Reviewed by Elizabeth Darcy Jones
Essentialism by Greg McKeown, Ebury Press
Truly 'essential' reading for any sufferers of 'decision fatigue', frazzled parents or aspiring world leaders! McKeown, unsurprising, puts it succinctly, 'It's about learning how to do less, better so you can achieve the highest possible return on every precious moment of your life.'
Disarmingly honest about his own failings in putting what matters first this is a simply guide to carving out heaps more time. Extremely accessible - if uncompromising - McKeown uses analogies such as wardrobe decluttering in illustrating eliminating the unnecessary in your life. Re-reading it sees this author's life re-focussed. Uplifting, and utterly 'of its time' as we face ever more choices and demands to relate online.
Afternoon Tea: A History & Guide to the Great Edwardian Tradition by Vicky Straker, Amberley
With the time you'll have released reading the above, take Afternoon High Tea with local Dorset writer Vicky Straker. Her beautifully crafted blend of tea history, etiquette and recipes (mainly cakes - most I've never heard of) is served up in a lavishly illustrated paperback. Did you know scones should always be picked up with three fingers and never five? Or what Edwardians were expected to wear for tea? Guaranteed to make you want a tea dress.
If you want more suggestions as to what to read, this paperback provides a monthly list! It's also the perfect gift for someone who has everything. Unique in format, it's packed with unusual quotes divided up into the days of the year, sharing treasures relating to books, authors (from Larkin to Jackie Collins) and even the lives of the famous characters which relate to that day. The New York Times calls it a book in which you can get 'gleefully lost in'. Agreed. Perfect for the guest or other 'little room'!
The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells by Virginia Macgregor, Sphere
This is second novel from the Berkshire author whose first, 'What Milo Saw' was an instant best-seller. She has topped it with this courageous book tackling the mother who left her children and returned. It made me laugh, cry and held me captive for twenty-four hours. I finished it with a greater understanding of the complexity of human relationships. Like her debut novel, charming touches include an animal in the cast (in this case a wise dog) and the rare joy of seeing life through the eyes of children, and an angsty teenager. I await news from Beatons Crowthorne as to when her next work is expected - she uses the tearooms as a regular writing den!