The Book of Everyone

As you may have noticed from an earlier post this week, I'm not much into gift guides. However I'm always happy to spread the word about a company or a thing I really like. I know lots of you lovely readers are like-minded souls so I reckon there's a strong chance you'll approve of some of the stuff I'm fond of.

We all like books, yes?

And we like our mums? (Hopefully, anyway!)



This is a book I've made for my mum.



Well, with a little help from the ordering process at The Book of Everyone. It's obviously not entirely my own work.
 
I was asked if I'd like to review a copy of the book and with the Mothership having a big birthday in January and it being ideal for a celebration pressie, I decided to make her the lucky recipient. It'd be a fab present for anyone though - birthday, anniversary or Christmas.

Normally I'd be on the "hmmm" side about this sort of gift. Personalised books never really end up being that personal, do they? Bit like anything to do with star signs: they're always full of sweeping generalisations and look rather dry and dated. This is quite different though. There's a certain amount of content you can't change but those pages are all still beautifully designed and full of fascinating facts and info. What I really liked was all the bits you can change! There are loads of options for altering and personalising sections, from the front cover colour and wording to favourite quotes, photos and even what their superhero alter ego would be.

I did all the editing and ordering on my iPad and the website worked a treat. You wouldn't think this would still be a problem in this day and age but the amount of sites that aren't mobile and tablet optimised is ridiculous. I spent more time gnashing my teeth over selecting the perfect quotes and photos than anything else.




What's really nice is that the company work in partnership with Age UK and every product they make goes towards giving a book to an elderly person who may not receive any presents this year. So you get an excellent present for someone you love and the added warm glow of knowing that you've helped out someone else too.

My copy is still being held hostage by the sorting office but I wanted to get this post up as early as possible in December in case you wanted to try it out for yourself and order a Christmas present or two. I can't wait to get my grubby paws on the finished Book of Jean!

I've nabbed some photos from The Book of Everyone to show you what it'll look like when it gets here. Mothership's book is the lovely hardback option but they have a few different choices ranging from a digital copy to a deluxe one.





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I was provided with this book for review purposes but all opinions are my own and in this case, I loved the process and bet the finished article will be just as much fun!

Christmas Wish List

Ach, the age old dilemma of want vs need.

What do I need for Christmas?

Well, nothing really, if we're being strict on the definition of need. My phone is about 4 years old and dying and my Kindle is nearly as ancient and has developed lots of odd vertical lines on the screen so I sense that's equally close to a painful demise. I need to replace both of them fairly soon but they're not exactly within most people's price range for presents! It'd be nice to have a working car radio too but god, is that a boring present to ask for or what?!

What do I want?

That's equally tricky. I really love surprises so although any of the below things would make me a very happy Alex, I don't want to actually ask anyone for them because I don't want to know what I'm getting. Dilemma!

I'll share them with you lot though - I know lots of us bloggers have similar tastes so perhaps they'll prove to be the perfect gift for someone else you know!


Fellow grammar Nazis will love this series of mugs by the Literary Gift Company:

This one is literally my favourite.


If you go back a post you'll see just how much I love Mary Poppins. You won't be surprised that I really want both of these prints:

L: Chimney Sweep Silhouette by The Happy Thought Shop. R: Mary Poppins linocut by Blackberry Press

They're from different sellers and so they don't match exactly but I think they make a lovely pair anyway.



Having a part-time horse has reintroduced me to the joys of muddy fields and massive farmyard puddles. My Joules wellies are holding up ok so far but I would really like a fleece lined pair to keep my tootsies properly warm over the winter.

I found this brilliant pair of wellies on Amazon of all places and they're now top of my list. Green! Polka dots! Fleece lined! Wide calf! Perfect!


I love my Elizabeth I ring from Cheap Frills and I'm an equally big admirer of Anne Boleyn.

So this necklace needs to be mine, right?



I can't afford much in the way of new clothes at the moment so I've been trying to avoid the shops. Being Twitter pals with some dedicated shopaholics makes that difficult though!

I'm doing my best but I can't stop hankering after this ASOS stained glass print frock. Beautiful!


