Liverpool Echo - First Rule of Book Club

Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez: A-Z Guide to Perfumes... eh, what?

2009-10-23T14:13:24Z

I always read the comments people make about books.

India Knight (Sunday Times) said the A-Z Guide to Perfumes was "dazzling" and one of the best books she had ever read.

John Lanchester (of the New Yorker, one of my many weaknesses) said it was "ravishingly entertaining"

Did we read the same book?

The A-Z Guide to Perfumes is certainly weighty - at 620 pages, it will set you back a fairly average £12.99.

Authors Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez seem to know their stuff - Luca is a biophysicist who has reasearched a new theory about the way we smell.

Tania is a perfume collector and an expert who owns more than 2,000 bottles.

Together, they sniffed their way through 1,500 perfumes to come up with this - an A-Z guide to all those pretty and not-so-pretty bottles of scent out there.

The perfumes are all listed alphabetically, given a star rating (up to five stars) and then a brief description, such as "woody citrus" followed by a more detailed review and price guide.

The reviews are interesting if you wear the scent - but honestly, I think there is far too much hype over this book. It is essentially as interesting as a telephone directory.

It reminds me of one of those stands in gift shops - selling key rings with names on them and their origins. You scrabble your way through until you find your own name - taking no interest in any of the others. It keeps you entertained for approximately two minutes.

Same with this. I went through the book and found my own favourite perfume (I knew the authors would be harsh about it, because it's extremely mainstream - I know this and therefore don't hold it against them).

The book gave my perfume two stars and then described it as 'pink floral'.

It said: "A reprehensibly dull and not even pleasant soapy floral with sugary gestures, for the kind of young women who get their hair cut precisely the same as their friends and shop from the same catalogues, so even their boyfriends can't tell them apart at 10 paces."

Ha ha ha.. oh well, nevermind. I've just got a whole new bottle so my boyfriend's confusion will have to last a little longer!

This is the problem - my own perfume was the only interesting part of the book for me. I handed the guide to a few colleagues. They politely flicked through to find their own scent and then discarded the book, no longer interested.

I'm taking it to a friend's flat tonight. She loves perfumes and maybe this is the book she always wanted. I'm just not sure I can see her flicking through to find her next purchase... why would she, when she can just go out and sample a few?

I've nothing against reference guides, nothing at all - and why shouldn't perfume be represented in this market? But comments like "best book I've ever read" and "unfailingly entertaining" oh honestly, you just wanted your name on a book jacket didn't you?

With all these - apparently quite sensible - journalists lining up to praise this book, I'm left wondering... forget new clothes, was the emperor wearing new perfume instead?

Chriss McCallum: The Beginner's Guide to Getting Published

2009-10-20T13:41:21Z

There is no doubt the people who read this blog read books - otherwise it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.

But I wonder how many of you have a half finished novel, short story or scratched out feature languishing at home?

With that in mind, I thought help should be at hand - perhaps to give you the motivation to carry on and complete what you've started...

I decided to review a guide designed to help you get your work out of the draw and into print.

As a journalist it was quite fun for me to read the newspaper sections of Chriss McCallum's The Beginner's Guide to Getting Published.

I've no experience in the world of book publishing (I don't seem to have the stamina to complete anything above 800 words - hence why I work in newspapers)

But I do see the other side of things - namely the pitches and letters sent to newspapers - and I have to say, the author's advice is spot on.

I particularly liked this advice for letters to editors:

"Don't embarrass the editor with emotional blackmail.

"His heart will sink and his hackles will rise if you tell him you need the money to feed your childen, or you're 99 and might not survive beyond his next issue, or your doctor has prescribed creative writing as therapy after your breakdown and a rejection could tip you over the edge.

"Yes, people do these things."

Even if an editor's hackles don't rise - they'll probably just laugh and bin your letter so this is definitely advice to follow.

It's the light-hearted elements like this, that make what is essential an advice-dispensing guide a little easier to read and digest.

The book is well laid out and the tone avoids being patronising without hesitating to point out every mistake you could possibly make.

McCallum manages to cover pretty much every way you could get work published, including areas you might not have previously considered.

