Spectacles by Sue Perkins

Hey everyone,

This is probably the first memoir I’ve ever read, but when I saw this incredible cover in Sainsbury’s I couldn’t resist buying it. Of course the fact that it was Sue Perkin’s memoir was an added bonus. I’ve been a fan of Sue since she presented Revealing Anne Lister a documentary about Anne Lister (a pretty incredible women who I encourage all of you to read about). So bearing in mind those two facts lets get on with the review!

The book:

When I began writing this book, I went home to see if my mum had kept some of my stuff. What I found was that she hadn't kept some of it. She had kept all of it - every bus ticket, postcard, school report - from the moment I was born to the moment I finally had the confidence to turn round and say 'Why is our house full of this shit?’

Sadly, a recycling 'incident' destroyed the bulk of this archive. This has meant two things: firstly, Dear Reader, you will never get to see countless drawings of wizards, read a poem about corn on the cob, or marvel at the kilos of brown flowers I so lovingly pressed as a child. Secondly, it's left me with no choice but to actually write this thing myself.

This, my first ever book, will answer questions such as 'Is Mary Berry real?', 'Is it true you wear a surgical truss?' and 'Is a non-spherically symmetric gravitational pull from outside the observable universe responsible for some of the observed motion of large objects such as galactic clusters in the universe?'

Most of this book is true. I have, of course, amplified my more positive characteristics in an effort to make you like me. 

Thank you for reading. 

My thoughts:

To begin with I didn’t like this memoir; the extremely conversational style of Sue’s writing rather than drawing me into the story kept pushing me out of it. Especially when she was discussing her early childhood in South East London. This is because I went in expecting Sue from the GBBO; a sarcastic, hilarious and cake-obsessed woman. And while this Sue certainly appears, in beginning we are introduced to Sue from childhood, her adolescent years and finally her time at university. It shows how the Sue we have come to love and adore came into being. The Sue we first meet is unsure, slightly awkward and just a tiny bit crazy.  Honestly I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“Sometimes we don't want to be tethered to yesterday. It's nicer to forget. Maybe the gaps in our memory are there for a reason, evolutionary perhaps, to give us the space to grow, to get away from childishness or childish things.”

My Dear Bessie by Simon Garfield, Chris Barker and Bessie Moore

Hey everyone,

This last week I’ve taken a break from reading Romance and have instead become absorbed with My Dear Bessie, a non-fiction book edited by Simon Garfield. I was draw this this book because it contains some of the five-hundred plus letters exchanged by Chris Barker and Bessie Moore during the course of WWII.

The book:

In September 1943, a twenty-nine-year-old postal clerk from North London named Chris Barker found a spare hour to write to a work colleague named Bessie Moore. His letter was innocent enough, but Bessie's response was unexpectedly enthusiastic. By their third exchange, it was clear to both of them they had ignited a passion that would not easily be extinguished. Within a few months, the couple had agreed to marry.

But there were complications, such as not actually seeing each other. Barker was serving as a signalman in North Africa during the war, and their passionate romance through the mail would have to survive three years of unusual obstacles, including ruined cities, enemy capture, disdain from friends and the army censor. The couple exchanged more than 500 letters, and this book distils the most alluring, compelling and heartwarming. 

My thoughts:

I loved reading My Dear Bessie for the romance it contained, for the way it humanised the War experience and for the glimpse it offers the reader into the past. When Chris and Bessie first start corresponding they are merely friends and yet it was Bessie’s first crucial reply that would change both of their lives forever.