Miranda Hart- Is It Just Me?

Miranda is a British comedy star whose work I have never seen. I need to remedy this, becasue the book was outright funny. We have several things in common- like me, she's over 6ft tall, still single after 35, and constantly feeling awkward. Unlike me, she gets paid big money to be herself. The book is a look at her views on various aspects of everyday life, complete with personal anecdotes and a running debate with her 18 year old self. Quite funny and worth reading if you can snag a copy.

Simon's Cat Vs The World

I love Simon's Cat! This collection hasn't been released in the US yet- I had to order mine from a British seller on Amazon, but it was worth it. It's a slim volume compared to the other 3 books, but it's a hardback AND it's in color. I was surprised at how much depth the coloring added to the drawings. most drawings are 1 page each and show the titular cat taking on various things/days/what have you. Appearances are made by his new kitten pal, the hedgehogs, and many more.

Celebrate- Pippa Middleton

Bwahahahahahahahahahaha! She got paid HOW MUCH for this?!? At least she admits in the forward that people mainly know who she is because of her sister,  her brother-in-law, and her butt.

Ok, let me find something positive to say: The pictures are pretty.

The Casual Vacancy- J K Rowling

I can sum this book up in one word: Blech. Rowling succeeded at one thing- this book is nothing like her Harry Potter series. I didn't expect it to be and was quite hopeful when I heard it described as dark humor. There was plenty of darkness, but very little humor.

 The premise is that a man drops dead unexpectedly and leaves a vacancy on his town council. The surviving councillors are engaged in a war for supremacy for their group's views while trying to get a replacement. The story focuses on their internal warfare and the crumbling relationships with their children, class war, and how people cope with loss.

There wasn't a single likeable character in the book. Not even the teenagers were tolerable. I was slightly amused at them taking metaphorical potshots at the adults around them, but overall, this thing left me cold. One character is vaguely interesting- the sterotypical bad girl who has a horrible family life but is recognized by an adult as a diamond in the rough. The problem is that the adult in this case drops dead at the beginning of the book, nobody else cares enough about this girl to try to keep her going, and she winds up committing suicide at the end.

I'd like to thank J K Rowling for one thing. It's said that all fiction has a base in fact. If life in a British village is that dismal, with politics that pervasive, I am changing my future retirement plans to live in a flat in London!

Wicked Wager- Anya Wylde

This was a hoot! Emma has snared the one of the most eligible rakes in England, only her uncle the Duke isn't so sure he approves of the match. He orders Emma to come to his country estate and think things over. Richard, Em's betrothed, decides to come along disguised as a gardener, and if she can't persuade the Duke to let them marry, plans to compromise so that he HAS to allow the marriage. Things get tricky when the Duke (who is sharper than they think) decides to invite the prospective bridegroom to the estate and Richard enlists a friend to pose as him. The friend keeps forgetting who he is supposed to be in love with and winds up falling for Emma's cousin, who is conflicted about everything at this point. Add in an impromptu house party, blackmail, and a murder, and you have quite the entertaining read! I'm looking forward to Anya's next book, which I believe is due out later this year...




Note: I recieved a free e-copy of this book from the author for my honest review.

The British: An Awfully Useful Guide- Toby Hill

A short, but cutely illustrated guide to some of the things that make the British what they are. It takes about 10 minutes to read through.

God Save The Queen- Kate Locke

God Save the Queen, and lord help everybody else. This was a thumping good mashup of alternative history with a dollop of steampunk and a lot of supernaturals. Xandy, the heroine, is a half-vampire daughter of a vampire aristocrat, and a member of the Royal Guard serving the undead Queen Victoria. She's just been told by the Goblin Prince that her younger sister has been committed to Bedlam. Her other siblings relctantly confess that they knew, and as they plan to go visit, they're told that their sister has committed suicide in her cell. Xandy refuses to believe it and digs into the circumstances. What she finds shakes her world to the core.

Did I mention that her mentor/would-be lover is Churchill? Yes, THAT Churchill, only he's a vampire. And the Scottish Alpha werewolf (who has a mutual hate on with Church) has taken to courting her? And the goblins are fascinated with her, for reasons that only become clear at the end of the story? Heh.

Fans of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series will probably enjoy this one as well. It's a bit grittier, but still a good read. Can't wait for the remainder of the trilogy to come out!

A Surrey State of Affairs- Ceri Radford

I liked this one. Mind you, it was slightly predictable, but it was a fun light read. Especially for those of us with a fondness for British chick lit.