Where the author has gaps in her own knowledge (she has worked as an editor, journalist, ghost writer etc.) she calls on advice from her contacts.

For example, in the section about poetry, songwriting and greetings' cards (told you the book covered everything!) some of the advice comes from a prize-winning poet.

On balance, I think the book is a worthwhile investment - even if you use just one of these hints and tips it could make a difference... so why not?

A quick browse at the glossary alone will help you with the ridiculous jargon of the publishing world - from 'on spec' (when you send your work to an editor without being invited) to 'pull quote' (quotation extracted from an article)

Disappointingly, the word 'grout' is missing from the glossary - I wonder if the Liverpool Daily Post and ECHO newsroom is the only place where you'll find the word used for the little news stories (also known as briefs and fillers) that complete a page.

The book is extremely thorough and doesn't assume you would know how to write a covering letter or design an invoice. Personally, I wouldn't know where to start and in times of recession, when competition is so fierce, it's the little things that make a difference.

The author tells you: "The writers who get their work published are not necessarily the most brilliant. They are writers who provide what editors and publishers want.

"Being a successful writer means balancing your individuality and enthusiasm with your writing and selling skills."

While it might be irritating to acknowledge that raw writing talent isn't enough to succeed, there is no reason not to improve your chances in a highly competitive field.

I'd be interested to know readers' experiences.

Ian Rankin's latest novel Doors Open. Does it live up to the hype?

2009-10-19T19:56:37Z

Book Club has a new rule.

The implementation was controversial - but the majority ruled in the end.

Those of you who are in book clubs will understand the problem we faced.

When it comes to selecting next month's book, there is so much debate, discussion and compromise - you end up veering to the middle of the road...

If only one person wants to read the book, it is inevitably discarded.

But that's not the point of a book club. The point of a book club is to embrace one another's choices and perhaps be surprised by something you wouldn't usually read.

So, at a recent meeting our host E proposed a new rule - our Book Club host would choose the next month's book without any debate. It is now on a six-month trial.

Hence why we ended up reading Ian Rankin's Doors Open.

Now, I had always intended to read an Ian Rankin - since the days my old friend (another E and therefore a flaw in my use of my friends' first initials) used to rave about Rebus.

I'd always planned to read one but never quite got around to it.

So I was quite looking forward to Doors Open - a crime novel about three art lovers who embark on a daring art heist in Edinburgh.

I was so disappointed.

First, let me say I've nothing against the genre.

But for a writer so acclaimed - I was badly let down by the characterisation.

The plot was pacey enough but perhaps that was the book's downfall.

I spent the first chunk wondering why on earth the main protagonist, multi-millionaire Mike Mackenzie, would bother to conspire to steal some artwork.

The loose reason given was that he was bored - but that didn't help me make the leap from three men vaguely discussing 'what if we carried out a robbery' to the same three men enacting it a few days later.

You are meant to believe one of the trio - secretly planning to dupe the others - lead the others into it, but I didn't find him particularly persuasive either.

Then there's the 'gangster' who helps them out - a cliche if ever I've read one. He's a bit thick and a bit coarse, you see - goodness knows how he managed to run his own criminal empire. Then there's a mysterious Scandinavian called 'Hate' - oh, honestly!

Throw in a bitter, washed-up but ultimately on-the-money detective and bang, you've lost every shred of creativity and originality you were ever gifted.

If it hadn't been for Book Club, I probably wouldn't have bothered to finish this book - but then I wouldn't have had the good fortune to happen across the ridiculously cheesy scene where the 'hero' and 'heroine' are facing imminent death at the hands of said gangster and Scandinavian...

What do they do? Make clever wisecracks, of course.

And when said 'hero' is being carted off to prison, what does our 'heroine' do? Promise she'll wait for him of course, even though he's a moron with more money than sense and the couple haven't exhibited a flicker of believable affection throughout the entire book.

What drivel.

If I sound bitter, that's because I am. I expected so much better.

Can I be bothered to read my first Rebus now?

I suspect you aleady know the answer.

Fond of a fairytale? Try John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things

2009-09-30T09:44:23Z

By day I am a hard-nosed journalist, trotting the streets of Liverpool to sniff out the news the people in this city demand to read.

