Review: The Curious Case of the Runaway Spoon!

Tony Flannagan's first children's book is recommended for children from eight to twelve but I’d say from eight to eighty! To be honest, the title slightly put me off as it reminded me of a nursery rhyme which never much appealed (I’m a bit serious for dishes running away with spoons…) But this is pure magic which girls and boys in that difficult time of growing up will warm to, especially if they like the weird and bizarre.

Once I dipped in I discovered a magical mystery or detective fantasy which got me hooked. There are traces of Alice, Narnia and Agatha Christie to name a few, all mixed up together in a very curious fashion by a master story-teller with an ear for dialogue (and humour).

Amelia doesn’t fall down a rabbit hole but she does encounter some very familiar characters who present themselves in an unfamiliar landscape with a cracking puzzle to solve. The solution is absolutely ingenious – and almost as intoxicating a ‘pooch’, a drink which sounds infinitely preferable to its cousin, ‘hooch’! As for the CODA at the end – it’s sublime.

Liz Darcy Jones, House Poet

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Book of the Month

'The real-life children's fairy tale book so inspiring adults are reading it' 

'Absolutely beautiful - get one for yourself and one to inspire a woman in your life'
'In an ideal world, not only would mothers read this aloud to their daughters, but teachers would read it to schoolboys'  

These are just some of the quotes  describing this brilliant and original book.
Illustrated by sixty female artists from all over the world, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls introduces us to a hundred  extraordinary women, who have achieved amazing things, from Ada Lovelace to Malala, Amelia Earhart to Michelle Obama.

Inspirational and empowering, these are true fairy tales of heroines who definitely don't need rescuing.

A lesson we would all want our daughters to learn, women do not wait on a ‘Prince Charming’ to rescue them! Girls can do anything if they have strength, integrity, bravery and perseverance to follow their dreams!

Best of August!

Poem of the Month

Best of August!

I am the sun, the sky, the sand

I am the pebbles in my hand

I am the shadows on the sea

The thought of ice cream, and a tea

I am the crash of breaking waves

I am the child who misbehaves

I am the shingle on the beach

The driftwood just beyond my reach

I am it all but for today

I’m being a Beatons cool sundae!

© Liz Darcy Jones

Adapted for Beatons from ‘Simply This’

The Wellbeing Journal

Book of the Month

We could all do with a bit more positivity in our lives! This beautifully presented little book encourages us to get creative, and to reflect on things that will inspire positive thinking.

Explore your inner world and be inspired with The Wellbeing Journal. Developed in partnership with Mind, the mental health charity, each page of this gorgeous journal has been thoughtfully crafted and it includes activities, colouring, drawing prompts, contemplative quotes and lots of space for you to write about your own thoughts, feelings and experiences. Creativity and reflection can have a powerful, positive influence on our lives. Now, with The Wellbeing Journal, you can enjoy practicing these skills every day and wherever you go.

A perfect present for someone you care about, or maybe it’s just the book you’ve been looking for to get positive during your summer holiday!

How to Eat a Lobster and other Edible Enigmas Explained

Ever sat down at a dinner table, received a intricately arranged plate of food and wondered, how on earth am I supposed to eat this?!

Learn the answer to how to eat a lobster and other edible enigmas in this delightfully funny and practical book.

For food lovers everywhere, How to Eat a Lobster is the perfect handbook for handling every tricky dining situation you have every been in and perhaps ever will, with elegance and style whist avoiding embarrassing faux pas!

With easy-to-follow instructions and helpful illustrations, you’ll learn the answers to 50 food-related questions you’ve been afraid to ask...
 ‘What do you do when crayfish arrive?  Twist and snap off the head. Peel the tail and pull out the meat. Then suck the juices from the head. Seriously: you’re supposed to!’

A Beloved Bottom

Poem of the Month

At Beatons we love people of all shapes and sizes, here is Liz’ most popular poem celebrating this at the chocolate lovers favourite holiday, Easter! 

A Beloved Bottom

It dented the air –

great bellows of a bottom

begging to be squeezed

I watched in wonder as it filled the door

bumfounded by its beauty

all curves and soft it wore

its trousers clung on courageously

as it gently swayed from side to side -

an elephant came to mind

and its owner never knew

how her shy heart

kissed each of us...  from behind.