Constance is a middle aged woman whose life revolves around her family and her bell-ringing society and the blog where she records the goings on. She battles with her Lithuanian housekeeper, and makes several attempts at match-making for her children and acquaintances with spectacularly bad results. She doesn't understand her son at all, and her daughter drives her to the brink of despair by joining the cast of an awful reality show before running off with her husband's best friend.

The affair with the father's friend sends Constance's life into a major tailspin. Her husband becomes the target of a police investigation, admits to an affair, and they separate for a time while on a South American vacation. Constance throws caution to the wind and has the adventure of a lifetime traveling by herself for a time, and there is an ultimately happy ending.

Confessions of a Cake Addict- Emma Kaufmann

From Amazon:
The story unfolds in a series of letters and emails between overweight, insecure Gherkin (Kate) who lives in London, is tortured by her boss The Haddock at the advertising agency she works at and whos life has generally hit the skids since she split up with her long term boyfriend and has started dating a string of losers. Whenever things go wrong she muffles her feelings with cake.


Her sister Egg (Laurie) lives a perfect life in Sydney, Australia, is happily married and has two perfect, high achieving kids. However, the kids do leave her frazzled so she enjoys dipping into Kate's messy life and living vicariously through her romantic disasters but can't resist giving her dollops of sisterly advice. Laurie pulls no punches when commenting on Kate's bad life choices and echoes the reader's sentiments that zany, kooky Kate really needs to get a life. Laurie is a refreshing burst of reality, cutting through Kate's delusions and encouraging her to lose weight and go for it with Count Alex von Pappenberg when she's scared to be vulnerable.

Alex von Pappenberg, is a handsome but sensitive Austrian Count who is similarly disillusioned with life and love as Kate and lying low in the Austrian sticks in his Schloss. Like Kate he is stuck in life - his once successful vineyard has gone bankrupt and he's too unmotivated to start it up again. When Kate arrives at his Schloss as part of the entourage making a Bollywood movie Alex is determined to win her love but scared to make a move himself. Readers will enjoy seeing two insecure people grow to the point where they can take a chance on finding love again and facing the challenges of the future together!


This was a fun read that I lucked into as a freebie on Amazon. Poor Kate spends most of the book being pushed into the background while her glam friend Eva gets all the guys and her evil boss makes her miserable at every opportunity. A trip to Austria has them meet someone professing to be a Count, who Eva embarks on a fling with. Returning home, the Count writes to a less-interested Eva and she had Kate write back to him. The problem is, Kate finds herself falling for the bemused man she's corresponding with and isn't sure what to do when they make a return trip to Austria. Neither is he, as it turns out, because he is NOT the man they met the first time, but he is interested in Kate.

Sugar & Spice- Jules Stanbridge

From Amazon: When Maddy loses her high-paying city job, her instant reaction is blind panic. But after the 'drowning her sorrows' hangover has cleared, she realises that this is an opportunity to change her life and do what she loves best: baking cakes. And so she sets up her own cake company, embracing the highs and lows of getting a new business off the ground, while looking for love along the way.



 
This was a light read, very British, and seriously chick-lit. I'm a sucker for anything involving baking (despite the fact that I *WAS* a baker and hated every minute of it) and loved the fact that Maddy associated the various people she met with different cakes. There's romance, sorrow, misunderstandings, and an ending that isn't excatly a happily ever after, but is still satisfying.
 
The biggest problem I had with this book is the craving for a Victoria Sponge Cake that it left me with!

The High Street- Alice Melvin

This little gem has a very British feel. Sally has a list of 10 things she needs to buy. She explores the shops on High Street while she searches for her items. Each shop has a lift-the-flap page that gives the reader a view of the shop's contents, and the list is repeated as Sally locates each object.  Does she find everything? You'll have to find out for yourself.

Department Stores- Claire Masset

One of my favorite British TV shows is Are You Being Served?  I get a kick out of the staff of Grace Brothers Department Store, and the glimpses of shop life in the Seventies. Alas, real life retail isn't quite as entertaining- I speak from experience. However, having discovered the delightful Shire Library series, I had to read this volume on the genesis of department stores and their role in British culture. I never knew that the staff were once required to live in segregated dorms on the upper floors of the stores. Or that the shops were considered prime targets for bombing in war-time. I sort of knew that the modern department store had its roots in individual merchant shops, but I never thought about how they came to be as inclusive as they are today. Not only is there a wealth of historical information packed into this brief book, there are pictures of  the advertisements used to entice customers to patronize them. Quite a fun read!

