Poppyshake's Reading Year 2013

[poppyshake]

 

Dear Lupin: Letters to a Wayward Son - Roger and Charlie Mortimer

 

Amazon Synopsis: Nostalgic, witty and filled with characters and situations that people of all ages will recognise, Dear Lupin is the entire correspondence of a Father to his only son, spanning nearly 25 years. Roger Mortimer's sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, always generous letters to his son are packed with anecdotes and sharp observations, with a unique analogy for each and every scrape Charlie Mortimer got himself into. The trials and tribulations of his youth and early adulthood are received by his father with humour, understanding and a touch of resignation, making them the perfect reminder of when letters were common, but always special. A racing journalist himself, Roger Mortimer wrote for a living, yet still wrote more than 150 letters to his son as he left school, and lived in places such as South America, Africa, Weston-super-Mare and eventually London. These letters form a memoir of their relationship, and an affectionate portrait of a time gone by.

 

Review: This was a difficult one for me, on the whole I enjoyed it hugely but some of Roger's language was offensive, not that he swore .. I am a lorry drivers daughter after all but that he occasionally used racist terms which made me feel uncomfortable. It's a shame really but then I can see why they didn't edit, you lose the flavour somewhat if you try and censor letters but all the same I'd be laughing away and then feel ooh .. that's not funny. It made reading it a bit of an unrelaxing experience.

 

If any of you have read Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate or The Pursuit of Love then you will be familiar with Lord Alconleigh or Uncle Matthew as the narrator Fanny calls him and that's the sort of humour we're talking about here ... a tendency to call people hogs and pigswill and the like.

 

Charlie has been a bit of a disappointment. He's dropped out of Eton, the army and just about everything else in life (and herein lies the reason for the title .. again you will have had to have read George & Weedon Grossmith's The Diary of a Nobody to fully understand the reference .. Mr Pooter who is the nobody writing the diary has a rather wayward son called Lupin who continually disappoints .. Charlie is filling that role for Roger.) Roger hardly ever knows what Charlie's doing or where he is. Sometimes the letters are sent to the drinks and drugs rehabilitation centre where Charlie is recovering or the hospital where he undergoes treatment for liver failure, Charlies employment record is sketchy and includes things like car salesman, scrap metal dealer, oil-rig rough neck and pop group manager. None of these jobs last long.

 

The sense of frustration from Roger is clear but the letters are for the most part not hectoring but quite kindly, he manages to write conveying a sense of wanting to kick his son up the a**e and hug him at the same time ... 'I suppose that writing a serious letter to you is about as effective as trying to kick a thirty-ton block of concrete in bedroom slippers but I am a glutton for punishment as far as you're concerned.' Charlie's mother is nicknamed Nidnod and Nidnod always appears (if the news of her is accurate) to be three sheets to the wind .. 'she's v tiresome at present and by 8:30 pm seems to have reached the point of no return'; 'endeavouring to live on a purely liquid diet with unfortunate results'; 'had her noggin in the bucket for a considerable period and was totally unplayable in the evening'.

 

Roger's letters are newsy, and you get quite familiar with the cast of characters he chats about (although Charlie rather helpfully includes a 'dramatis personae' at the front.) He likes to reminisce about old Etonians and people he served in the army with .. he remembers all the bizarre stuff .. 'there was a boy called Peel at Eton with me who went off his onion later and sawed the head off his ever-loving wife. He was very odd when the moon was full.' As he gets older his letters are less frequent but no less amusing .. 'It was very nice seeing you and I hope you will come down again soon, not necessarily in a bread van. I trust your partner has recovered from diarrhoea as apart from the sordid discomfort it is not an easy word to spell' .. 'My inside is giving me hell at present but if I go off to surgery for some soothing medicine I shall be whipped off to hospital, deprived of the last tattered shreds of human dignity, and tubes will be inserted into every orifice that I possess. The biggest mistake I ever made was to come round after passing out when buying cut-price gin in Newbury. I have hardly had a day's health or happiness since.'

 

I was practically in hysterics at some of it, I love crusty old devils railing at the world and he was writing to entertain his son and make him laugh (which was quite generous of him all things considered). His racist terms were very 1970's, I don't think there was any maliciousness behind them but all the same .. I wasn't comfortable reading it. It's not constant thankfully. You don't ever read Charlie's replies although he does add little asides and explanatory notes.