© Liz Darcy Jones 2005 edited 2016 with help from editing via Happenstance

Zweck

Book of the Month

If you have a passion for classical music, a love of history and sense of humour, then this is definitely a read for you.

Brilliantly researched and written in a somewhat original format, Stephen Deutsch has hit all the right notes with his novel, Zweck.
We follow the somewhat promiscuous story of musically talented Bernard Robbins, who unintentionally meets his great uncle Hermann Heinrich  Zweck in London in 1972.

Zweck who is almost 100 is quite an eccentric character, he has a lot of  history to relate in a most opinionated but witty and engaging manner.  He tells of his disappointing experiences in the war and his own personal musical history. 

We also learn a lot about the history and quirks of other famous composers who were his contemporary's, although seemingly not much liked by Zweck.
The author Stephen Deutsch is obviously a lover of words with a great sense of humour. Definitely a book to add to your list this year.

Hitman Anders and the meaning of it all

Author of the Month

This novel by Jonas Jonasson doesn't disappoint, just as quirky and brilliantly written as hugely popular The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared.

We have a hitman, Anders, recently out of prison, doing small jobs for gangsters, he meets female Protestant vicar, Johanna, who has lost all faith in a God, they join forces with a homeless receptionist, Per Persson, a ruined grandson of an ex-millionaire.

Three unlikely companions, all searching for something better, they hatch a madcap plan which starts well until Anders discovers Jesus and starts to dwell on the meaning of it all.

A fast-paced, hilarious plot that explores the consequences of allowing our rather imperfect human desires to lead us down a path that seems correct at the time. But realising that it's never too late to make amends and start a new journey in life finding redemption in unexpected places.

November Author of the Month David Szalay: All that Man is.

Author of the Month

David Szalay: All that Man is.

Split in to nine stories about nine men. Each of them in very different circumstances from very different backgrounds, but all with the same basic needs.
Each of them striving to understand just what it means to be alive, to make correct choices, to make the best of what they have.

We are given an insight in to the innermost feelings of these men, from as young as 17 right up to 73 years age, baring all that man is, all that he feels and all that he longs for.
Brutally honest regarding men's weaknesses and desires, this book is powerfully written and certainly makes you think about what really matters in life.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for this year, you will find this book amongst our carefully curated book selection.

The Labrador Theory by Cheever Hardwick

From one of our Wiltshire Authors... Christmas conundrum:  people who have everything. Answer? This book. The Labrador Theory by Cheever Hardwick, hardback, £14.95 Quiller Publishing

You don't have to be a country gent or lady to enjoy this book. A dog lover? Unquestionably!

Like me, you may not be as well acquainted with the tribe as the author thinks (they have money and land...) but it makes no matter. This romp of a coffee table book will make you chuckle and perhaps even prompt some useful self-reflection.

Wiltshire author Cheever Hardwick has found a remarkable cartoonist in Alasdair Hilleary to complement his witty theory. He makes a robust case for treating our men with more appreciation, affection and allowing them a long lead when it comes to their misdemeanours, as we would our labradors.

Warm, funny but not for the vegan!

Done your Christmas shopping already?  Sneak a copy away and present it on Valentine's Day, with a bottle of bubbly and follow Hardwick's rules on love...

Home Cooking - For Your Dog by Christine Filardi

It's not a dog's dinner once you've read this!

For any dog lover who takes seriously the task of ensuring that their pets, as well as us, eat well.

Having realized many years ago that cooking for a human partner reaps dividends in “brownie points”, it does not take a great leap of intuition to wonder if the same may be true for canine companions.

Home cooking for your dog (£11.99 hardback) is a helpful guide to doing this. With interesting and varied recipes, we discover some healthy and cost efficient suggestions to demonstrating to Rover (or in my case, Martha the poodle!) that we have their gastronomic needs in mind. Simple and easy to follow, the recipes are not marked for their “eew” factor-you will not be up to your elbows in gore!

The holistic approach described informs us, for instance, that a good feed especially of turkey based meals may increase production of serotonin, which may calm the more aggressive behaviours in our pets !

Now the festive season is over, it might be a good opportunity to enlist the help of smaller cooks in the family to both treat and look after your doggy pals. (thanks to Tim for this, the dog lover of the team at Beatons).