Book shadows

 

How Should One Read a Book by Virginia Woolf (and also Windsong Summer by Patricia Cecil Hass)

I wrote recently about how I was rediscovering old favourite books recently and it was a weird feeling when I read Sheila Heti's introduction to Woolf's essay around the same time.

Heti is talking about the 'shadow-shape' of books that we read and the lines that stood out were:

"A book is a watery sculpture that lives on in the mind once the reading is done. When I think back on the books I have loved, I rarely remember the names of characters, the plot, or most of the scenes. It is not even the tone or mood I remember, but some residue remains - and that unlikely word is appropriate here - of unique shape.

Sometimes the shape of an entire book will be compacted into the memory of a single scene: something simple - a room that was conjured in the mind, in which two characters sat, speaking." (p7)

Heti and then Woolf go on to talk about how to read and evaluate books but it was this initial sentiment that struck and then stayed with me.

Windsong Summer was another book I remember buying from the school book sale. Even though 30+ years have gone since I last read the book it definitely left a shadow shape with me. I remembered that it was set in the summer in a tropical location, that boats were involved and that there was a hurricane but very little else. Except that at some point in the book they eat chowder...

I had no idea what chowder was as a child but I know that as soon as I saw it on the menu on a trip to San Francisco a few years ago I had to try it and that it instantly took me back to this book. 

That feeling passed but earlier this year (before lockdowns and travel bans) Mr Norfolkbookworm and I were in the Florida Keys I instantly started thinking about this book again...the seas were the colour I imagined as a child and we even saw some yachts that had been damaged in past hurricanes.

I have now read the book, and I quite enjoyed it. Again it was an experience where I felt like I was reading a new book and at the same time reading a book I knew word for word... as an adult I can see more flaws in the book and I can see why it hasn't made it as a modern classic but I'm not going to focus on them as right now we all need nice things and I am going to take myself back to a world of clear blue seas, warm weather and summer adventures!

Many thanks to Net Galley for the advance copy of How One Should Read a Book.

Micro Review 5

One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake

Despite having over flowing bookshelves and a Kindle full of unread books I still found myself with nothing to read a few weeks ago and so started to browse the Library ebook shelves again. I think that the impossibility of travel and the boredom that is meal planning drew me to this book.

Cloake sets off by bike to spend a few weeks cycling around France trying the various local specialties of the regions and also trying to find the best croissant in France.

I don't hugely enjoy cycling, and there are certain foods even I'd never try (andouille sausage I'm looking at you here) but Cloake's enthusiasm is infectious and I now have a list of places as long as my arm that I'd like to visit.

I also liked that often Cloake gets fed up with the weather, camping and cycling and so checks into hotels and uses trains to get from place to place. This made 90% of her trip sound fun rather than a punishment. For me this was ideal lockdown escapism and encouraged me to open some of my recipe books and try some new dishes.

Tea for four...

Bucket lists were all the rage a little while back and while my mum, aunt and I don't exactly have a full bucket list we've decided to do the things we want rather than keep putting them off.  As another relative said to me - you don't regret the things you've done, only the things you don't do...

With all of this in mind the three of us and a friend met in London on Thursday last week with the sole intention of being entirely ridiculous and having champagne afternoon tea at the Savoy Hotel.  To mark the importance of the occasion I even wore a dress!

From the instant we stepped from the Strand into the side street that the Savoy occupies we felt special, not at all out of place or patronised simply special.

We had a large table in the corner of the beautiful art deco Thames Foyer and two very attentive and knowledgeable staff looking after us.
The food was delicious - sandwiches that were nothing like I put in our lunchboxes on a daily basis, light scones, jam, cream and lemon curd.  There were two champagnes to chose from and 32 teas...

Trays of petits fours were offered, tea cups refilled and tea pots replaced with fresh.  The only slight disappointment was the cakes offered at the very end weren't quite as nice as the petits fours. Should we go again (or if any of my readers go) we'd pass on the last course and ask for more of the petits fours!

The live piano music was of a very high standard, if a little loud at times, and the service what you'd expect.  The best bit for me (apart from the food and company)? Even at the Savoy they can't get teapots that don't drip.

To bring the blog back around to it's origins again one of my all time favourite authors, Michael Morpurgo, has set a book at the Savoy making it a top literary destination as well as a foodie one.  Kaspar Prince of Cats is a really sweet tale and well worth searching out!

I'm not sure that I'd go to the Savoy for tea again but it would be very easy to get used to that level of luxury...are you listening Mr Norfolkbookworm?!