By night I am a 6ft chicken - frightened of horror films, the dark, roller coasters, sky diving, spiders and generally all things not wrapped in cotton wool.

In short, over cautious about fairly mundane things.

For that I am happy to blame my childhood. Or more, specifically, my childhood reading...

Until I reached the grand old age of whatever it was and read my first book - Enid Blyton's The Castle of Adventure, if you must know - my mum read to me every night.

She generally read fairy tales - probably because they are nice and short and perfect for a child's attention span - but looking back, how scary are they?

I vaguely remember Hans Christian Andersen's tale about the girl who couldn't stop dancing because of her red shoes. I can't remember what the little girl did (probably something deceitful) but that was her punishment - doomed to dance forever more until, I think, her feet were eventually cut off and she died.

Harsh! Enough to frighten a child for life it seems.

So it was with some trepidation I turned to The Book of Lost Things - a story about a young boy sucked into a fairytale world following the death of his mother.

The book is set at the start of the Second World War but that is spectacularly unimportant really, considering most of the book is spent in a world populated by trolls, wolves, kings, knights and the requisite terrified villagers.

In true fairy tale fashion the little boy, David, follows a well-worn path through a forest encountering and overcoming all sorts of trials and tribulations along the way.

In the end, there is a lesson - it's probably best not to be bitter and jealous because you might just end up selling the soul of the person you loathe (but actually love) and be doomed to misery forever.

So far, so typically terrifying.

Still, it's a fabulous journey through fairytales - every now and then you are treated to a familiar story - seven little men off to work (although if I'm honest, that part was mildly laboured - no pun intended) a gingerbread house and the obligatory woman locked in a tower.

I was mildly short changed though when I realised the book was drawing to a conclusion with a considerable inch of text remaining - only to realise the author had shoved in a huge appendix citing every fairy tale he had referenced. Honestly, no need.

If you're a fellow lover of grim and dark child-murdering fairytales of old you might like this one. Is there such a thing as a happy ending?

Mitch Albom: Tuesdays With Morrie

2009-09-28T20:37:55Z

Do you remember I had to abandon The Book of Lost Things to finish Tuesdays With Morrie in time for the latest meeting of our book club?

Well I managed it with at least an hour to spare - meaning I wasn't forever cast into Coventry and was able to at least nibble at the brie (ha!) and chuck in my thoughts on the book as we went along.

Still, I wasn't a huge fan of this one..

Now, if I'm entirely honest... my job might be the problem here.

Being a journalist means you sadly come into contact with death a lot of the time - and you are all too aware of mortality.

Tuesdays With Morrie is the true-life account of the author's reunion with his former university lecturer.

Mitch doesn't see much of Morrie after he graduates... and is only reunited with his former professor when he discovers the elder gentleman is dying.

Morrie's slow decline is clearly life changing for Mitch - a sports journalist who feels he could and should probably do more with his life.

Morrie is a lovely character... painfully truthful about the end of his life and the lessons he feels Mitch and others could learn if only we could accept our mortality.

Except, well, perhaps I'm deluded, but I think I may have accepted mine - agonising self-examination is something in which I indulge on a near weekly basis.

I think this book is well written. There is not a sentence that needs to be read twice and considering it revolves around a man slowly dying, well, it manages to be quite pacey.

But... it's not for me. I'm into literature for pure escapism. I don't mind a hard-hitting book but I don't want to be left depressed (I'm sure that wasn't Albom's intention here... he probably thinks it's inspiring. I didn't) and so, I'm not sure I would recommend this.

If you're going to read an Albom, I'd suggest Five People You Meet In Heaven.

Still, it did receive a few thumbs up from a few at Book Club and did result in one of the most soul-baring discussions we've ever had. Just don't read it on a fragile day.

NON-FICTION GUEST REVIEW: M G Durham: The Lolita Effect

2009-09-28T20:04:48Z

Do you remember the storm created when Tesco launched its pole dancing kit for young girls?

What about the news a trendy young designer had started producing thongs for 10-year-olds?

What, if anything, does this have to do with child sex trafficking in Asia?

