The Classics for youngsters.

Call me crazy, but I've started my Christmas shopping. Yes you read right, I've started my Christmas shopping. I'm telling myself it's because I want to be organised, but I think it's really because I love the process so much. Why wait?
I started at the bookshop where I fell in love with BabyLit books. The classics for toddlers. Genius! I bought 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Romeo and Juliet', but I'm going back for more. I have my sights set on 'Sense and Sensibility' and 'Jane Eyre'.
If you have little ones and love the classics, or just like a good counting book with pretty pictures – these are for you.

Broken Heart.

“What do you know of my heart? What do you know of anything but your own suffering. For weeks, Marianne, I've had this pressing on me without being at liberty to speak of it to a single creature. It was forced on me by the very person whose prior claims ruined all my hope. I have endured her exultations again and again whilst knowing myself to be divided from Edward forever. Believe me, Marianne, had I not been bound to silence I could have provided proof enough of a broken heart, even for you.” 
Elinor to Marianne, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen.
Image via ffffound

Gone with the Wind.

A while ago Phoebe and I were in the mood for an epic film, the kind that would fill in a lazy afternoon. So we headed to our local video shop to hire Gone with the Wind, only to be disappointed when they didn't have it. We hired something else and forgot all about Gone with the Wind until I bought it for Phoebe for her birthday. I had seen it years ago, but couldn't remember the finer details, so when Phoebe said she had watched it and enjoyed it, I thought I might read the book before I watched the movie again. The book was wonderful. It was long and descriptive, but easy to read.
Once I finished the book I sat down and watched the movie. The book is so much better. The movie is amazing, considering it was made in 1939, but it is a rosy, watered down version of the book that misses crucial elements of the story.
The book is gritty and sad. The story of war, loss and self discovery. It would be interesting to see a modern adaptation. I think people would be shocked.
Oh, and Rhett, I love you.

An early Christmas present.

As my Husband and I get older it's harder to buy surprises for each other. We do more of a wish list system for Christmas which means you have some idea of what might be wrapped under the tree. So when I went to put something in my Husband's car and saw 'The Little Veggie Patch Co' book on the seat, I turned to him for an explanation. He confessed it was a Christmas gift for me, and I got very excited – and a little angry that he hadn't hidden it in a better spot!

The book by Fabian Capomolla and Mat Pember is awesome! If you are at all interested in growing your own veggies or herbs it's a must have. It's full of veggie growing wisdom, and is fantastic even if you only have a tiny yard or live in an apartment. It makes a great Christmas gift...

Miss Holiday Golightly, Travelling.

Last weekend I read Truman Capote's 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. Having been a fan of Audrey Hepburn since my early teenage years, I know the movie version well and thought I'd give the book a go. It's not a very long story, and a lot of it is the movie word for word, but there are some major differences.

Everybody knows Holly Golightly. Audrey as Holly Golightly. I think we love Holly because of Audrey. The Holly from the book is almost the same, but sadder. She doesn't really change in the book like she does in the movie. I'm sorry to say there is no dramatic kiss with 'Fred' in the rain at the end, and she doesn't find 'Cat' after leaving him in an alley. Instead she fleas to Brazil chasing men with money and lives the same naive life there as she did in New York.

I finished the book feeling sad for her. Sad for her past. Sad for her future and sad that she didn't live happily ever after with 'Fred' and 'Cat'.

I think I'll go and watch the movie.

The mean reds.

'You know those days when you've got the mean reds?'

'Same as the blues?'

'No, the blues are because you're getting fat or maybe it's been raining too long. You're sad, that's all. But the mean reds are horrible. You're afraid and you sweat like hell, but you don't know what you're afraid of. Except something bad is going to happen, only you don't know what it is. You've had that feeling?'

'Quite often. Some people call it angst.'

'All right. Angst. But what do you do about it?

'Well, a drink helps.'

'I've tried that. I've tried aspirin too...What I've found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's. It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there, not with those kind men in their nice suits, and that lovely smell of silver and alligator wallets. If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany's, then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name.'

Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote.

Feeding the Bump.

It's been a while since I was pregnant, but as I was cooking dinner last night I was reminded just how good 'Feeding the Bump' by Lisa Neal is. It's a book of nutrition and recipes for pregnancy – full of simple, healthy and delicious food and great facts. I cook from it at least once a week and everyone loves the food. Some of our favourites are Green Soup, Red Lentil Soup, Chicken Soba Noodle Salad, Bircher Muesli, Hummus and Tamari Roasted Almonds. I recommend this book to anyone thinking about having a baby, with a baby or who just likes healthy food. It's full of information and answers a lot of those tricky 'what can I eat while I'm pregnant' questions.

Image via We Heart It

Sweets from my sweets.

Last month Anooke and Be went on a little trip to Melbourne. They had a lovely time eating, shopping and buying gifts. I was lucky enough to receive two gorgeous cook books when they returned, Frankie Magazine's Sweet Treats and Macaron by Alison Thompson. So far Anooke and I have attempted the Fruity Jelly Chews from Sweet Treats and a basic Macaron from Macaron. I have to say our Macarons weren't great but maybe with a bit of practice we might get a better result.

Five: Wonderful novels about food.

Thinking about autumn food got me thinking about some of my favourite books. My Mum and I share a passion for food and novels about food and cooking. Here are some of our favourites:

5. Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel.

4. The School of Essential Ingredients, Erica Bauermeister.

3. Food of Love, Anthony Capella.

2. The Last Chinese Chef, Nicole Mones.

1. Pomegranate Soup, Marsha Mehran.

Image via We Heart It

I'm sorry my tears washed your book away.

Anooke leant me her copy of 'The Time Traveller's Wife', and I have just finished reading it. Anooke and Lella told me how great it was, so I thought I'd read the book before I watched the movie. It was a good book – 'Had me at hello', but it made me sad from the very beginning and by the end I was crying like a baby. My Husband came home to find me sobbing on the lounge, thinking something tragic had happened, and then saw the book in my hands and shook his head. It's one of those books that leaves you thinking about it for days.

Wuthering Heights.

I roughly knew the story of Wuthering Heights through conversations I had heard, the movie with Juliette Binoche, and of course the song by Kate Bush (one of our favourites), but I hadn't read the book until this year.

Wuthering Heights had seemed to be hyped as the ultimate love story. True love. True grief. The love of all loves. But what I found was something different.

Emily Bronte's story is one of obsession, jealousy, hate, revenge, manipulation and weakness . There was not one character I liked (except maybe Mr Lockwood), and there was only one brief part that, me the romantic, truly enjoyed.

Don't get me wrong, it is an amazing story – wonderfully written and easy to read, but I found myself yelling out loud and throwing the book down in disgust from time to time (it must have been shocking for those around me). It's just that Heathcliff and Cathy are both truly awful characters (in my opinion).

So my conclusion is: Heathcliff and Cathy's love shouldn't be glorified. Emily Bronte was brilliant. Give me Charlotte's 'Jane Eyre' any day.