Books are always welcome. My Amazon wishlist is flipping enormous but these six are hovering near the top.

Top (L-R)Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop by Jenny Colgan, The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey and The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
Bottom (L-R)The Wells Bequest by Polly Shulman (the first in this series was ace), The Exiles Return by Elizabeth de Waal and Terra by Mitch Benn.


Finally, as I wouldn't be me if I weren't lusting after something from Irregular Choice...

I was very sad when the Long Lashes boots proved to be a no-no for me. The matching bag has always been a temptation.

And I've managed to track down not one but two varieties of Flick Flack that I like. I thought it was impossible!

Shiny red

Tweedy red

Swap Time

I signed up ages ago for the Jubilee swap organised by Lakota at Faith, Hope and Charity Shopping - her themed swaps are always great fun so keep your eyes peeled for the next one.  I was very pleased to be paired up with lovely Lucy from Lucy in the Clouds.  I don't think that Lucy will mind me saying that we were both very last minute on this one, despite the amount of notice that we had! The deadline was 7th July and both parcels have just arrived so we barely scraped in.  You'll have to ask Lucy what she thought of the parcel I sent her (I hope she liked it, even if I did totally run out of inspiration in the handmade category) but I can quite safely say I loved what she sent me.

It started off with this fab card:

And then there were lots of excitingly wrapped presents with intriguing labels:

Firstly, beautiful vintage fabric bunting.

And wonderful book themed writing paper.

Cor blimey, this is the most fantastic find!  A proper 1953 Coronation biscuit tin.  I shall keep treasures in it.

A gorgeous green brooch.

Eep - she knows me well.  Cats and books are two of my absolute favourite things.

Thank you so much, Lucy. You are amazing at picking and making presents!

The Most Apt Gift. Ever.

I got an unexpected envelope in the post today. Officially one of my favourite things ever, unless it contains bills, but this didn't, hurrah! It bore the legend of Kandipandi on the back so I knew that something amazing would be inside. Oh I was not disappointed. It contained this:


I laughed so hard when I opened it that I nearly fell off the sofa.

Lisa, I love you. And you really don't need to worry about it offending me. I am, after all, the proud owner of a similarly themed mug and eyemask:


(I am friendly, honest! Quite fond of the F word though.)

The bookmark is the first thing on my packing list for my trip to Edinburgh in a couple of weeks. If anyone on the coach annoys me I shall flourish it at them and give them The Glare. No-one comes between me and my reading.

Let's Talk Books

I'm pleased to report that the March book buying ban went very well. I did read a lot of books over the past month or so, especially when I was on holiday, yet somehow the to-read pile hasn't gone down at all. If anything, it's bigger!

Before

After

I'm blaming this slightly on the fact that I'm suffering from a common complaint. Despite having all those books next to my bed, I can often be found wailing "I've got nothing to reeeeeaaaaadddd!" The local library comes in handy when this mood strikes me but bless them, they don't have the greatest selection in the world. Or perhaps I'm losing my ability to pick out the good ones?

The last armload I took out was a truly mixed lot. It contained Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and William Walker's First Year of Marriage by Matt Rudd and they are two of the worst books I've ever read. What was Audrey Nifenegger thinking with this one? I won't even bother reviewing it because it will make me want to set the book on fire. Just look at some of the things people have written on Amazon and ignore the 5 star reviews because they were clearly written by lunatics. The plot is frankly ridiculous. I can't believe it got through the whole editing and publishing process without someone pointing out that it made No Sense. As for the other one, well I honestly don't know how he ever got a book deal. I'm sure he's a competent enough writer (it is his day job after all) but the characterisation is horrendous and the viewpoint of the title character was really quite nauseating. I felt thoroughly depressed after it and it was meant to be funny. Doom.

However, in the same batch were The Importance Of Being Seven by Alexander McCall Smith (oh Bertie, what a joy you are), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Six Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Unforgotten Coat by Frank Cottrell Boyce, all of which were really rather good. The latter in particular is absolutely wonderful. It's not on general release yet - this copy was available as part of World Book Week as the author is from Liverpool and does lots of work with local libraries. His books often bring a little tear to my eye but they also really make me chortle.