Here Liverpool Daily Post and ECHO intern Charlie Byrne reviews feminist professor M G Durham's take on the matter...

ON paper, a book about the media sexualisation of young women written by a mother of two little girls, who also specialises in Feminist Studies at the University of Iowa, sounds fairly predictable.

You can guess at the acidic criticism of demon magazine editors and satanic marketing executives before even reading the preface.

M G Durham, however, defies expectations in her debut book, The Lolita Effect.

She goes far beyond simply criticising manipulative media industries - instead, evaluating their inevitable effects and developing strategies to create positive outcomes from their influence.

Structured around the five media constructed myths she believes perpetuate the sexualisation of young girls in global society, Durham's in-depth analysis offers a deconstruction of how female sexuality is portrayed within the media and our reticence to deal with its prevalence and power.

Tackling many forms of press and popular culture, she discusses the pitfalls of teenage sexuality in an increasingly adult world and exposes the true horror of what it can mean to be young, female and sexual today.

With tales of mini pole dancing kits sold by Tesco, thongs for ten year olds on offer at Abercrombie and Fitch and the terrifying extent of child sex trafficking of East Asia, Durham exposes the dangerous link between apparently harmless commercial ploys and the very real threat of child abuse and sexual exploitation.

However, Durham's stance on sexual activity amongst young people is progressive; she is keen to express her embracing attitudes towards healthy sexual relationships whilst maintaining that young girls, and boys, should not fall prey to media coercion into having them.

Nonetheless, she does recognise the importance of media in terms of education and entertainment for younger generations and rather than adopt a utopian ideal of a world free from media influence, she promotes the importance of critical media analysis instead.

By enabling our teens to evaluate media for what it is, a lucrative industry based on persuasion and image, she hopes to help teens and pre-teen children make informed decisions about sex; separating sexual fact from fiction.

Durham interestingly also tackles subordinate themes of the Lolita issue, such as the roles of homosexuality and violence in the depiction of today's sexual society - brave terrain that the author discusses with confidence.

A very balanced text overall, Durham's only fault is occasionally going to extremes in her accusations of sexualistion; while Barbie and Bratz Dolls are clear examples of the unrealistic demands placed on female physicality in order to be sexually desirable, accusing Ariel the Little Mermaid of encouraging promiscuity by wearing a bikini seems a step too far.

She does after all have a tail, and a sturdy one-piece wouldn't quite accomodate it.

The author does occasionally also twist fact to suit her argument, such as her claim: 'Male bodies are never on display for women.'

Even the most feminist of women would struggle to deny glancing at the very scantily clad models in Calvin Klein adverts from time to time.

This aside, Durham offers a comprehensive and interesting text that will prove useful for parents, teachers and girls alike in the struggle against an increasingly explicit world of media that bombards us with sex, as if it were sugar.

GUEST REVIEW: Dawn Porter's Diaries of an Internet Lover

2009-09-23T08:51:59Z

Many of you will have seen Dawn Porter presenting various programmes on Channel 4 - everything from Dawn Porter: Mail Order Bride to Dawn Porter: Geisha Girl.

You may not know Dawn studied at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) before going on to start work for the Beeb.

Here Liverpool Daily Post and ECHO intern Michele Wilson reviews her book 'Diaries of an Internet Lover'...

Over the past couple of years I have grown to know and love Dawn Porter.

Her fabulously witty documentaries on loving one's naked self; experimenting with lesbianism and exploring the secret side to pregnancy and the daunting physical aftermath, left me belly laughing through my own vain fears and longing to be friends with this curvy and confident 20-something year old, who could make me laugh like no other.

So when this book was bought for me as a gift I didn't even bother to look at the title or find out what it was about. I was sure that Diaries of an Internet Lover would be more of the same giddy, light-hearted mickey taking and straight up dippy honesty.

I was wrong.

The plot goes as follows:

Dawn decides to discover the world of internet dating and so advertises her credentials on a dodgy dating website.

She emails back and forth with a rather vast number of, lets say interesting, characters (both male and female) and agrees to meet each of them for a blind date.