 

3/5

[poppyshake]

Spent some of today reading to Alan. He's been doing battle with a huge autobiography of Van Gogh .. it's about 850 pages long and he's been reading it .. on and off .. for about six months or more (he has read other things during this time .. Alone in Berlin and Mockingbird for instance). He's still only halfway though, he hasn't the time to devote to reading and when he does he inexplicably chooses other leisure activites such as watching films playing guitar :o and surfing the net :o Today he did get five mins to himself and it was cold and awful out and so he lit the fire and I made some tea (no bun life is hard at the moment) and we settled down to read our respective books. A few minutes later he complained of a headache and I said 'well just close your eyes and relax for a bit' and he said 'I will if you read to me'. Hmmm .. I couldn't very well refuse because he'd said he felt unwell and I'd feel mean but then I wanted to read my book not his and what's more I want to read that Van Gogh biography so to pick it up slap bang in the middle is going against all sorts of natural instincts. I did though, it must be the lack of sugar that's making me even tempered because I hardly even muttered or gave out evil sideways glances. I read him the rest of the chapter he was on and then a further two. Goodness it was quite hard, lots of long and foreign words and intricate descriptions. I soldiered on regardless not wanting to admit defeat at any point, I guessed the pronunciation of some of the words .. he won't know and I didn't want him to think that all this reading was for nothing. But Lord! what a man Van Gogh was! I've had a brief insight into this before when Alan read his letters .. he would read bits out incredulously and I had to adjust my ideas. My view of Van Gogh before that had come from a mixture of Don Mclean's song and Vincent's own paintings. I had him down as some sort of tortured, misunderstood, sensitive soul. But the reality is quite a shock.

Anyway, I'm sure it was co-incidental but I seemed to come in for all the bad stuff, he seemed to be obsessed with finding models to pose and there was a thin line between him wanting to paint them and wanting to acquaint himself with them in other ways, only he had a complete lack of takers because he was more than a little bit odd, not to say raving. His teeth fell out and he had all sorts of suppurating sores (we are talking about Vincent now and not Alan .. I just want to clarify that) which were the result of syphilis or some other STD (so obviously some takers at some point .. think that happened before I joined in) and he hasn't even painted any of what we might call his famous paintings yet. He's just about starting to think about colour after being obsessed with using muddy tones like those in The Potato Eaters.

Far worse than any of this was the way he treated his brother Theo who was providing the money. His letters to him are so demanding and downright rude, he calls him names and tells lies about what he's doing with the money. He blames him for his lack of success and yet is totally unable to behave in a proper fashion. He gets chucked out of so many art schools and classes etc because his behaviour is so bizarre. He frightens all the women and so they won't pose for him. He's a total social nightmare actually and the worst possible person you could have as a dependent.

For all that, he is a genius of course. One look at his paintings reconciles me to him immediately and I'm willing to overlook all his bad points because, basically, I didn't have to put up with them. If I had been his brother Theo though, I would have moved house and not sent him a forwarding address. I've always thought it was devastating for Vincent that he only ever sold one painting in his lifetime but I feel even more devastated for Theo .. all things considered.

 

I'm wanting to know what happens now, and so might just offer to read some more (out of the goodness of my heart etc) .. I bet I don't get the chance again and he'll take another six months to plod through the rest

[vodkafan]

Oh dear poppyshake you had me at "he lit the fire" . What lovely lovely wishful pseudo-memories those words inspire in me (as I have only rarely lived in houses with a real fire) Good job I have never come to visit you I would camp on your hearth rug and never leave. Just keep feeding it coal and logs. Bet it is great when the wind and rain outside is rattling the window frames on winter evenings....

Oh yeah the book... Vincent reminds me a lot of one of my older brothers apart from the STDs...well at least I don't think he's got any

[poppyshake]

It is nice to have a fire in the winter James .. though it eats logs. It has a more voracious appetite than me and is fairly messy (though I am too so pot kettle ) Last night things were rattling so much that I was spooked, a roof tile came down at some point .. bother and blast!

