Category: Books

MamaStillGotIt by Louise Boyce.

I was lucky enough to do a Q&A session with Louise Boyce a couple of weeks ago; model, influencer, campaigner, mama-of-three, and more recently, author.

Louise’s Instagram is a ‘mumfluencer’ who’s ability to capture the seemingly mundane moments of motherhood and spin them into hilarious sketches must be the saviour of many mothers; they’re not alone and they are not doing everything wrong.

https://www.instagram.com/mamastillgotit_?igsh=MXc0bGdhYjF1OGl6ZA==

Louise, a former model, started the Pushitout campaign against clothing brands use fake foam bumps to model pregnancy clothing instead of using pregnant models.

More recently Louise has been looking at and speaking with the government about kids, social media and the harmful effects it can cause: ‘smartphonefreekids’.

It was an informative and really enjoyable evening. Check out Mamastillgotit on Insta and TikTok and read or listen to her book.

Wrong time. Wrong place by Gillian McAllister.

‘Can you stop a murder when it’s already happened?’

A time travelling crime treat. A lawyer mother sees her son commit a murder then travels back in time to try and reverse events. Along the way she learns a lot about her husband and father.
And I enjoyed the time travel through the decades from the present to the noughties. And back again.
It’s clever with an unexpected conclusion.

The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas.

Emilia is a crime writer and incidents from her novels are being copied in real life. But the really disturbing thing is that some of the incidents are from her unpublished novel, only read by her editor, family and close friends. so who is the guilty party? Every one of these appears to be guilty at one point or another. Just when you think you know, you find out you don’t! Tricky! But a good read.

The Lightless Sky by Gulwali Passarlay.

Photograph courtesy of The Grove Theatre.

Gulwali Passarlay was at The Grove Theatre Eastbourne last night talking about his book The Lightless Sky, a Q&A event put on by East Sussex Libraries.

Gulwali, who fled Afghanistan and endured a terrifying journey in the hands of people smugglers talked about his passage to the UK, life in the UK in the early days of his arrival and of his life now. One of the most charming people I have met, the evening was relaxed, informative and a delight.

Brighton’s Back Passages.

Today we followed the ‘Brighton’s Back Passages’ walk (p.46) from the above by David Bramwell, John Ashton, and Tim Bick.

Starting at Morrison’s supermarket in Kemp Town, the first back passage was a tunnel- shaped covered alley.

A few passages later we hit Quadrophenia Alley ‘where Jimmy and Steph get it on…’ and apparently ‘Fans have been known to re-enact the love scene here’.

Quadrophenia Alley

The next Alley off Little East Street had ‘ambient music installed in an attempt to calm passing drunk vandals… and has been decorated by legendary Japanese street artist Lady Aiko.’

Many more alleys followed.

Items of interest included:

Brighton’s smallest pub and. ‘… it’s hardest to find.’
A pull bell.
Fake door- created for the set of the film Wimbledon and has never been removed.
Pub by Brighton station
Max Miller Statue, Pavilion Gardens.

The Brighton’s Back Passages walk finished at the lovely Brighton Pavilion.

Brighton Pavilion.

We started the walk off with coffee and cake at The Flour Pot Bakery.

And finished with a chilled Sauvignon Blanc at the Theatre Royal.

The walk was brilliant. Cheeky Walks spot on and very easy to follow. We didn’t loose our way at all. A first for us…!

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.

I like Richard Osman and looked forward to reading this. You could definitely hear his voice in the writing. I loved the characters, but got a bit muddled with the plot. Still not really sure who killed who and why. But I definitely want to live in a retirement village with loads of quirky people to drink wine with and socialize. Look forward to the next murder solved by the Thursday Murder club.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.

A Christmas favourite. After a night of heavy snowfall, a boy plays in the snow, eventually building a large snowman. At the stroke of midnight, he sneaks downstairs to find the snowman magically comes to life.

They play in the snow and then take flight, flying over the South Downs towards the coast, seeing the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Palace Pier and north along the coast of Norway. They continue through an arctic landscape and into the aurora borealis. They land in a snow-covered forest where they join a party of snowmen. They eventually meet Father Christmas along with his reindeer.The snowman returns home with James before the sun rises and the two bid farewell for the night.

The film is as magical as the book with an emotive score. The first page of the original score of The Snowman, signed by composer Howard Blake, is due to go to auction in aid of the Journalists’ Charity.

I will never tire of this timeless book and film. I am Sussex born and bred and the fact that both Briggs and Blake have Sussex Connections and the book a Sussex backdrop, is what makes it even more delightful.

Weather by Jenny Offill.

Weather by Jenny Offill

Weather by Jenny Offill

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was expecting a narrative with a beginning, middle and end. It wasn’t. I nearly gave up and then I settled in and accepted it for what it was. It was a book for a voice- Lizzie Benson’s. Her life, job, family, her affair- her stream of consciousness. Like living someone’s day to day life with them.



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