The result - an unreal amount of one night stands (considering she doesn't even fancy half of them) a little bit of love and the development of some unlikely friendships.

At times, Diaries of an Internet Lover is a real page turner, and although the monotony of "Hi Dawn how are you?" "Fine thanks, here's a pic." "Wow great pic. Fancy a date?" can become irritatingly boring, there is certainly plenty of the quirky Dawn Porter that I'm sure would make anyone laugh out loud.

However, if like me, you purchase this read as a Dawn Porter fan, be prepared to discover that her cheeky innocence has gone AWOL and the exhibitionist has truly emerged.

Dawn describes herself as sexual... I think her actions could leave even Jordan blushing.

Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall... now I just need a beach holiday to read it

2009-09-22T15:15:05Z

It's always nice to receive a present - particularly one you're not expecting.

But when the boyfriend bought me a copy of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall recently I have to say I gave a small, inward groan.

Yes, I've heard it's fabulous. Yes, I am extremely fond of the Tudor dynasty - what with my A-Level in history and my box set of the HBO series.

But... have you seen the size of it?

When on earth am I going to have time to give it the attention it deserves?

I know I've been rambling on about my holiday to India in November (must get that visa sorted) but it's far too big for me to carry around in my rucksac, even if it is a shame to waste such a long plane journey.

No, this one needs a beach holiday. Hmmmm.

Instead, I started the Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. It's another one of those strangely absorbing fantasy tales - think Lion, Witch, Wardrobe.

I was becoming quite sucked into the book at the point where the young pyjama-clad boy disappeared through a tear in the fabric of his reality and wandered straight into the path of nasty half-man wolf beast WHEN...

I realised I had better get cracking on this month's Book Club book (meeting on Thursday) if I was to avoid being shunned and banned from indulging in the ritualistic consumption of cheese, wine, chocolate and more cheese.

So, I cast The Book of Lost Things aside to start Tuesdays With Morrie (another Mitch Albom effort) and so far, it's really very good.

Should be able to return to wolf beasts and other mythical creatures in the next few days. As for Wolf Hall... who knows, the next surprise gift I receive might just be that week in the sun...

In the meantime, I'll be living in hope and you'll no doubt be enjoying Booker fever. This article in the Telegraph is well worth a read.

Reading Chris Cleave's Incendiary is like receiving a smack in the face

2009-09-11T06:52:58Z

I sighed when I closed the final page of this book.

I was addicted, absorbed and exhausted. Shocked but horribly enlightened.

The first line in this book is "Dear Osama" and the last is "WITH INCREDIBLE NOISE AND FURY"

So what of the inbetween?

Sadly, my usual 'bare bones' outline/review will not avail you of the power this novel.

But if I don't at least try to convey its spirit, you're probably not going to read it. And if you don't do that, I'm afraid I'm going to feel a bit of a failure.

So, here goes.

When I reviewed Chris Cleave's other great work - The Other Hand - I thought it made me feel horribly guilty and unusually introspective.

Incendiary was even more extreme.

This book is a letter - written by a young unnamed woman in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. So far, so not that special.

But this woman is absorbing because she's so resolutely ordinary. She's also passionately confused, confusingly calm and calmly losing her grip.

This woman endures an event that is unnerving in its portrayal - not least because 1,000 people die but also because it's so horribly possible.

Incendiary was first published on July 5, 2005. Two days later the horror became fact and I suspect that's why it's struggled to achieve the fame it deserves.

Chris Cleave made an uncannily accurate guess that grey, old, house priced obsessed London would become a target and he was right.

The film - which I've yet to see - went pretty much straight to DVD. Most people read novels to escape the horror - and this book was apprently just too close.

But now it's been re-published and this is a good a time to read it.

I said I felt guilty and here's why. I like this book because it attacks the myth that Islam is evil (a view I never held anyway) but more importantly that London is a city of brave cockney sparrows, never putting a foot wrong and supporting one another through turbulent times without the faintest trace of selfishness.

Rubbish. There are no such absolutes.

At one point in this novel there is a bomb scare. In the melee, two men surround a terrified woman in a 4x4. She is hunched and sobbing over the wheel. The men try to break in to the vehicle. When they fail one decides to drop a lit cigarette lighter into her petrol tank.