 

Vincent's behaviour is a bit off putting but then, none of us are perfect. Perhaps we know too much but then you can't build up a proper picture of someone unless you have the facts (or most of them). He may settle down, though I doubt it. His audacity is such that you catch your breath a bit. Vincent would write to his brother and say stuff like 'I'm not having it .. all this talk about cutting back and people saying I'm scrounging .. you will send me more money and I will send you some paintings and then no-one can say it's not payment' and then proceed to send poor Theo a load of stuff he couldn't sell to anyone (but ironically would now be worth a fortune). Vincent was very lucky to have him .. blood is definitely thicker than water, everybody else couldn't stick him after five minutes but Theo remained loyal all his life. The faith he had in him was touching but he was always trying to advise, he knew what sold .. he was an excellent art dealer but Vincent was like 'no, no, no .. dull colours are the thing' .. then five mins later he would realise that bright colours were the thing and believe he'd discovered something new. He knew best. Looking back at his paintings it's hard to disagree with him and perhaps a more ordered mind wouldn't have produced such vibrant living pictures.

[julie]

Miss Poppy

Here we go again,every book you review, I NEED to read . You could honestly read the W-X-Y-Z final book of the Encyclopedia Brittanica and make it sound like it should be on the #1 Bestseller list !

 

I really like the sounds of the letters from the grumpy old man to his boy . It'd probably be difficult reading for me ,as I would qualify as the grumpy old man and I definitely have the offspring that makes me grumpy . Maybe if I read it, I could somehow find the humor in it ,or at least find a kindred soul .

 

 

The VanGogh book sounds really fascinating .I've always been interested in him,but not yet got around to actually reading a book about his life . I have heard enough about him to know that he was quite a challenging person ,but was probably fascinating to meet him and carry on a casual conversation. Being related to him would have gotten on my last nerve I'm sure .

Maybe all artists and writers have that type personality to a degree,do you think ? I know his DEGREE was pretty high,but all artisitc people of any sort seem to have an odd twist of personality ,maybe due to the stress to keep performing at a higher level than in their past ?

Anyhoww very good of you to read to Alan ... and share what you read with us !

[poppyshake]

Awww thanks Julie The problem is, I do have a habit of enthusing about every book and then when someone comes to read it they find out it's cr*p .. I'm a rubbish reviewer in other words, I'm not discerning enough and fairly easily pleased because I only really pick the sort of stories I know I'm going to like.

 

I've lent Dear Lupin to my sister but if/when it comes back you are welcome to read it Let me know if you'd like me to send it, I know you're a bit of a Kindle fiend

 

Van Gogh was a trial .. especially to his nearest and dearest. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to have casual conversations, he turned everything into a debate and ended up hectoring and then positively raging to get his point across. His brother Theo, who worked, often went to bed in order to try and restore peace (they shared an apartment) and Vincent would pull up a chair to his bedside and continue to rage at him My head hurt ... I would be a wreck after about four days of that. Everyone that was invited to share the flat lasted about a month at the most. He even used Theo's socks to wipe his paintbrushes on

 

But it is most interesting to read about him, he's not dull or predictable and it's true I think, as you say, that extremely artistic people can be a bit odd and not in tune with the rest of us (mere mortals ) .. frustration has a lot to do with it.

 

Alan and I used to read to each other a lot (before the days of the 54" TV screen Julie .. I could cite that in a divorce if I was ever silly enough to think about getting one .. I could also cite Matt Bellamy of Muse because a wife should never have to listen to the Plug in Baby intro being played over and over by a novice guitarist who has just about learned which way up to hold a guitar ) I was hoping to read more of it today but he fell asleep about five mins after I started

[poppyshake]

 

The Incorrigible Children: Book One: The Mysterious Howling - Maryrose Wood

 

Amazon Synopsis: Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels. Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them overcome their canine tendencies. But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these three wild creatures, and how did they come to live in the vast forests of the estate? Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner? Will Penelope be able to teach the Incorrigibles table manners and socially useful phrases in time for Lady Constance's holiday ball? And what on earth is a schottische?

 

Review: Very amusing and a delight to listen to. I'm not sure how much the brilliant narration of Katherine Kellgren added to my enjoyment but I suspect it was quite a lot because she was hilarious. Still, it's a quirky story, a bit like Nanny McPhee/Mary Poppins and set back in the Victorian age so it has that prim and proper feel to it mixed in with a great deal of absurdity. I loved the way in which our heroine, fifteen year old governess Penelope, is not really fazed by the fact that her charges behave more like wolf cubs than children (snarling, howling and drooling with a tendency to snack on squirrels) - she finds them chained up in a barn when she arrives but she gets stuck in straight away - no nonsense.

