I have been a fan of Scott Schuman for a while now and his blog, The Sartorialist, is one of my top daily reads. So when I learned that he had a book coming out, I knew I would have to get my hands on it. But not long after I picked it up from the bookshop, did it disappear from my shelf and make the rounds amongst friends and family. His photographs appealed to everyone. My friends loved the street fashion and my mom loved the stories portayed.

Enjoying this book is pure selfish heaven. Scott Schuman advises readers not to be harsh critics of the styles worn, but to take away something good from every photo. And there are lots of photos. 507 pages of them!

It is between those pages I realised how bland and dull my own wardrobe compared. So let’s be a bit brave and have a bit of fun! How about wearing something really colourful this holiday season? ;)

Woke up this morning to find Google has redesigned its logo again. This has to be my favourite reincarnation of the logo ^_^ I love The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It’s going to be the first (well definitely one of the first) book I plan to buy for any little ones that come our way.

I was supposed to finish reading the Jane Austen bookclub‘s February book, Northanger Abbey. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get to the end. It wasn’t that I didn’t have time, I just could not bear to read further. I really struggled with it and I don’t know why. It didn’t capture me, it didn’t speak to me, it didn’t motivate me in anyway to finish it. I have complained about the book quite often on twitter and I’m satisfied to see I’m not the only one who had to fight to finish that book.

Actually, it’s quite reassuring to know that even though Jane Austen is very much a wonderful writer, not all her books were to my liking. That would have been too perfect. I might try this book again later in the year, but at the moment everything about the book just seems insipid.

This has annoyed me quite a bit, because I’m behind in the number of books I should have read for my 30 Book Challenge 2009! So I have decided a change of flavour. This month I will go into something a bit less romantic. I have started reading Richard Dawkin’s The God Delusion and hope to read later this month The Kite Runner, which has been only praised by everyone I know.

On a less literary topic, I have finished my first quilt. It’s only a small one for practice and am quite happy with the patchwork (although not all the squares are aligned, but I now know how to fix that in the future), but as you can see, my border is really lacking in mad quilting skillz ;)

I know it’s been a while since I’ve discussed my reading for the Jane Austen book club, but never fear, I have not abandoned it! In this post I will be discussing Lady Susan and Sense and Sensibility.

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Before magic pumpkins and fairy godmothers, there was just Anne of Tacloban and her wishing tree.

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It’s nice to know that it only needs a pot of tea to cause a creative spark. Really happy with this illustration! Inspired by a BBC4 program about how fairytales evolved. It seems one of the original Cinderalla stories was about Anne and her wishing tree. Very beautiful and dark too! This print now available in the shop.

Oh, if you’re a fan of my work, feel free to be a fan on my Facebook Art page ^_^ I’d really appreciate it. And if you have a facebook page, please share!

Wow, the 30 book challenge has got a good response and it seems there’s quite a few of you who are interested in joining. Nothing you need to do, just get reading! And create a list of all the books you do read and if you want, share your thoughts on your blog :)

I hope you don’t mind, I’ll reply to your comments / suggestions here and you all get a plug too ^^

Christine – I’m the same! I’ve just started my second book and it’s going great. I do like Jane Austen, but her books are a hit or miss sometimes.

Frankie – Moab is my Washpot: OMG, thanks for the suggestion! I didn’t think about it, I love Stephen Fry ^_^

Jess – Don’t worry, I started Monarchy sometime end of December too and finished it just after New Years!

Jo Anne – Blindness by Saramago – I like dark and heavy stuff. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll add this to my list and pick it up from the bookshop.

Ramintessah – Just get reading hun! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on your books soon. I’ve not read either of those books, I’ll check it out on Amazon.

Sheng – Cool! Haha, keep challenging me! I hope I read more than 30, but best be safe ^^

Gail – I’m glad you’re inspired. Anything to get people reading more ^_^ And no need to put pressure. Only set a goal you think is realistic and achievable with your time management.

Pinayhekmi – Wow, it’s been a while! I’ve got to catch up and check out your bloggy :) I’ve the His Dark Materials triology, but I have a hard time getting into the first book. I am told that the following books are excellent though! Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check it out :)

Odette – Oh I love Angela’s Ashes! I read it when I was in middle school. It’s such a beautiful story. I remember being teary eyed at the end!

