Bookwitch

Another newsflash, so to speak. You were so good with the pink comments last week, that we have moved across to the Guardian today.

I mentioned the anthology Like Mother, Like Daughter the other day. I have a couple of other story collections too, that were both published in aid of charity. Unlike Amnesty International’s Click, which was one story written by different authors in a literary relay, these are simply short stories by well known authors.

Higher Ground is all about the 2004 tsunami, and was published only months after the disaster. Sixteen children’s authors each wrote a story based on what happened to a real child, somewhere in the world during that period. It’s very sad and very uplifting. Definitely worth having a few hankies standing by for when you read it. The authors are Melvin Burgess, Gillian Cross, Tim Bowler, Bernard Ashley, Eoin Colfer and many more, with foreword by Michael Morpurgo. Highly recommended.

Last year ten authors, hand-picked by readers of Cosmo Girl, wrote a short story each for Shining On, sold in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. We’ve got Melvin Burgess again, as the lone boy, with girl writers Jacqueline Wilson, Anne Fine, Malorie Blackman, Rosie Rushton, Sue Limb, Meg Cabot, Cathy Hopkins, Meg Rosoff and Celia Rees. The stories are as good as you’d expect from the star-studded line-up.

The witch is slowly - very slowly - collecting her signatures in these two anthologies. It’ll take me years.

More book snatching around these parts, and as usual it’s the fault of Cathy Hopkins. The latest batch of two Zodiac Girls books arrived, and the witch found them removed from where she put them and devoured by daughter. So possibly one can deduce that the reading apathy has changed again, as it so often does when Cathy has a new book.

These new ones are Brat Princess, which does exactly what it says on the packaging, and Discount Diva. Both of them find that they are Zodiac girl of the month, though obviously not at the same time. And it can change their lives. Cathy is very much into this Zodiac stuff and knows a fair amount. I think.

Daughter’s complaints would be that she shouldn’t get on with either me (well, she really shouldn’t) or with one of her best friends. So, who to believe? We are now eagerly waiting for the next lot, where Scorpio appears and we might get some answers. It’s going to be called Double Trouble, and how apt is that? Hah.

Cathy is just back from some star spotting in Cheltenham, which I understand was hard work. But that might be because she’s a star herself. Keep your star signs coming, Cathy.

Even if Adele Geras hadn’t so carelessly asked me to write about what I got up to yesterday, I would have bored you with it. Truth is, I’m so tired I can’t think of other things. It was a day of culture and fun. Not that culture can’t be fun, but you know, the less “worthy” stuff.

I have seen the crack. The Tate Modern crack. It was quite good, and no, I can’t work out how they did it either. Took a sledgehammer to the floor? Funniest sight, of course, are all the visitors slowly walking along, staring down at the floor and even filming it with their mobiles.

I returned to the Cottesloe after an absence of nearly thirty years, to see Victoria Benedictsson’s The Enchantment. Very good. I do so like an unhappy ending. (No, I don’t, but it was good anyway.) As a teenager I was very taken with this Swedish author, who like her heroine committed suicide. I’ve done some detective work this morning and come to the conclusion the play is called Den Bergtagna in the original. One of the nice things with the National Theatre is that you don’t necessarily have one actor playing four different characters. And they are always good actors, even when their names mean nothing to me.

Too much culture can be, well, too much, so I moved swiftly on to some shopping. The Resident IT Consultant will be surprised to hear I didn’t buy any shoes. I bought cheese at Neal’s Yard to bribe Daughter with on my return home. This meant I had my own Three Men in a Boat moment on the train home. My bag stank. In the nicest possible way, naturally.

Dinner at the Masala Zone after only ten minutes of queueing to get in. I find it rather reassuring to have a new food establishment to eat in that is situated in my old haunt Cranks, in Marshall Street. I virtually lived at Cranks in the olden days. The Masala Zone offers not only really good Indian food, but some charming staff. Hadn’t the heart to tell the nice young man last night that it wasn’t my first Thali and no instructions were necessary.

I finished another Cathy Hopkins Zodiac Girl (Recipe for Rebellion), which was fun as usual. Though possibly Cathy needs to sort out her ideas of half term holidays and nit nurses. Or that could be a message to the editor; it’s your job not to have half term at the end of November. On the other hand, a book that has Gods all over the place could possibly be allowed to have school holidays at funny times, too. Correct me if I’m wrong, but whereas I’ve seen plenty of nits, I have never come across a nit nurse in this century.