 

It's a story for children of about ten years of age but I've never let that stand in my way, sometimes it's nice to relax with a children's story. There's no real plotline or nothing complicated anyway, apart from the ongoing mystery of who these children really are. Lord Ashton, who has seemingly adopted them, claims to have come across them whilst out hunting but hmmm ... there's more to it than meets the eye (and there are some mighty big clues which might be red herrings or might be signs because after all I'm bound to be cleverer than a ten year old .. aren't I? ). Lady Constance, the Lord's young and silly wife is brilliant .. she provides most of the comic relief. The house is old and creaky, the servants are either bonkers or creepy and the children are more than a little bit on the primitive side.

 

I'm facing a bit of a dilemma now, there are at least three sequels and I must hear them read but I also love the covers

 

4/5

[poppyshake]

 

Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

 

Amazon Synopsis: A glorious collection of stories from the author of Cold Comfort Farm. The title story tells of a typical Christmas at the farm before the coming of Flora Poste. It is a parody of the worst sort of family Christmas: Adam Lambsbreath dresses up as Father Christmas in two of Judith's red shawls. There are unsuitable presents, unpleasant insertions into the pudding and Aunt Ada Doom orders Amos to carve the turkey, adding: 'Ay, would it were a vulture, 'twere more fitting!'

 

Review: I've only read about three of the short stories so far but I bought it especially to read another tale about the Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm. The other two stories were disappointing in comparison, nothing wrong with them exactly but they hadn't got the same level of bite to them and they weren't at all absurd. I suppose because Cold Comfort Farm is so very particularly bonkers then you tend to think that that's her writing style ... there's no reason at all why though .. I mean I can make both chicken tikka masala and shepherd's pie so why shouldn't Stella have a good range of stories? It turns out she does but I would have rather seen more variations on the shepherds pie (I have no idea where this is leading either).

 

Anyway, I loved the Cold Comfort Farm short story .. no Flora Poste (this is set many years before apparently so they are all behaving at their worst .. marvellous) but other than that the same cast of completely bizarre people sharing as bleak a Christmas time as possible. Aunt Ada Doom is sounding off as usual, Adam is dressing up turnips for presents and the Christmas pudding has curses in it instead of charms. Woe betide anyone who gets the coffin nail .. they'll be dead by New Year

 

I might not read any more of the stories until next Christmas, it feels a bit odd to be reading them now as they are all Christmas stories but I've read the one I bought it for and what with the beautiful cover .. I'm very happy indeed.

 

4/5 (for the Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm short story)

[Janet]

Those The Incorrigible Children covers are GORGEOUS! As is the Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm cover!

[chesilbeach]

Glad you enjoyed the title story of Christmas At Cold Comfort Farm, Kay. You might want to take a break from it anyway, but the two stories you've read are the only two with a Christmas setting. There is a running theme of love throughout all the stories, but no more Christmassy ones.

[poppyshake]

Those The Incorrigible Children covers are GORGEOUS! As is the Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm cover!

Aren't they though? .. sometimes I wish we displayed books face forwards but it would give me the most horrendous space problem

Glad you enjoyed the title story of Christmas At Cold Comfort Farm, Kay. You might want to take a break from it anyway, but the two stories you've read are the only two with a Christmas setting. There is a running theme of love throughout all the stories, but no more Christmassy ones.

Ahh, thanks Claire .. I was presuming again. I'll probably dig in every now and then now that I know that

[poppyshake]

 

Q : A Love Story - Evan Mandery

 

Amazon Synopsis: A spell-binding tale of time travel and true love that will appeal to fans of THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE and THE CONFESSIONS OF MAX TIVOLI. Would you give up the love of your life, on the advice of a stranger? When our hero meets Q, one Monday morning at a cinema in New York City, he has met the love of his life. Their romance quickly blossoms: in the rowboats of Central Park, on the miniature golf course of Lower Manhattan, under a pear tree in Q’s inner-city Eden. Nothing, it seems, can disturb the lovers or prevent their approaching wedding. Until one day a man claiming to be our hero’s future self tells him he must leave Q.

 

Review: Before they removed all books from their store and replaced them with copies of Fifty Shades of Grey Waterstone's heavily promoted this book and after reading the blurb it went straight on my wishlist because frankly .. if I'm a fish then this book is a maggot. That last line of the synopsis set my mind racing. I'd better enclose the rest in spoiler tags ... but I'll try not to spill all.

