Mailbox Monday 07.01.13

Welcome Mailbox Mondayers! It's been a while since I last did one of these, but it is nice to keep track of all the many books that make their way into my tiny flat and take up all the space! Talking of space, my wonderful mother bought me two radiator shelves for Christmas, which some might think is a strange present, but was just what I wanted to store some of these toppling piles. I now have a shelf sitting on top of the radiator in the lounge and another one in the bedroom, both already groaning with books, but at least I've been able to clear a load off the floor!

 This week was pretty modest in the book aquisition department, but I'm pleased with my little haul. I got:

Valentine Grey by Sandi Toksvig

I've been hankering after this ever since it came out in September, and I finally succumbed and bought it this week. Sandi Toksvig is a pretty familiar face on British TV, but I've never read anything of hers before. The premise of this story sounded too good to ignore:

London 1897 and a young girl, Valentine Grey, arrives in England. She's been brought up in the remote and sunny climes of India and finds being forced into corsets and skirts in damp and cold country insufferable. The only bright spot: her exciting cousin, Reggie. Reggie, and his lover Frank seek out the adventure the clandestine bars and streets of London offer and are happy to include Valentine in their secret, showing her theatre, gardens - even teaching her how to ride a bicycle.

And then comes the Boer War and Reggie's father volunteers him; the empire must be defended. But it won't be Reggie who dons the Volunteer Regiment's garb. Valentine takes her chance, puts on her cousin's uniform, leaving Reggie behind and heads off to war. And for a long while it's glorious and liberating for both of the cousins, but war is not glorious and in Victorian London homosexuality is not liberating . . .

Final Demand by Deborah Moggach

This was a lovely little New Year gift from my stepfather, who was so bowled over by The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel that he went to the library to read everything of Deborah Moggarch's he could get his hands on. He thought I'd enjoy this, and it does sound up my street:

Natalie is a girl who should be going somewhere. Beautiful, bright and ambitious, she's stuck in a dead-end job in the accounts department of Nu-Line Telecommunications, living her life through wild weekends and yearning for something more.

When she sees a chance to change her life, she takes it.After all, it's only a minor crime.Nobody's going to get hurt. But other people do get hurt, because Natalie's actions do have consequences - tragic consequences. Poignant and beautifully written, Final Demand is a cautionary tale about the battle between greed and love, about human hopes and our own frailty in the face of temptation.

Soup For All Occasions

 I do like a good cookbook, and I love the recipes from the New Covent Garden soup company. This completes my little collection of their books.