stories or not you should definately go and read this. Thanks to Mee who blogged about this story yesterday.

Do you know of any online stories which would work for the Once Upon a Time IV Challenge?