Hannah – I should’ve guessed you’d find your way to my blog somehow ;) I’ve heard only good things about that book and I’m definitely planning to give it a go this year, especially with the setting in the Philippines! It’ll be interesting to see how people observe the culture from a different perspective!

So, I didn’t exactly meet my target in my 21 Book Challenge 2008, which I started in August, but I did read some really great books! I read more than I would have normally too, which was my main goal.

But I think I need to be a bit more realistic with the time I have available for my reading. This year I am doing a 30 Book Challenge that will run until midnight December 31, 2009. I want to keep the momentum going. I’ve already finished one book, Monarchy by David Starkey, which I thoroughly enjoyed and will review soon. Currently I’m reading Sense and Sensibility for the Jane Austen Book Club.

Does anyone have suggestions on books I should read in 2009?

Also, anyone fancy joining me in this challenge? It would be great to get more people reading. Some people don’t do it enough!

This is the other lovely treasure I found in the London print shop. £20 bought me this 1850s print of King Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn (written on the print as Anna Bullen). Quite a large print, I can’t wait to have it framed and displayed. The setting is just perfect, with all the major players. The King courting his beloved Ann, Queen Catherine of Aragon in the background with what looks like a Spanish ambassador and a figure of the church, who looks quite sorry for himself.

It was a happy coincidence I found it, because it was just a few hours after I finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl (Ravelry Book Group), which was about Mary Boleyn, Ann’s sister, and her relationship with the King and her political family. It is a very good book, but a long one. It really brought insights to what the English court would have been like at the time. I would be interested to find out what exactly are the known facts and what in the book is simply assumptions of the author. I highly recommend it!

During my time in London I set a shopping budget for myself. I knew I couldn’t resist the temptation to help our poor economy. So I went to Harrods looking to be seduced by the lovely dresses, perfumes, shoes and handbags. But the minute I walked in, there was people everywhere, like ants, scurrying from one luxury item to another. The atmosphere was so, that I couldn’t even bother to try on a pretty pink and black dress that I quite liked. I walked out in a bad mood.

I thought that would be it for my London Shopping. My mind was in apathy mode. Until I stumbled on to a little street called Cecil Court. It was a collection of little book and print shops. Out of curiousity, I wandered into a print shop. There I found a very special print (which I will natter about in another post) and then this dark yet beautiful Arthur Rackham print. I fell in love with it the minute I saw it.

I know what you’re thinking. You would never have that on your children’s nursery wall! It’s creepy. Threatening! But I love it. It reminds me so much of the horror stories my yaya in the Philippines used to tell me. How fairies will lure children away, drown them and steal their souls, which will serve the fairy court forever.

With this little goody tucked away in my shopping bag, I continued to wander around Cecil Court and found a small bookshop. Their books were quite old, but with a tiny sliver of hope that I might find a book on Tennyson’s poems, I walked in. This is London afterall. Anything can happen.

And it did.

There on the first wall of books, which reached the ceiling, I found a 1917 copy of Poems of Tennyson. Forget the bags. Forget the shoes. Stuff the pretty pink and black dress. This was the height of luxury for me. This is my high. Leatherbound, sweet smelling, beautiful book of poetry that I adore. I hurriedly paid the bookshop owner and the minute I stepped out onto the cobbled stones, felt the crisp autumn air hit my face, I turned to page 48 to find the Lady of Shalott and practically cried.

…
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley-sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro’ the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel’d
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.

…
His broad clear brow in sunlight glow’d;
On burnish’d hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow’d
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flash’d into the crystal mirror,
‘Tirra lirra,’ by the river’
Sang Sir Lancelot.

This is what romance is made of.

My reflections of Mansfield Park are quite overdue. This was the October book for the Jane Austen Book Club. I think one of the reasons why I delayed writing my thoughts down was because I was a bit disappointed. I watched the drama series before I read the book and I did enjoy the series a lot more. A ridiculous amount more.

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A lot of you know, I am trying to read more than I used to. It’s a struggle to find time to read in our busy lives, but I find joining book groups really help. You have the support and discussion from other readers that keep you going.

So I would like to share with you the Ravelry Book Group run by Steph. Below are our current books and books we are planning to read:

Currently Reading: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – A favourite!

October’s book The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

November’s book Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

December’s book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Don’t know what Ravelry is? If you knit or crochet, you should be in Ravelry! :)