Charlotte's Blog

The City Bibliophile

Every day my city path crosses with yours. We dwell in the same places. You have been part of my background as I have been a part of yours. It wouldn’t be right without you there. We may have only ever exchanged words on the odd occasion or simply even a smile.  You remember me from when there was a bookshop with three levels, and I  know will see you in one in my lunch break or in the Library during the day. It is comforting to know there are others.

I know you well. You are the person who, like me  feels like an asthmatic without Ventalin when they are not around books. You are the person walking through the shelves listening to the books, hearing them whisper “read me...read me” And nothing brings you such peace and well being like walking down the aisles of these perfectly straight spines.

 

So this is for all the wonderful Adelaide booklovers out there! Thank you for being you and being one of us.  No doubt I will see you soon.

• 100 one-night reads: a book lover's guide/David C. Major and John S. Major
• Curiosities of Literature: a book lover's anthology of literary erudition/John Sutherland
• The Good Web Guide for Book lovers/Susan Osbourne
• Literary trivia: fun and games for book lovers/Richard Lederer and Michael Gilleland
• Literature Lover's book of lists:Serious trivia for the Bibliophile

 

MYO

Whether it’s a year of eating onlyjunk food or a year without sex (though one could inadvertently lead to the other), taking a year of your life to abstain, indulge or purge is the thing to do!  For me it would also have to be something that is personally challenging and would be a better person for having done it.

I have a friend who is going a year without clothes shopping (I can't say I am a good influence in this persuit!) . Am also reading about a women who is living all thing Oprah.

I wonder what  MYO would be? A year of crepes? A year of reading only books people suggest to me?

 

What would yours be? Would love to here about it.

 

Here’s what others have done…

• Give it up: My year of learning to live better with less/Mary Carlomagno
• My Gardening Year/shirley Stackhouse with  Jennifer Stackhouse
• My Year without Sex DVD
•  A Year in My Kitchen/Skye Gyngell
• My Year Off/Robert McCrum
• Not Buying it: my year without shopping/Judith Levine
• Julie and Julia/Julie Powell
• Super Size Me DVD 
• Living Oprah: my one year experiment to walk the walk of the Queen of talk/Robyn Okrant 
• The Happiness Project or why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read aristotle and generally have more fun/Gretchen Rubin

Love Lit

For some there is nothing finer than a good glass of wine and a great book. If you are among these such people then you are no doubt greatly anticipating the Adelaide Writer’s Week just over a month a way.

 

For those yet to attend, it's a whole wonderful week of celebrating people's love of literature in the idyllic setting of  Memorial Gardens. There is a vast array of international and local writers all there to share their stories with you.

 

So book in and in the weeks leading up to it book up!

 

Here are some of the authors attending:

 

• Irvine Welsh
• Richard Dawkins
• Audrey Niffenegger
• Andrea Levy
• Manju Kapur
• Jim Crace
• Robert Dessaix
• Malcolm Knox
• Kel Robertson

Novel Nosh

If you love to delve in to a deliciously good novel at the dining table while being served up your favourite dish, then surely the next best thing is a piece of fiction that not only provides an sublimely written story but also comes with a selection of sumptuous recipes.

The reader gets to interact with the novel by means of a culinary cuisine. A 3D literary experience if you will, involving all your senses.

Imagine eating carrot pudding while reading Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol? Or enjoying Vianne Rocher’s steamy chili hot chocolate whilst in your favourite chair reading Chocolat, or even whipping up one of Jo Best’s omelets before getting stuck in to Little Women for the 50^th time!

Love to combine the culinary with the literary? try some of these….

• Belle in the Big Apple/Brooke Parkhurst
• Eat Cake/Jeanne Ray
• The Grilling Season/ Diane Mott Davidson
• Like Water for Chocolate/Laura Esquivel
• House Husband/Ad Hudler
• She flew the coup /Michael Lee West
• Sunshine Rider:The First Vegetarian Western/Laurel- Leaf Brooks

and also try The Booklover's Cookbook/Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Jensen to cook your way through your favourite fiction!