Cornflower Books

Costa Book Awards - the category winners

    The category winners in the Costa Book Awards have been announced this evening, and they are:

Novel - Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

First novel - The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

Biography - The Pike: Gabriele D'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War by Lucy Hughes-Hallett

Poetry - Drysalter by Michael Symmons Roberts

Children's book - Goth Girl: and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell

    The Costa Book of the Year will be revealed on 28th. January.

A selection of bargains

       

       


   A lot of good books are currently available at very low prices for Kindle - and many thanks to Margaret for alerting me and sending me off for a browse; I've selected a few which I've read and recommend, or have heard very good things of, so I hope there's something among them which may appeal to you:

 

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (my novel of the year)

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

The Lost Domain: Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier

The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase by Mark Forsyth (one of my non-fiction books of the year)

The Various Haunts of Men/The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill, the first two in her Simon Serrailler series.

The President’'s Hat by Antoine Laurain (Mr. C. found this "charming")

Dear Lupin... Letters to a Wayward Son by Roger Mortimer and Charlie Mortimer

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Love, Nina: Despatches from Family Life by Nina Stibbe

 

Edited to add:

Mustn't miss out Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield - I found it compelling.

Snow fell

   

    "The night before Mr. Norrell was due to perform the magic, snow fell on York and in the morning the dirt and mud of the city had disappeared, all replaced by flawless white. The sounds of hooves and footsteps were muffled, and the very voices of York's citizens were altered by a white silence that swallowed up every sound. Mr. Norrell had named a very early hour in the day. In their separate homes the York magicians breakfasted alone. They watched in silence as a servant poured their coffee, broke their warm white-bread rolls, fetched the butter. The wife, the sister, the daughter, the daughter-in-law, or the niece who usually performed these little offices was still in bed; and the pleasant female domestic chat, which the gentlemen of the York society affected to despise so much, and which was in truth the sweet and mild refrain in the music of their ordinary lives, was absent. And the breakfast rooms where these gentlemen sat were changed from what they had been yesterday. The winter gloom was quite gone and in its place was a fearful light - the winter sun reflected many times over the snowy earth. There was a dazzle of light upon the white linen tablecloth. The rosebuds that patterned the daughter's pretty coffee-cups seemed almost to dance in it. Sunbeams were struck from the niece's silver coffee-pot, and the daughter-in-law's smiling china shepherdesses were all become shining angels. It was as if the table were laid with fairy silver and crystal."

    From Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - which I am reading at long last and loving!

The Two Mrs. Abbotts

   

    Persephone Books have now re-issued three of D.E. Stevenson's Miss Buncle 'confections' (I wrote about the first of them, Miss Buncle's Book, here), and the latest, The Two Mrs. Abbotts, is as full of charm as you'd expect.

    First published in 1943, this is a comedy of manners with moments of melodrama and farce, and much genial observation; it's a warm-hearted story in which nothing of particular moment happens, but what does transpire is enough to keep the reader happily turning the pages.

    The two Mrs. Abbotts of the title are Barbara, née Buncle, living contentedly with her publisher husband Arthur and their two children, and Jerry, who is married to Arthur's nephew Sam. Sam is away at the war, and Jerry runs their large house, Ganthorne, with the help of her former governess, the upright, wise, no-nonsense Fifer, Markie. With troops billeted on her, and unwilling evacuees, Jerry has her hands full, but her situation is eased somewhat with the arrival of a mysterious paying guest ...

    Barbara, meanwhile, is put-upon, her good nature being taken advantage of by all and sundry, including a young neighbour, the love-lorn Lancreste, who has fallen for an unsuitable girl and seeks Barbara's help with his wooing. And then there's Miss Janetta Walters, one of Arthur Abbott's authors, who as a writer of popular romantic fiction (or "high-powered tushery", as Arthur describes "the latest effusion from [his client's] pen") commands a certain celebrity in the area, but who wishes to change her style and write an altogether different sort of book, an intention which is far from well-received by her domineering sister Helen.

    There is a token scene of Sam's exploits with the army in the western desert, one which neatly outlines questions of conscience regarding exemption from service, and there is much talk of shortages at home, but in this time of rationing and of scarcity of everyday household objects, there is scope for resourcefulness and a morale-boosting pulling together which would have made heartening - and diverting - reading at the time the book first appeared.

    You know where you are with a novel in which a character is happily "drinking tea out of a nice deep, well-shaped cup", where a vase of sweet peas in a room signifies "a delicate attention", and where a note explaining that the writer has run away is left on a pincushion. By the end, and despite events elsewhere, all is calm, all is bright, all is well with the Mrs. Abbotts' world - and thanks to the book's gentle soothing - with the reader's, too.

Housekeeping

    Just in case anyone has left a comment on the book draw post and can't now find it, scroll down to the bottom of the first lot of comments and you should see a "show more comments" link; clicking that will take you to further pages of comments and yours should appear on one of them. In addition, I have everyone's name listed separately and numbered in the order their comment was posted for ease of drawing when the time comes, so no-one should be left out!

Goals, plans, resolutions

    The comments on yesterday's post included mention of some reading resolutions, chiefly of the 'to read only from the TBR pile' type! (I see Lyn's adopting that one, too.)

    I'd love to know what, if anything, everyone else is planning: to read more than last year, or more widely? To venture into unfamiliar genres? To take on challenges such as Simon's century of books? To join a book group? (we have one, if the online format suits you). Perhaps you're looking to adopt new reading habits such as giving up more readily on books which you're not enjoying, or finishing one book before you start another? Are there any literary anniversaries you intend to mark in your reading? - 2014 is the centenary year for Patrick O'Brian and Dylan Thomas, for instance.

    Any other plans? Do tell!

Welcome, 2014!

    It's a new year, and I wish you a very happy one!

    It's also a birthday, for Cornflower Books is five years old today.

    As ever, my thanks to you for visiting, for reading the posts, following the links, commenting with such knowledge and insight, joining in with the book group, letting me know about books and bookish events which are of interest to me and to the wider readership, and for being such a great bunch of people. I appreciate your interest and the time you spend here more than I can say.

    As a small 'thank you', I'd like to give someone a favourite book of mine, so we'll have a draw, and to put your name in the hat, please leave a comment on this post telling us what you are reading, or are about to read, as the year begins. This is open to all, regardless of location, so do have a go.

    Happy new year!