Bah! Tuesday books

Here’s a little round-up of what I’ve been enjoying lately.

I do love a good retelling of the Arthurian legends, and Kevin Crossley-Holland’s ‘Arthur and the Seeing Stone’ is just that. Written for young teens, this is a perfect book to romp through on a train journey. I’m looking forward to reading the next two in the series.

And that book reminded me of one of my favourite grown-up versions of Camelot: ‘The Mists Of Avalon’ by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I can feel a re-read coming on. I loved this book first time around, the interwoven stories of Gwenhyfar, Vivaine and Morgaine whisking me away from my everyday world, which at the time was not an easy one.

‘The Psychopath Test’ by Jon Ronson made me properly laugh out loud an awful lot. (I had to stop reading it in bed one night because my sudden barks and bolts of laughter were waking Alan up.) Jon Ronson explores the nature of psychopathy in a hugely entertaining way. It’s a tricky book to explain, so I’ll just say: give it a go. I don’t think you’ll regret it. (Unless you are actually a psychopath and therefore unable to empathise. See that? This book is educational too.)

This is a fabulous cookbook.

The spaghetti with meatballs – involving lamb, cumin, coriander and cayenne for a rich, deep flavour – was declared ‘lush’ by Joy. The plum and ginger flapjack crumble was excellent. The chocolate marmalade slump cake is high on the ‘to make’ list, as is the stuffed leg of lamb with spinach, feta and olives. Need I say more?

And finally – I’m midway through ‘My Cousin Rachel’ by Daphne du Maurier at the moment, and cannot wait for my train journey today to devour another chunk. It’s such a great story: part mystery, part romance, mostly a good old fashioned gripping read.