(I found this post in my Draft folder. It’s a bit out of date – I think I’ve read another ten books since these ones!)
I seem to have been on a bit of a roll in the last few weeks and have managed to finish quite a few books.
I’ve been twice to the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall (near St Austell) and think they are fantastic – lots to see and lovely walks. The story of how they were ‘found’ after being lost and restored/reclaimed is fascinating. Although the book is interesting, I think you have to have visited to gardens to really appreciate it.
Giles Coren is known, chiefly, as the restaurant critic for The Times, but this is a collection of short articles about things which make him angry. He writes in a very humourous way and gets angry about all sorts of things – dogs, skiing, footballers, Formula One Racing, wheelie luggage…
Rosie Millard was on TV talking about the trip which this book chronicles. It sounded great – take several children half way round the world visiting French Territories – so I ordered it. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I found it a bit disappointing. Perhaps there was too much detail of the history and geography of their trip and not so much about the family in general. It was an interesting read, but not one of my favourites.
Framed is a children’s book, but I really enjoyed it. I started reading it to my class but we didn’t get it finished, so I finished it during the summer break. It’s an excellent story about a young boy who lives in a small Welsh village where his family runs the local petrol station. Mysterious convoys of trucks start arriving and driving up the mountains. The book gives an interesting spin on the true story of the paintings from the National Gallery in London being stored in mountain caves for safety during the Second World War. I thoroughly recommend this one.