We see a grieving woman slip through the net - receive no help and eventually lose her widow's pension. We see an establishment act for its own ends and fail to answer questions about what might have prevented a bombing.

One critic said it re-hashed old Islamic stereotypes and reinforced prejudice. I disagree.

Here we see London's citizens and tourists continue to watch reality television and worry about fashion while the country sinks deeper and deeper into a surveillance state.

Our 'hero' goes to the pub, develops a crush on her boss and likes fish fingers.

Can you empathise? There's only one way to find out.

Read the first word, the last word and everything in between.

Need a new book? Try Mitch Albom: The Five People You Meet In Heaven

2009-09-01T16:13:54Z

I've been a journalist exactly five years now and if this profession has altered me at all - it's made me less able to cry, particularly when it comes to books and films.

So it always comes as a surprise - and I'll admit an unwelcome one - when I get that lump in the throat.

I read The Five People You Meet In Heaven this weekend - I'd heard such good things about it I couldn't resist grabbing it half price in a popular supermarket...

And yes, when I finished it, I had that lump in the throat.

I loved how it was written. The book is so beautifully simple and reminds you of something you already know, but rarely think about - that our lives are so delicately inter-linked.

Author Mitch Albom could almost be quoting John Donne: "No man is an island, Entire of itself, Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main..."

But before I lose myself in the poetry I read at school... let me give you a brief outline of the plot of this gorgeous little tale.

Fairground maintenance man Eddie dies.

He's 83-years-old.

He goes to heaven.

There he meets five people who have been waiting for him - standing patiently in line so they can help him make sense of the life he has left behind.

And Eddie needs it more than most because he can't help but shake the feeling that his existance - his neat and tidy flat and his meticulous work maintaining fairground rides - has been a bit of a waste.

Some critics have compared this book to The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I don't agree.

That may be because I didn't particularly like The Lovely Bones - but also because I think it's a bit simplistic. So both books are set in heaven - would you automatically compare two books set in the same country?

No, The Five People You Meet In Heaven deserves to be placed on its own little cloud.

It's perfect for anyone who worries about what they achieve - and what they don't achieve. For people who fear they might not fit everything in - and for people who worry they don't have enough ambitions to struggle to fit them all in.

If you've ever questioned whether you've wasted your life - this is the book for you.

Just don't blame me for the lump in the throat.

Afraid of Austen? Terrified by To Kill a Mockingbird? Scared of Shakespeare?

2009-08-28T08:38:26Z

I don't know whether to be offended.

I walked into work to find someone had left a book on my desk.

It was the book pictured left - Who's Afraid of Jane Austen by Henry Hitchens.

The strapline? How to REALLY talk about the books you haven't read...

I don't know if it was meant to be some sort of commentary on the contents of this blog - but I decided to take a closer look.

In the true spirit of the book I thought I would talk about it without having read it... which is mildly ridiculous but there you go - it is Friday after all...

The book has lots of chapters dedicated to helping you bluff your way through dinner party conversations on books others may have read.

The chapters include: What's the point of Ulysses? Do you need to bother with poetry? What's actually in the Bible? and Why the Russians? Tolstoy and Dostoevsky...

I think the premise is fab although if I'm worried that a) the plots of these books will be entirely spoiled (but if you think about it, you've probably accidentally absorbed the endings of most of the classics anyway - not that I'm about to give away the ending of the Bible)

My other fear, we'll call it b), is that I might become so well versed in gossiping about books I haven't read, I might not bother to read them at all.

Imagine if this extended to book club? Would we achieve anything other than a mass game of Bluff amidst all that cheese and wine?

(Fortunately, in our book club it's more a case of - "Heck I've had a horrible week, been maniacally busy, never managed to finish that damned book but hey, I'd love a large glass of Shiraz and a chunk of that rather delectable looking brie...")

Anyway, I had the book with me at work so couldn't resist a flick through in the canteen.

I am currently struggling and I mean struggling, my way through Linda Grant's The Clothes On Their Backs - it's just not grabbing me but I've got a niggling feeling it will turn out to be quite good so rather than chuck it aside I keep putting it off by reading The New Yorker instead.