Chocolate: The British Chocolate Industry (Shire Library)

After Gail Carriger recommended the tea book reviewed a few weeks prior to this, I searched out some of the other books in the Shire Library Series. How could I resist a book about the history of the chocolate industry in Great Britain? It's a very brief, but informative little book. I had no idea that the Kit Kat bar orignated in England! I just assumed it was an American invention. That tidbit, and many more are included. There are loads of pictures of early advertisements, a brief look at modern chocolatiers in the UK, and a list of references for anyone wanting to know more about chocolate and its history. My only problem with this book? I'm out of chocolate and REALLY want some now!

The Party Blonde and Other Social Stereotypes from the "Telegraph Magazine" by Victoria Mather, Sue Macartney-Snape

This was a fun, snarky look at some of the stereotypes you may encounter in British society. The thing is, you'll encounter them here in the States too! This book is just one in a series, and I look forward to reading the rest.

Love Letters- Katie Fforde

This was a charming read. Laura, the heroine, is about to lose her job at a British indie bookstore when it goes out of business. During one of the final book signings her store is hosting, she impresses the author's agent so much that she's invited to run a literary festival. Due to a miscommunication during a planning meeting for the festival, Laura has to travel to Ireland to plead with reclusive author Declan to make an appearance. He says he'll do it, but only if she sleeps with him....and then the fun really starts! Don't worry, Declan doesn't turn out to be the pig that comment makes him sound like, but I'm not telling what happens next.

Take A Chance On Me- Jill Mansell

This was another fun mind candy read. Cleo and Abbie are sisters in a small village- Cleo is perpetually single, has finally settled in a career as a driver for hire, and recently discovered that her current boyfriend is a married rat with kids. Oh, and her childhood nemesis, Johnny, has returned to the village after the death of his father and seems intent on worming his way into her life. Abbie has been wondering why her husband seems so preoccpied lately, discovers the secret he's been keeping from her, and completely falls apart while trying valiantly to keep it together. Add in Ash, the DJ next door, Fia (the rat boyfriend's soon-to-be-ex-wife) and a whole host of other issues, and you get an entertaining, if slightly predictable, story.

Speak the Culture: Britain: Be Fluent in British Life and Culture

I really enjoyed this volume. It's not meant to be read straight through- best to read a chapter or two at a time and digest the information. (ok, I read fast) A quick look at different aspects of British culture ranging from the basic history of the nation to literature, fashion, and more, you get a solid foundation from which you can seek out more knowledge as you desire. Some of the margin notes are hysterical. The author had/has a good sense of humor.

India Knight- The Shops

As you may have surmised, I am a total Anglophile. I love books about Britain, set in Britain, and British authors. I also have a lesser known fondness for shopping (when in the right mood) and pampering/amusing myself. For some reason, reading about how other people do this is equally fascinating to me. India Knight was kind enough to fill a book with her personal choices for the best of many shopping moods, telling you where to shop and what she recommends you buy. As she states, everyone has different tastes, so you may have different tastes, but she's given me enough ideas that I can't wait for my next trip to England. Not only am I going book shopping, I'm going to look for a few of India's suggestions! (BTW- she does also give websites for those who are interested. I'm probably gonig to be checking a few of those out too!)

Very Best of British

From Amazon:
A fun look at the differences between British and American English. Written by the British bloke who moved to Tossa Lane, Austin, Texas. This humourous and informative book is a must for anyone who wants to speak British!! Illustrated throughout with 22 original cartoons, this book contains over 1000 words and expressions you thought meant the same on both sides of the Atlantic!

My view:

The cartoons are cute, and some of the definitions are amusing. However, I own so many other books like this that were done better, that this was a bit of a let down. Books like Brit-Think, Ameri-Think: A Transatlantic Survival Guide, Revised Edition by Jane Walmsley are more my type. Not bad though if you just want a very basic dictionary of British terms.

Hopeless Romantic

More Brit-lit! Girl constantly falls for wrong guy, girl totally screws up her life in the process, girl winds up falling for another guy and tries not to becasue she's learned to fear the consequences. However, love wins out in the end and it's presumed that they live happily ever after.


That's prety much a nutshell description, and may not sound like I enjoyed the book, but I actually did. The heroine's relationships with her friends and family reminded me a bit of my own life (including the horror of traveling on vacation with her parents)although I do hope that I'm not quite THAT silly about men. Reading this book was a nice way to spend an evening, especially accompanied by a cup of tea and a few hobnobs.