Before falling asleep on the last train north I started another Sara Paretsky. And all the witch’s activities meant she completely missed the Doris Lessing announcement.

is where you can find the bookwitch, her Son and the Pullman expedition today.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/07/so_what_do_you_do.html

Do have a look, and maybe post a comment. Anything to overcome that bit of “interesting Irish poetry”. I’m flattered, really…

Ashmolean, bookwitch style

is the title of Cathy Hopkins’ Truth, Dare, Kiss, Promise omnibus just out. It covers the first three books, set in Cornwall (aka Cathy Hopkins country to the bookwitch family) and features Cat, Becca, Lia, Mac and Squidge.

And having caught glimpses of Cathy in various copies of Publishing News recently, I have to say I’d walk straight past her if we met. This business of thinking up excuses not to go to the gym is clearly a clever cover-up for the fact that Cathy has been a very good girl. She looks younger, slimmer and blonder than ever.

So I just wouldn’t have recognised her.

I’m fairly sure that I started to write my own Famous Five story, a very long time ago. Not being good at sticking to things, other than plastic seats in hot weather, I didn’t get far before giving up. Writing your own sequel was pretty much all you could do in those days when your favourite series of books came to an end.

Now, however, we have quiz books and things. Two have recently entered our house and started living on Daughter’s floor. They are Mates, Dates and You by Cathy Hopkins and The First Roman Mysteries Quiz Book by Caroline Lawrence. I suspect the fact that these books reside next to the bed means they are sort of useful and attractive.

What can I say? They are perfect for fans. This way the books come back to life again, and if you’re good you can answer the questions. If not, then you can re-read the books or search through them for the right answer. Have to admit that I can’t remember very many details at all, but that will be due to those failing grey cells that mysteriously have started to bother this young witch. (Heard a rumour that Caroline herself has failed to answer some questions. But not because of anything age related, I’m sure!)

Just take question 60 from the R M quiz: “According to Pliny’s Natural History, the fiercest watchdog is a hybrid from India. It has a dog for a mother. Which animal is its father?” Now that’s what I call knowledge.

And from Mates, Dates: “How long did TJ take to beat Lucy’s brother Steve at arm-wrestling?” There’s a good female role model for you. And it’s romantic. My favourite quote is from Lucy’s T-shirt slogans: “Your village phoned. They want their idiot back.”

I’m on my way.

Cathy Hopkins’ rejuvenating talents are still at work on me. Her latest books to be published next week are aimed at the 8-12 age group. Though I must say I feel they can and should be read by older girls too, without seeming too young for them. Zodiac Girls is Cathy’s new series, and as the name suggests there will be twelve books, published two at a time. I only got hold of one proof so have just read From Geek to Goddess. But as Cathy had the good taste to start with a Gemini girl, I’m more than satisfied.

This is about Gemma (Gemini…) who gets sent to boarding school in Year 8 and has to learn to make new friends. It’s a nice mixture of real life problems and a bit of Zodiac fantasy. The Greek Gods keep popping up in lots of books these days, but I was a little surprised to find them at Gemma’s boarding school as well. I must admit to having joined the ranks of those who fancy Hermes, even though I don’t normally go for the really handsome type. Must be my new age, again.

The other Zodiac Girls book out is Recipe for Rebellion, and I wish I knew what it’s like!

Cathy Hopkins has made me young again. Fourteen, to be exact. I’ll have you know I don’t FEEL young (knees still creak and so on), but I’ve had to lie about my age. To receive Cathy Hopkins’ newsletter you have to register, which includes your age. For some very obscure reason the list of possible years of birth ended with 1963. So still a bit short. Decided I wouldn’t mind trying fourteen once more.

And if I really was fourteen, I’d be so pleased to have Cathy’s books to read. We had nothing like this the first time I was fourteen. Between Charles Dickens and Jules Verne on the one hand, and some horse or nurse series on the other, there was a gap where Cathy’s books could have done a good job.

For those of you who are now raising an eye brow or two at the thought of these “light” looking books, I have been there too. But when Cathy was our author of the term at Offsprings’ school a few years ago, I read half a dozen in one week. Now, that was too much; rather like eating too much cake. But spread out at a more normal pace, they’re great. Daughter and I have fought over each one as it’s published. Now our friends from Mates, Dates and Truth, Dare, Kiss, Promise have been pensioned off, though as I’m only fourteen I do get the odd email from some of the characters still.

Cinnamon Girl is Cathy’s latest, out now. And it’s lovely too. Just as with the earlier books Cathy writes about the things teenagers do. In this case a bit of smoking and drinking and getting drunk, as well as going out with bad boys and knowing where and when to stop. With Cathy you don’t need an agony aunt. You see your fictional friend making mistakes and you see them learning from them. Because who’d listen to a parent?

And when in Camden Market, we always look out for Lucy and Izzie and co. They’re nearly real.