When will this Spring spring?
Like a walk up onto a Lakeland fell, cresting the brow and being confronted with another – not quite there yet. When will this Spring spring? So let us warm our thoughts with dreams of the days still to come.
Days Without End by Laurie Lee
It is the good time, tilted to the sun.
When, after wintry fasts,
Eart is a loaded hand, gold-ringed, green fingered,
Feeding the wide-mouthed world on sudden feasts.
Feats of encrusted light, of cream, and leaf;
Banquets that cram the throats
Of bird and man that they grow feather-plump,
And sing, make love, and drowse in their green coats.
All, all, is plenty and prodigious.
Nights are as calm as noons,
While days are starred infinites whose fields
Rocket with wheat, hot daisies, rose-fat moons.
High summer now seems the eternal law,
All cramps and miseries
Fade in warm air, and man forgets the dark,
Or that his world was ever else than this.
This week, we have two excellent books in our top picks. Jo Hamya’s latest fiction, The Hypocrite, explores gender and generational divides. A decade after a hot Sicilian summer spent typing her father’s novel while he dictates, Sofia invites him to the play that details that summer and forces him to confront some hard truths. And if you love books as much as we do, you probably wonder about their rich history. Adam Smyth is here to share the knowledge: from the elusive binder of Shakespeare’s First Folio to the founder of the circulating library, The Book Makers guides us through centuries of big ideas with pen and ink.
In fiction, The Night in Question delivers a mysterious magenta envelope to Florrie which leads her down a path of self-discovery and detective work; Saltblood is inspired by the true story of female pirates, a dangerous line of work for Mary who spends half her time masquerading as Mark; there’s more historical fiction in Sally Magnusson’s Music in the Dark, where Jamesina questions whether love is what she needs to dull the pain of violence in her community; and in fantasy, Sylvie Cathrall’s A Letter to the Luminous Deep is a whimsical tale of underwater magic and pen-pal romance, perfect for fans of Emily Wilde.
In non-fiction, you might recognise the whiskers before you know the man behind them: Cat Land tells the eventful story of Louis Wain and his meteoric rise to success. Wain’s quirky artwork popularised cats in Victorian England, completely changing the social attitude to our furry friends. BBC Proms 2024 highlights the composers, performers, and repertoire of the year’s most sparkling festival; Greekish is Georgina Hayden’s take on the recipes of her ancestors, stripped back to their tastiest ingredients; and The Shell Spotter’s Guide can be thrown into your beach bag for a day of collecting nature’s treasures along the shore.
For children, Chris Riddell’s Doodle a Day is a small activity book destined for creative thinkers who can expand on the wonderful world of Riddell’s illustrations. Finally, you can never go wrong with a classic: Summer with Frog and Toad is a collection of three delightful stories about friendship and blissful, lazy days.
As always, if there’s something you need help with, or a book you need ordering, please call or email us!
From Sophie
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