Not exactly productive.

But I'm off to Scotland for the weekend and rather than be decisive and officially put Linda aside, I think I might chuck Who's Afraid in my bag and read that as a 'break'.

You never know, I might find myself able to blog on The Clothes On Their Backs without actually finishing it.

Will you ever trust me again?

Who's Afraid of Jane Austen is published on September 3.

GUEST AUTHOR: Anne Bennett's 5

2009-08-26T10:21:38Z

Those of you who love to read about the fair city of Liverpool may have come across Anne Bennett's novels.

Even though Anne was born and raised in Birmingham she loves to write about this city in wartime.

Her latest book - A Mother's Spirit - is on sale now and to celebrate Anne has revealed her top 5 reads exclusively for this blog...

She said: "I've been an avid reader all my life, although these days, because of my own writing, I've switched from fiction to fact - in the form of biographies in the main, which I read for research purposes.

"However, as I'm limited to only five books, I'm going to cheat and include in my list Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond series (six books in all, but one story).

"Historical fiction set against a factual background is my favourite kind of read and these books are so well researched and written with fact so expertly and magically blended with fiction - that, like my mother's pastry, the end result makes me marvel at how such potentially indigestible ingredients can be transformed into something so good...

So here we go...

First on my list will always be Pride and Prejudice - I read my first copy of this when I was nine or ten - a Christmas present of Jane Austen's classic edited into a children's book. I credit (or blame) P&P for my lifelong love of 'books with a happy ending'.

Second, the aforementioned Lymond series by Dorothy Dunnett. I also love books by historical authors Elizabeth Chadwick and Philippa Gregory. Philippa, by the way, is the name of the fabulous heroine in the Lymond books - like all authors I can't resist handing out information!

Third on my list is Letters Between Sisters - I read several books about the Mitford sisters whilst I was researching for my Avon book, Silk, but this one is my favourite.

Because I write such a lot in WW2 Liverpool I just have to add to this list Liverpool: A City at War by Bryan Perrett. I used this book as my guide for all the real incidents of Liverpool's WW2 blitz I incorporated into my Campion books.

I also used it for general background information,and it gave me the idea of having one of my characters work in the Postal Censorship Office. I have read dozens of books about WW2 but this one remains my favourite.

Finally, I'm a huge Georgette Heyer fan. The first Georgette Heyer book I read was Arabella and whenever I need cheering up I re-read it - it never fails to make me laugh out aloud."

A Mother's Spirit is on sale now at £6.99. This book is set in London during WW2.

Are you reading War and Peace... or the first book in the Twilight series?

2009-08-24T16:30:08Z

Okay, so summer is nearly over and even the MPs and children will soon be back from their ridiculously long summer breaks.

Still, there's always a chance some of you will find time to go away for some late summer sun and if you do... I know your secret.

Oh yes - and it's all thanks to a cheeky little survey.... so, drum roll please...

Apparently - according to those survey type expert people at Expedia.co.uk and Time Out London - some people on holiday are taking books they don't actually want to read!

Oh yes, the companies have discovered that 20% of the 2,064 adults they polled chose books by the likes of Shakespeare, Milton, Tolstoy and Thomas Hardy to take away with them... just so they would appear more intelligent.

Presumably they don't make it through the weighty classics by the pool or on the beach... so they probably just doze underneath them or balance their drinks on top of them.

What a waste of perfectly good reading time!

However - and I like these people the most - 45% of people surveyed said they used the opportunity of going away to read books they were too embarrassed to read at home.

One in ten people don't plan ahead apparently and just grab a bestseller from the airport bookshop - although I admit I am almost one of these people - I always end up buying another book even though I have six in my bag.

The survey concludes by saying, rather randomly, that the most popular travel author out there is Michael Palin. So now you know.

Just don't lug War and Peace with you this summer - it'll probably bust your luggage allowance and you can always use a brolly if you need to keep the sun off your face!

Treat yourself to a Clean Break

2009-08-14T14:20:16Z

As some of you may know (I go on about it enough) I've always wanted to visit India - The White Tiger and Shantaram are two of the reasons why.

