Libraries and Lambswool

Swept up in my own austerity drive as well as a memory of the pleasures of such visits in my childhood, I went into my local library recently and became a member. The local librarian was delighted to see a new face and add another number to help justify their existence, with less people joining since books were so much cheaper (2 for 1 offers abound) and many seem to be purchasing e-readers. Such technology is, in my opinion, dreadful - I despise reading a novel from a screen as I associate that with work. While anything which encourages people to read can only be a good thing, in my opinion there can be no replacement for the ability to flick back and forward between pages, savouring the weight of the book, and best of all, feeling a sense of pride as you pass the halfway mark of a thick classic. I do hope that paperbacks and libraries do not become a thing of the past, especially with the dread of cutbacks constantly over us at the moment.

I felt so good to be there that I wondered why it had taken me so long after moving to join this library. Such a wave of greed swept over me as I walked along each row and saw the masses of books and smelt the faint scent of other homes. Such treasures! An immediate sense of calm came over me and I stalked around with care, occassionally grabbing at my prey. Books that I'd never seen, books that tantalised and promised with their covers, books that were old friends, and books that I'd heard of but half forgotten. One of the later which I snatched from an end display was Susan Hills 'Howard's End is on the Landing', which I had read a review on a couple of months ago but to this point had failed to get hold of.

It was the first from the pile that I began to read as soon as I arrived at home, only to pause after several pages to grab a notebook. I needed to write down the names of authors which I'd not read but which I felt I needed to after Susan Hill's recommendation, or to put down the names of others I too felt the urge to re-read. It was also refreshing to read that Susan Hill had the same dread of e-readers that I have, and that she adored lighter fiction, such as PG Wodehouse, as well as the denser classics, such as Dickens. It is a shame that she dismisses all of the fiction of Australia and Canada - it is her personal taste, to be respected, but there is one book I would, if I met her, urge her to read. 'A Town Like Alice' by Neville Shute (who is, if it helped, British) was a book that I had avoided myself for many years, based on reading and heartily disliking his bleak 'On the Beach' while at school, as well as a misguided impression I had gained of the book. Where this had come from, or even what it was, I could not put my finger on, but I had zero interest in reading the novel, or anything else Shute had written. It was not until one month when no fewer than 6 women, from the ages of 14 to 60, had mentioned their love of the novel, and how it was, without exception, in all of their top 5 reads, that I was compelled to pick it up, and I am so glad I did. It is now in my top 5 as well.

Another treasure which I found in the library was one which I had never heard of before - 'Ginger Beer and Cherry Cake' by Jane Brockett. What I discovered in these pages was a fantastic journey which went through a range of the stories most of us remember from childhood, and found the recipes for the meals that had benn described, from Paddington Bear's marmalade elevenses to the feasts of the Famous Five. What actually excited me most was a recipe for Anne's Linament Layer Cake (minus the actual linament) from my favourite stories growing up about Anne of Green Gables. But the whole book is a pleasure, with recipes from the most simple treats, such as 'lashings of boiled eggs' to more complicated macaroons, which had inspired the author to write the book. What I love even more is that in Jane Brockett's introduction, she discusses how in children's stories the feasts are always well deserved after a day of physical activities and adventures, which I feel is an important consideration.

Within a week I was back at the library to get more books, inspired by the above, desperate to read more. My first choice this time had to be Enid Blyton, and I have been devouring 'Five Go Down to the Sea' today, filled with fantastic adventures, walking, swimming and cycling while staying at a farm in Cornwell, and, of course, truly magnificent high teas, such as the one they have on their first night with ham, salad with lashings of hard-boiled eggs, 'an enormous tureen of new potatoes, all gleaming with melted butter, scattered with parsley...homemade salad cream', cream cheese, fruit cake, drop scones and, finally, 'cherry tart made with our own cherries, and our own cream with it'. While Enid Blyton may seriously over use her exclamation marks, she could never overdo the fantastic descriptions of such simple homemade fair which is luxurius in abundance and, now, nostalgia.

It is just the weather to go for long autumn walks and then cosy on the couch, wrapped in a lambswool cover, and continue to read my way through my library allocation.