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Archive
Behind-The-Books Blog
Articles by Lara
Discovering Columbia Road Market
Monday, March 8th, 2010
I’m a west Londoner but I have to admit to a real love for the east end of town. This past weekend I visited a friend near Brick Lane who took me to perhaps my favourite part of London, Columbia Road Market. It took me a while to get there, arrived quite late at 1pm, [...]
A London Cuppa..
Monday, March 1st, 2010
I’ve recently cut out caffeine and although I never used to drink more than a cup or two a day, I’m really missing my tea! There’s only so much hot water and lemon you can drink and even the fruit teas are beginning to lose their appeal.
So I’m searching for other ways to brighten up [...]
Reading ONE DAY, by David Nicholls
Friday, February 26th, 2010
I was going to merely comment on One Day, by David Nicholls in our Currently we are reading column, but realise I have too much to say about it…
Proof that you should never judge a book by its cover. This one is a garish orange, close-up silhouette of a couple presumably about to kiss. Blegh. [...]
When credit cards just won’t do
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
With the snow showing no sign of letting up, this year is possibly the very best for keen skiers in Europe. However, skiing is a very expensive hobby and there are always those looking to cut corners and save a bit of cash.
Pity this poor guy though who tried to sneak onto a ski lift [...]
Avatar pilates, of course
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
My pilates class takes place on a Monday evening straight after work. Usually, it’s the most I can handle on the first weekday back at work: gentle breathing, relaxing, stretching. I always leave the class feeling refreshed and ready to face the week ahead. Also, the muscles do ache a bit in the following days [...]
The Art of Cover Art
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Every now and again we are contacted by freelancers asking us to keep them on our radar.
Alice Stevenson is one such freelancer and although we rarely do books requiring illustrations like this, I can’t help myself from browsing her website to see the beautiful new things she’s been up to - like her beautiful Barbara [...]
A little gem for cinema-goers
Monday, February 1st, 2010
I’ve been watching more films recently – mostly thanks to my Lovefilm account. But occasionally there’s a film you just have to see on the big screen and this cinema in Notting Hill is my secret love.
The Coronet is an old Victorian theatre, with gorgeous old-school décor in scarlet and gold and feels like a [...]
Do you know your book covers?
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Copies of The Bookseller take a ridiculously long time to circulate in the A&B office (I’m one of the worst culprits – I think I may have a December copy still lurking in my intray somewhere). In the ‘latest’ edition (dated 8th January) that has just crossed my desk, I found a great competition for [...]
Sleep Talkin’ Man
Monday, January 18th, 2010
“I’m baking pillows. Burn them slowly, keeps them fluffy! Mmmmmm, pillows.”
During a dinner with friends on Friday night we somehow got on to the topic of sleeptalking. My friend’s boyfriend insists that she laughs in her sleep, sometimes so much that she wakes herself up. I thought that makes a nice change from the usual [...]
Worms on order
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
One of my friends bought me this book for Christmas and considering the snowy weather keeping us indoors all weekend, I got to reading. We had a fairly successful summer last year of growing a few of our own vegetables and tomatoes – even now some of our herbs seem to be resolutely battling through [...]
The Scrabble Mafia
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
My family are Scrabble nuts. There is nothing we like better than to finish off an evening scheming over the triple word score, agonising over too many i’s or hurling insults at each other for ‘not opening up the board!’ My Ouma is 93 years old this year and she is the Scrabble queen. She [...]
My Xmas Holiday Book List
Monday, December 21st, 2009
It’s that wonderful time of year when, with a holiday on the horizon, I’m planning my reading list with care. If I was famous, and flew by private jet so had no baggage restrictions and had my luggage carted around for me, my bags would be filled to the brim with books. But as it [...]
The lesser-known Christmas traditions…
Monday, December 14th, 2009
When I was younger I had an Italian friend who got a lump of coal on Christmas. I remember being shocked – a lump of coal? But then she started gnawing at the black lump in her hand and I realised my mistake. Her version of Father Christmas (La Befana) was not as mean as [...]
Cold Green Fingers
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
At this time of the year I almost forget I have a garden. In the summer, while the sun still shines, I’ll happily potter about when I get home from work. But in the winter, when it’s pitch black outside and usually raining or freezing cold, it’s not quite as appealing.
I’m also never sure what [...]
Scrooge’s Christmas Guide
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
I saw this gem on a website ostensibly giving Christmas gift ideas for hapless husbands, boyfriends and brothers. Soon to be ex-husbands, ex-boyfriends and ex-siblings.
Apparently Twittering your weight is all the rage at the moment – having your weekly weigh-in broadcast worldwide is the ideal way to keep the winter wobbles at bay. And this [...]
It seems Bill Gates has a strange sense of humour
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Be thankful your boss doesn’t make you do this!
I doubt whether even David Brent would have come up with anything this mortifying! Staff in a Microsoft store have been asked/persuaded/forced/blackmailed (slightly regaining respect as we go on) to take part in this little party trick. In a routine that would make Billy Ray Cyrus proud, [...]
The 4th book?
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Stieg Larsson never had the chance to see his books achieve their phenomenal success. He was the second bestselling author of 2008, beaten only by Khaled Hosseini and according to The Times (this came as a welcome surprise to me) he has now ‘outsold the whole Dan Brown oeuvre in paperback in Britain’.
But would his [...]
Foggy Tuesday (time for a free trip to Paris!)
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
I think we’ve seen the last of the fireworks (a brilliant display nearby our offices last night which we watched out of our skylight) and the end of the mild weather is now official. But before we descend into blueness and think hibernation is our only option, consider this little special which is sure to [...]
Christmas lights in London tonight
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Our offices are just a few minutes walk from Oxford Circus - where they’ll be turning on the Christmas lights tonight with the usual fanfare including street performances. And although I’m dreading the tube journey home (despite the rain there are always thousands of people flocking to these things), I’m secretly a real Christmas nut [...]
Have you found your inner genius?
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
You have to have lived on a different planet the past few years not to have heard about Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling memoir. Recent photos have been in the paper this weekend of Julia Roberts who plays the part of Gilbert in the film of the same name due out next year. Click [...]
Currently we are...
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...reading
Not on the Label: What Really Goes into the Food on your Plate, by Felicity Lawrence Chiara: What are we doing to our food?! A hard book for a foodie like me to read, but an important eye-opener.
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