Shopaholic abroad (by Sophie Kinsella)

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I reread Sophie Kinsella’s classic ‘Secret dreamworld of a shopaholic’ last month, and was slightly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I came late to ‘chick-lit’, and generally don’t like this kind of book. But the writing is excellent, there’s some humour, there’s nothing explicit, and the heroine is oddly likeable.

So in the last couple of days I have re-read the second in the series, ‘Shopaholic abroad’, which I first read at the end of 2010. I remembered that Becky would be travelling to the United States with her boyfriend Luke, but nothing else about it. I knew it would be light reading, but didn’t expect to finish it quite so quickly. It’s compulsive somehow, despite the fact that I did find Becky increasingly frustrating as the book progressed.

At the start of the previous book, Becky paid her debts and determined a budget, and promised her friend Suze that she would not go shopping without discussing her potential purchases. But Becky really does seem to be addicted to shopping, with little idea of how her purchases are adding up. It’s ironic that she has worked for financial advice magazines, and is currently employed by a TV station, answering finance-related questions. She likes the personal touch most, and getting behind the questions to find out what the questioner really wants… but she’s also good at trotting out really very good advice, even though she doesn’t take it herself.

Jesus: safe, tender, extreme (by Adrian Plass)

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I regularly read my collection of books by the British Christian writer Adrian Plass. I love his fiction, particularly the humorous ‘diaries’ that made him so well-known in the Christian world. But I also appreciate his non-fiction, more so each time I read a book.

It’s just over ten years since I read ‘Jesus: safe, tender, extreme’ so it was more than time for another reread. I knew that it was going to be interesting, with the author’s personal spin on Jesus, but I hadn’t remembered anything much about the content as such.

The prologue introduces us to Adrian Plass’s mother-in-law who was living in their dining room as he started the book. She had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and wanted to die at home with her family. Clearly she was a lovely, radiant woman and an inspiration to much of what follows in the book.

Second form at Malory Towers (by Enid Blyton)

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I re-read the first Malory Towers book in Enid Blyton’s series for teenage girls about a month ago, so in the last 24 hours I’ve re-read the second. Apparently I last read ‘Second form at Malory Towers’ as recently as December 2022 but I haven’t reread the rest of the series for considerably longer. So for the sake of continuity I read this book again - and, despite the relatively short time since I last read it, I had forgotten a lot of the detail.

Unlike many school series, Malory Towers dips into its heroine (Darrell Rivers)’s school career at a rate of just once per year. At the start of this book she’s thirteen, and about to go into the second form. School forms back in the 1940s were much more random than they are now; Darrell’s second form is probably equivalent to today’s Year Eight, or thereabouts. Age was only one criteria for being moved up; academic ability was also taken into account. 

So Darrell and her friend Sally have a new teacher - Miss Parker - as their form mistress, and she’s reputed to be rather stricter than Miss Potts. Sally is made head girl of the year, much to Alicia’s dismay. Alicia is usually top of the class, and has been at the school rather longer than Darrell and Sally. But she has quite a harsh character and doesn’t look kindly on anyone who struggles with school, or who has difficulties of any kind. 

The particular sadness of lemon cake (by Aimee Bender)

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I sometimes browse a local church bookstall, and tend to pick up books that look interesting, or quirky - I don’t mind paying fifty cents for something I might return a few months later. But occasionally I discover a real gem, perhaps an author I had not previously come across. 

I thought, when I started ‘The particular sadness of lemon cake’ by Aimee Bender, that this was going to be one of those serendipitous discoveries. The cover is appealing, the blurb intriguing, the reviews positive. It was evident from the back of the book that it was going to be a tad surreal, but that didn’t worry me.

The book is narrated by a girl called Rose who is nearly nine in the opening chapter. She’s an appealing character, one whom I liked throughout the book. The writing is good, too, with some beautiful phrasing, and descriptions that are not over-long, but quite vivid. Rose has an older brother, the clever, geeky Joseph, and they live with their parents in a residential area in the United States. 

Savannah purchase (by Jane Aiken Hodge)

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As far as I can remember, ‘Savannah purchase’ was the first book I ever read by Jane Aiken Hodge. It was given to me for Christmas when I was about sixteen and a half, and I read it soon afterwards and loved it. I reread it ten years later, but the last time I read it was in 2006. For some reason I had not picked it up again until a few days ago.

The novel is set in the United States 1819, four years after the battle of Waterloo led to the cousins Josephine and Juliet being separated. Their mothers were identical twins, and although they had very different fathers, the two look so alike that they can often be mistaken for twins too. 

We meet Juliet first, living on her own and almost destitute after the death of her father. She lives in a very run-down house by the Savannah River in Georgia. She’s read that Josephine is in the country and has sent her a note, so she’s greatly relieved when her cousin arrives by boat, accompanied by black servants. She brings food, and promises to help… but she wants Juliet to help her too.