I’m not doing the book review thing anymore, I lost track. When I added it up, I realised that I read at least 3 books a week (fast reader + a lot of time on trains), so that’s over 150 book reviews in a year. Writing that many book reviews doesn’t really appeal, so I’ll just mention any books that piqued my interest. Recently I’ve been reading the New York Trilogy by Paul Auster, the sort of thing I like a lot and wondered why I hadn’t got round to reading it before. I think it’s what they were going for in I Heart Huckabees and failed to do. I hate that film. (But I love people messing around with the form of detective stories). I’ve also been re-reading all my Diana Wynne Jones books, for obvious reasons.
I’ve been doing a spot of temping at the Natural History Museum over the Easter Break. Ticket desk, lost property desk, that kind of thing. The pay is low, but the museum itself is one of my favourite places, and the experience is all good. With my staff pass I also get free entry to all the chargeable exhibitions in London (museums here are free entry, but charge for special temporary exhibitions). I’ve already been to the Aesthetic Movement and Yohji Yamamoto exhibitions at the V&A. I was particularly inspired by the textiles and art books in the Aestheticism exhibition. I’ve got plans to go to the Miro expo at the Tate Modern and any other thing I see that interests me.
I bought some shoes for work/fun. Exciting stuff. For some reason I always think “Can I climb a tree in these?” any time I’m buying shoes, which tends to rule out glamour. I’m not sure why, I don’t do any tree climbing these days, I suppose it’s nice to have the option.
I did a boot fair with my mum too. Got rid of some junk. Lots of old 80s computers from the cupboard under the stairs and old a-level revision books.
I’ve been eating a lot of cakes as usual. Whenever I’ve been in London I’ve often been getting cakes from the Hummingbird Bakery. Surprisingly cheap. Unsurprisingly delicious. Here’s a red velvet and vanilla one.
Here’s a message from your natural overlord (Mitzi Fatbum): Tickle my belly