Tag: Uncategorized

Gloom is a good descriptive word I think, and very apt for this mornings news from Reuters that Border’s UK are in administration. Over at The Bookseller employee’s of Borders were commenting that they hadn’t been told anything by their management and now Reuters have issued a follow up statement saying that Borders is “mulling administration” but is not yet “in” administration. Sigh.

How awful for all the employees.

And for all bookshops.

Love your bookshops people, support them, don’t just do that easy, online clicky thing!

Blake Butler’s writing competition.

I have been so, so spoilt today. My boys woke me up way too early because they were excited about all the treats they had in store for me. We went to Arundel which is only a 15 minute drive away but always makes me feel like I’m on holiday. We had lunch and went shopping for goodies, then returned home via the beach. I am in total show off mode, forgive me please.

Does anyone know of a good quality litzine run by women, publishing men and women? (but mainly women) A litzine where the editors are super cool, the kind of people you’d like to go for drink with? Where people return to the site loyally, knowing that the stories published will be of a high standard?

Serious question.

Edit: Of course Cella’s Round Trip and Pulp.Net are both off the scale cool, but I know about them!

It’s delightful to discover that the winner of the Bridport Prize 2008 is a writer whose work I am familiar with, whose stories I have long admired; Elaine Chiew has won with a story called “Face”, and I am looking forward to reading it. She is a calm, assured, thoughtful writer, and really, her win makes me feel so happy. Her victory says to me that it’s all about the words and craft. Whoooo hooooo Elaine!

I was shocked to read today that 2 women are killed each week in the UK by their partner, or ex partner. TWO A WEEK!

Every minute in the UK the police receive a call for assistance for domestic violence. EVERY MINUTE! This despite the fact that less than half of all incidents remain unreported.

For help, advice, and details on what can be done, please go to Women’s Aid

Book of the year
Miranda July ‘ No One Belongs Here More Than You’
I am a little surprised that this is my book of the year but it undoubtedly is. It is a collection that has stayed with me, the characters and voice resonating long after. I believe one of my initial criticisms was that the voice of the characters was always the same voice, but now I think of it as being so strong that I’m not sure it matters.

Film of the year
Miranda July ‘Me and You and Everyone We Know’
So, I was inspired by her short stories to look out her film, and it’s a good’un! The voice is the same as that of her stories, and yeah, for sure, it’s a quirky film, but brilliant too. Where July succeeds so well is in showing what is beneath the surface of people. She highlights the odd, the askew, the searching and yearning of folk. The film is romantic, but peppered with disturbing comedy. And who is the star of the film? Why, it’s none other than July herself. She is an artist/writer/director of undoubted talent. And she’s beautiful too. Sigh.

Most tediously hyped book of the year
Ian McEwan ‘On Chesil Beach’
I am sooooooooo sick of selling this book. It has been in every promotion, every display, every magazine, every window, on every table, in every paper. Yes, Ian McEwan has a book out, some other people do too, not that you’d know, what with all the fucking piles of Chesil Beach everywhere. Enough already!

Sleb of the year
In the heat/perez world of sleb only one has stood out like a shiny beacon of loveliness, and I have fallen a little in love with her, so it gives me great pleasure to name Alesha Dixon my sleb of the year. She was inspirational on Strictly as she played out her Cinderella will go the ball story. She looked gorgeous, danced amazingly, bounced and screamed and wiggled and smiled. She exuded positivity and the ethos of hard work and integrity. Viewers all over the country delighted at the thought of love rat Harvey weeping into his hands as he saw what he had lost.

TV of the year
For froth you couldn’t beat Strictly come dancing. And I’m not ashamed to admit shedding a tear or two of joy at the final! But televisual event of the year has to be the Sopranos finale. I’m still wondering what the fade to black was! It was a superb ending to an intelligent show blessed with the most fantastic cast.

Game of the year
Has to be Scrabulous on Facebook. Thanks to the makers for updating Scrabble and bringing the joy back without any of the tedious sitting and waiting for an opponent to make a move.


Once more with feeling…

Happy new year

x

I am soooo busting with happiness!

I am on the shortlist of the National book Tokens 75th anniversary Not yet Published competition!

Me!

Whooooooo and hooooooo.

The bookseller

So they added an h to my name and made me a Sarah, I don’t mind, I am thrilled!

Gosh.

I’m not online much due to a mix of computer issues and ongoing health problems.
Bleurgh.
I think I have decided to buy a MacBook very soon though, and I will try to stick to this decision as I have wasted way too much time debating the pc vs Mac thang with myself and anyone who I can make join in. The upshot seems to be that Mac users become evangelical about the intuitive joys of Mac, and PC users think Maccers are suckers for buying into image. Today in despair I turned to my mum for advice (this is not something I do lightly) and she pointed out that I’d just sulk if I didn’t get a Mac so i’d best just get on with it!

I saw an elderly man in falling down trousers in his front garden using a make shift catapault and aiming stones at his roof where a seagull and her babies are nesting. It seemed all kinds of wrong.

Boob pencil (link over there on the right) sometimes transcribes pages of her 1985 diary and posts them on her blog. This struck me as funny and interesting, then I noticed that she had put up a photo of her diary, and I recognised it as being the same style Adrian Mole 1985 diary that I kept back in the day. Ha! Anyhow, I was looking for an old note book the other day and whilst rummaging through the box of old journals and pads found mine. I told Clare that we could swap a day, and she said, yeah, go on, 15th April. Now that I have read my entry for that day I see that not only is boob pencil funny and interesting, she also is very brave, as it takes some sass to expose the truth of one’s teen self. I have decided to transcribe exactly the words I wrote for that day, despite my desire to censor myself. So, here’s mine;

“I finally cried myself to sleep last night and woke up clutching Floppy and peering out of the puffiest eyes I’ve ever seen. It was about 10.30 a.m before Matthew arrived, and just as he got here mum had a go at dad about the way he treated me last night, it didn’t exactly help, it merely made him more resentful towards me. Me and Matthew went into town and I bought “Do what you do” by Jermaine Jackson cos the words remind me of me n’ Si and make me cry, oh wow, heavy meaningful lyrics eh? We came back here, went round to his aunts and then back here once more. In the evening I went down the pub to meet Debesh and RAB minus Joe turned up. I talked to Lisa and told her about Simon, had a quick chat with Duncan/Adam/Jim and then returned to my sulk about Simon. In the end I went and sat with Mark who listened to me winge on and on about Si and how much I cared about him. He kept telling me that I was really attractive thus returning a little of my dwindling self confidence to me. I could get off with him quite easily you know. Simon, please want me.”

Aaaaarrrrggggh! The shame.
Incidentally, Simon is now my husband, so it all worked out OK, phew eh?