Like all the 'this is the next Harry Potter' statements, the comparisons with The Time Travellers Wife are a bit misleading because apart from the fact that there is time travel and romance there are very few similarities. I really, really enjoyed the set up to the main story, the bit where our hero meets and falls in love with Q and it gave me a lovely shivery feeling knowing .. because I'd been fool enough to read the back .. that he was going to meet a stranger .. his FUTURE SELF no less .. who has travelled back to tell him he can't marry her and why. Now this original time traveller (he calls him I-60 because it is future him aged 60) is not his only visitor, they come .. infrequently at first, but gradually more and more often .. all asking that he change his life in some way. All of his future selves are different future selves because the changes he makes (on their advice) alters his future (does your head hurt yet? .. you can imagine what it did to mine .. I'm not used to this stuff ) .. so it's a look at what might happen if you went back in time and tried to alter your life for the better.

There were a number of things that could have improved my reading experience, the main one being the American cultural references .. I didn't get any of them (no .. that's a lie .. I've heard of The Simpsons ) Now I'm not expecting an American writing about an American love story to take into account that I was born and bought up in Chiswick but it was a bit sad that I couldn't fully appreciate what was meant (Alex Trebek? Bert Convy? Stouffers Tray? Yoohoo? John Parr? ) and I know absolutely zilch about baseball as well (it's just rounders isn't it? ) which was a shame because everyone in the book loved it. Also, something that I think slowed the story down was that our hero was, at one point, a writer .. and there are pages and pages of his writing included within the story .. none of it very good (as a future self comes back and tells him) and I must confess I didn't really want to have to read these bits but that disappeared when he gave it up to become a lawyer What becomes clear to him (as we could have told him) is that his life has been worthless without Q in it.

Of course, you have to suspend disbelief a lot .. that is the nature of a book about time travel but I did this quite well and learnt not to question too much. Apart from the writing passages from our hero (he wasn't named) it was very easy to read and involving. I probably read the last two chapters in double quick time .. I was desperate by then to know the outcome.

 

Many thanks to Claire for buying me this

 

4/5

[Athena]

That sounds pretty good! I've put it on my wishlist. Thanks for the review.

[Devi]

I want to hear more about Van Gogh too!

[Kylie]

Great reviews, as always, Poppyshake. I've added Death and the Penguin to my wish list. I already have Incorrigible Children #1, but I didn't realise any others had been published yet!

 

I love the cover of Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm, but I have found it near impossible to buy that edition here, for some reason. I ended up buying a Vintage edition, which has a nice enough cover, but I really prefer your cover.

 

 

I'm so very glad you enjoyed The Boy at the Hogarth Press.

 

What's the name of the biography you were reading to Alan recently?

[chesilbeach]

I'm so pleased you enjoyed Q : A Love Story, Kay. I have to admit, I'd never heard of it, but it was on your wish list and Mr B's had a copy, so it seemed a perfect find! Sounds really good, but I haven't looked at the spoilers as I think I might be reading it in the future thanks to your review.

[poppyshake]

That sounds pretty good! I've put it on my wishlist. Thanks for the review.

You're very welcome Athena

I want to hear more about Van Gogh too!

Heehee .. I have read a bit more this afternoon .. I'll do an update later Devi

[poppyshake]

Great reviews, as always, Poppyshake. I've added Death and the Penguin to my wish list. I already have Incorrigible Children #1, but I didn't realise any others had been published yet!

Thanks Kylie I think those incorrigible children are going to be around for a while

I love the cover of Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm, but I have found it near impossible to buy that edition here, for some reason. I ended up buying a Vintage edition, which has a nice enough cover, but I really prefer your cover.

That's odd and very annoying. Your cover is pretty though

I'm so very glad you enjoyed The Boy at the Hogarth Press.

Enjoyed it doesn't quite cover it .. I was giving out little yips of appreciation Thanks again Kylie

What's the name of the biography you were reading to Alan recently?

I will post a pic later Kylie. I don't normally like hardbacks, in fact I loathe them but with a massive book like this it's a necessity. A paperback would never survive without tearing or splitting .. it has lovely colour plates in too in fact the whole book is beautiful. It's written by the Pulitzer prize winners Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith and it's so informative. I'm gripped and I only came in on it halfway. Despite Vincent's terrible behaviour he's always bringing tears to my eyes

I'm so pleased you enjoyed Q : A Love Story, Kay. I have to admit, I'd never heard of it, but it was on your wish list and Mr B's had a copy, so it seemed a perfect find! Sounds really good, but I haven't looked at the spoilers as I think I might be reading it in the future thanks to your review.