Well, I've finally decided to go for it and have booked a two week trip to the country in November.

So with travel in mind I thought I would review a slightly different book ... but one I think you might enjoy...

Most people have their preferences when it comes to travel guides - I know I always have to buy one and shove it in my rucksac where it becomes dog-eared and much thumbed as the journey progresses.

But sometimes the people behind travel guides go beyond their usual 'places to stay' 'places to eat' and 'places to avoid' advice and produce something you might just read for pleasure - even if you'll never get around to visiting every country mentioned.

Rough Guides have managed just that with Clean Breaks - 500 new ways to see the world - their large coffee table-style guide to our planet's most wondrous locations.

All 400 pages are ridiculously tempting with the authors not only advising on some of the world's rarest and most spectacular experiences - but how to do them in a way that minimises the effect on the environment.

The book is divided into continents with pictures, descriptions and details of how to organise your perfect trip...although I should warn you the moment you start reading you will want to organise your perfect trip!

Perhaps it should come with a health warning to be read only when you've just been paid... or when you've got lots of annual leave to use.

I've always fancied exploring South America so I couldn't resist having a little nose at what the book recommends... and, for the above reasons, I probably shouldn't have done.

The book starts with alternative trails in Peru - brilliant considering only 500 people are allowed to follow the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu every year - and suggests these alternative routes are not only less crowded but can also rival the Inca Trail for beauty.

It then moves onto obscure inns in Ecuador, learning to dance in Rio, trekking to a lost city in Colombia, meeting the river people of the Amazon ....have you booked your flights yet?

The list is endless.. from remote shepherd's bothies in England to eco-tours in Iran...food markets in Toronto to elephant lodges in Sri Lanka...

And there are reassurances throughout of the efforts made to ensure the tourism is eco-friendly.

I was pleased to read that tourism to the Galapagos, for example, benefits the environment there far more than I thought.

The money generated cuts the number of people relying on fishing for their income. Over-fishing has the potential to destroy the island's eco-systems (fewer fish = fewer food for others up the food chain) so provided the tourism is managed well... you might actually do some good.

So there you go - have a read of this book, organise the holiday of a lifetime... and the only thing you'll be feeling guilty about is your credit card bill.

Let me know how you get on!

Treat yourself to Jonathan Safran Foer: Everything is Illuminated

2009-07-31T12:56:12Z

What a book.

Everything is Illuminated was Jonathan Safran Foer's first novel and sickeningly, he was only 25 when he wrote it.

I'll admit it now. I adored every word. It's funny, sweet, tantalising, confusing, clever, devastating...and a little weird...

It was only a few weeks ago I despaired of ever finding a book I truly loved again.

I thought I'd read too many books, become far too cynical and finally realised there was no such thing as an original idea.

But no - here comes Safran Foer with the story he originally worked on as his university dissertation.

And here comes the part where any traditional reviewer would tell you the plot... except, as you know, I'm not a traditional reviewer so I'm not going to tell you the plot.

I will tell you this is the story of a small Ukrainian village called either Sofiowka or Trachimbrod depending on your preference, I suspect you'll go with Trachimbrod.

It follows many comical and sad elements in the village's history (it's actually a shtetl which is a predominantly Jewish settlement) and follows it's progress up until World War II.

The village's characters and traditions are superbly drawn.

In the meantime we also have two moden day heroes - a familiar lad searching for a missing piece in his family history and his brilliant translator, Alex, who hides his own family secret - and not the one you would think either.

Safran Foer chucks every literary trick he can manage at the text and sometimes it is annoying and a bit weird.

You can feel you're reading something irrelevant. You might be. But then again you might be reading something absolutely key. Read everything carefully because it will all be illuminated.

I've already said I loved this book and would now call it one of my all-time favourites. It was sad in a completely unexpected way and in an expected way too - the Holocaust looms like an ever-present spectre throughout.

I skimmed a few other reviews and found the biggest complaint with this novel was that the critics adored it so much no novel could possibly live up to such expectation.

So with this in mind, disregard everything I've said. It's rubbish. Now go buy it.