Also worthy of a mention was a recent holiday read, Nemesis by Lindsey Davis. It's the latest (20th) in a series of detective novels set in Ancient Rome and the surrounding Empire, so I wouldn't recommend you start with this one if you haven't read any of them before. Grab yourself a copy of The Silver Pigs and start there. Oh they're brilliant - she creates such a sense of time and place and they're so interesting and funny. Not to mention the food descriptions - yum! Don't be put off by the historical setting either. I always think that they've got a very modern air to them and they're not difficult reads.

If you do follow my recommendation then I envy you, I really do. I would love to discover Falco again for the first time - he's one of my very favourite literary characters. This book is quite noticeably darker than some of the other recent books from the series but that's not a bad thing.

The to-read pile won't be going down any time soon either. My recent birthday has meant that I now have another 24 books to add to it:

I've been watching lots of sci-fi films recently so am muchly looking forward to reading the Philip K. Dick stories. And I don't think I've ever mentioned it on here but I do love wrestling, so the Chris Jericho book is bound to be v. entertaining.

You can always count on Lee to buy brilliant presents. Aren't these two sets lovely? I really like the clashing covers on the Penguin set but the cover designs on the Harper ones are just beautiful.

These are going to be so useful. The sewing book is amazing; absolutely packed with hints and tutorials.

I think I should probably just give up on further efforts to reduce the pile and embrace the fact that my bedside table is entirely made up of books. Does anyone have any recommendations for me?

The Week Of Doom is OVER!

Morning everyone!! Am I disgustingly cheerful for early on a Saturday morning? Probably! I am caffeined up, on a train and celebrating the end of the week of doom by going down to London for the day to see this:

And I'm wearing this. Not the smartest ensemble in the world but I've had no time to do any washing or ironing so the choice in my wardrobe isn't as good as usual!

Tshirt - bought at Thursday's gig (which was AMAZING)

Skirt - Warehouse, ancient

Boots - Gap sale

Cardi - Hawkhead

Yesterday's Frock Friday outfit deserves a quick mention too:

Dress - Primark
Shoes - New Look

I had to rope in my mum to help alter this frock. It came with the oddest shoulder puff things that I was not at all keen on and as I don't trust myself to do anything more complicated than hemming and button swapping when it comes to alterations, help was needed. Typical Primark sizing issue as well - it's a size 12 but there's so much extra fabric in it that I had to hold it at the back a bit in these photos. Doesn't look so shapeless in real life but for some reason it photographs as very baggy. Perhaps I'll pass it back to her to get the side seams taken in a bit.

Thank you for all your lovely comments over the past couple of weeks and for putting up with my moaning. New followers, I'm not usually this mardy! I'm pleased to report that I've had a super productive week and am feeling much happier about life now. I've also been hugely cheered along by the wonderful parcels that have arrived from some lovely blogging pals. Isn't it funny how getting an unexpected package in the post can entirely brighten up your day?

Helga sent me this lovely parcel - very unexpected and a bit spooky as it turned up on the morning that we found out she and G were safe! I can't wait to get started on the books. I always think it's fascinating and perhaps a tad scary to read books that others have recommended - what if I don't like them? I'm confident with these two though as the blurbs on the back sound so interesting and I trust Helga's taste.

(Expect more book chat in March. Oh and hats. I haven't forgotten about the Hat Challenge.)

Vix, being all the all round wonderful woman that she is, sent me this fab vintage Windsmoor frock and a fun book that I've been dipping in and out of. I'm going to be very brave and attempt hacking several inches off the bottom of the frock as it's rather long on me. I shall report back on my progress.

Then I came home from work yesterday to this beautifully wrapped parcel of gorgeous giveaway goodies that I won in Lucy's recent giveaway. Blog karma is definitely going around - she won a prize in mine! Thank you Lucy - it's all so lovely and your wrapping skills put my shoddy bundle-everything-into-a-jiffy-bag attempts to shame!