Well done Mr B's and thanks again Claire I do hope you enjoy it, let me know if you'd like to borrow mine (you do have a stake in it after all ) I'm reading a book at the moment that Mr B's were promoting last time I went in (Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz) .. I thought if they are recommending it then it must be good but I had to wait until Xmas to get it .. so far it's a big thumbs up

[chesilbeach]

I'd love to borrow it, thanks.

[poppyshake]

I'd love to borrow it, thanks.

No problem

[poppyshake]

This is the book Mum bought it for Alan the Christmas before last .. I am a little bit envious of it truth be told

News from the Van Gogh household ...

In a desperate attempt to escape a life alone with Vincent, Theo travels to Amsterdam to propose marriage to a young women he has only met three times, she says no. In his absence Vincent panics and decides to propose marriage to the one lady who will actually give him the time of day, she owns a local Paris cafe and sometimes allows him to hang his paintings there, she says no .. Vincent doesn't take no for an answer, various people try convincing him, a fight ensues. His paintings are sold in a job lot (for peanuts) because the cafe is going under. After months of dismissing the Impressionist's, Vincent starts experimenting with colour and dots .. not many people will sit for him so he usually paints himself. He has a bit of a mania for Japanese prints and has a collection of over 1,000 .. he's not able to pay for them though and Theo is left with most of the debt. Theo gets a good job at a leading art dealership but is scrupulous about allowing Vincent to hang any of his paintings there .. Vincent puts on his own exhibition .. hardly anyone comes. He continues frightening the painters and locals and has been banned from painting outside.

He does as much brothel visiting and absinthe drinking as his budget (or Theo's I should say) and constitution will allow. He encourages Theo to do the same and the pair of them sink into illness (basically they both have syphilis) .. Vincent leaves Paris not wanting to drag Theo down further. Theo finds he misses him now he's gone.

 

We're just over halfway now, you can see the shiny pages where the colour plates are but there are lots of b&w pictures within the text. Vincent has just left Paris for Arles so we should soon be reading about some of his most famous paintings

[poppyshake]

I couldn't sleep last night so I set myself the task of seeing if I could name 50 male authors and 50 female authors .. only they had to be still living. It didn't really help me sleep because I kept forgetting if I'd said them already and eventually put the light on and started writing them down I eventually managed to get there (mostly by thinking of the book titles first ) and then added a few more because I was sure I'd probably named a few dead ones I told myself I wasn't going to be severe about the spelling (had terrible trouble trying to remember how to spell Lewycka) and also (I have no idea why .. some ridiculous inbuilt prejudice even though I've never read him. I did see him once though on a book programme and thought he was humourless and arrogant) I was determined not to write down Lee Childs .. even if an hour had gone by and I was still stuck on 49

Anyway, it's a useless sleep remedy .. my head was buzzing afterwards .. just thought I'd share

[chaliepud]

Oh, that made me laugh poppy, and I blame you if I can't sleep tonight for trying to list them too!!! If I can't sleep I usually do the A-Z challenge, usually dog breeds if I want something easy But occasionally I try for more of a challenge like countries (my Geography is horrendous, it was very embarrassing when it as revealed during a game of trivial pursuit in my early twenties that I thought Hong Kong was the capital of China...) or football teams (not so bad) or films..

 

If all else fails I just daydream about Hugh Jackman... or Goran Visngic.. or Eric from True Blood.. or... well you get the idea!!! :D

[Devi]

If I can't sleep, I hum nursery ryhmes to myself.

 

Usually gets me off to sleep.

Edited January 31, 2013 by Devi

[julie]

Miss Poppy

Beautiful book on VanGogh .No wonder you are envious,but it lives in your house,and I bet you could sneak chapters here and there while Alan is working or busy elsewhere ,so you could share it .

 

I found it interesting about what you did last night to help you sleep. I have done that before,but not with authors, with names,

I start with girls names and start with the letter A, and go through the alphabet naming off a name for each alphabet letter.

Then I do the same with boy names.

 

Now you gave me a new idea ,to name authors.Start with A and work my way through .

That'll give my brain a project for next time I can't sleep .

Thank you !