Fa la la la lah, la la la laaah.. Again

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!

 Wishing you a lovely festive season.

 

Yeah, so I know it isn't the most festive pic, but I have limited resources at the moment, and my boys are minion mad, so  enjoy The Happy!

It's that time again...

  Mmmmm, the joy, the excitement, the savouring of special moments. The counting down, the anticipation, the desperate hope that you'll get what you want  in the end and the underlying-and increasing- anxiety that maybe you wont...

Christmas?

 Nooo - Am having another book crush.

*Cue fanfare* My Winter TBR Pile(s)

Da da da da da da daaaahhhhhhhhh! 'Tis December, the first month of winter and the season of goodwill. With this in mind, I present to you this fine day, my Winter TBR pile(s). I'll have to warn you it is a bit of an odd one, but with bear with me -there is method in the madness. For once…

The pile looks like this;

OK. There are two. I knew I couldn't sneak that past you. Please just go with it for now. All will become clear.

In detail they are, to the right;

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt (YA) 

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigagalupi (YA) 

Screwed by Joanna Kenrick (YA) 

This is Push ed. David Levithan (YA anthology) 

Starter for ten by David Nichols (Adult

I love New York by Lindsey Kelk (Women's fiction)

Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements (Women's fiction)

Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan (Women's Fiction)

The Chalet Girl by Kate Lace (Women's Fiction)

And then there is the pile on the left;

The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark  

Carnevale by M.R. Lovrie  

The Venetian Affair by Andrea di Robilant

Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb

The Bellini Card by Jason Goodwin

The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich

Still to come is Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (YA)

Now obviously this pile(s) is clearly not my usual YA fest. In fact there are only 5 YA books in there, which is less than 30% (Yay, I done maths again). What is afoot?

Firstly, two things that I am currently working on are Chicklit, so I am feeling the need to bathe myself in Women’s Fiction.

Secondly, this pile covers January, which is the month of change, resolutions and good intentions. I already have my dietary practice, and I am not remotely interested in going the exercise route, so I am dedicating the month to getting through some of the books that I have accumulated and that always get overlooked.

Currently my bookshelf looks like this, so some will have to go, and I hate turfing books out before I have read them. Therefore all the books to the left are in fact part of this scheme, but they have been selected very specifically, as I felt a plan was needed. Last January, I spent a fabulous long weekend in Venice (Hello Liz!). This year I'll be taking a reading trip through the city. ALL those books on the left are set in Venice.

So let’s call this a housekeeping pile to get me through the winter.

What are you reading this Winter?

(PS, Can I just apologize for the formatting bun-fight going on in this post. My computer is clearly having a paddy with fonts and spacing and stuff. Being Amish, I can't work out how to sort it. Sorry)

Autumn '13 Gut Reactions

 I feel like I've belted through books this season. I had 14 in the schedule, but I've read 31. And as usual, here's my gut reaction summary (Nooo, no reviews as such. You know that isn’t how it works here.)

So, to recap the autumn pile looked like this:

The additional books were

How we met and other stories by David Levithan

Awaken by Meg Cabot

Abandon by Meg Cabot

The Other Typist  by Suzanne Rindell

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Sentinel by Holly Martin (MG)

Unsticky by Sarra Manning (Adult)

9 Uses for an ex-boyfriend  by Sarra Manning (Adult)

Connectivity by Aven Ellis (Adult)

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (Adult)

Vixen by Jillian Larkin (YA)
Ingenue by Jillian Larkin (YA)

Diva by Jillian Larkin (YA)

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner (MG)

Debutantes  by Cora Harrison (YA)

Debutantes in Love by Cora Harrison (YA)

The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen (YA)

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory (Adult)

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (Adult)

The Clockwork Prince – Manga Version – Cassandra Clare

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness (Still reading) (Adult)

Star of the List goes to;

The Dream Thieves. I’ve fangirled about Maggie Stiefvater often enough, but I felt that she stepped up a gear here with great word choices and turns of phrase. Mmmm. I preferred it to the first book even. How often can you say that with the second in a series? And yes there was a cliff-hanger, as there often is in second books, and amazingly I didn’t mind.

A close second to this was Sarra Manning's Unsticky. The  eagle-eyed of you will notice that this wasn’t in the original pile, but I had another of hers in there, where I enjoyed the voice so much that I immediately got hold of all her others. Manning’s books, adult and YA, are bold , honest and funny, and if I aspire to anyone's writing voice, it is currently hers.
Unsticky had two flawed, at times awful characters, but who I still rooted for. Clever. I read it twice.

The Sentinel by Holly Martin.  A fab adventure debut. I know Holly personally, so I might be biased, but honestly the action is unrelenting and a great choice if you are looking for a gift for a 12 year old girl.

How We Met and other stories, was just a perfect anthology of YA short stories. I already have another David Levithan related anthology on the shelf ready for the next pile. (See now, did you notice how I managed to write that without gushing about how much I love him? …Oh…)

Marie Louise Jensen seems to write books about places where I go. (OK, so I suppose it is possibly- probably- coincidence, but it amuses me. Small things, right?) Her debut Between Two Seas was set in Skagen, Denmark, and The Girl in the Mask was focussed on Bath, where I have a close friend and in fact was last weekend. I saw the streets she named. It makes a real difference when you know a place you are reading about.

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robin Schneider. Really this book should feature below, as in “One of these books had an ending that disappointed me to the point of doing this.” However, up to the end I had been loving it. I bought it because the quote on the front said it was for peeps who like John Green and as we know, I would read his shopping lists. I'm not sure I would draw the same comparison, but it was an ace read, none the less. Until the end, when not so much.

The Heist. Janet Evanovich is a blast. She is funny, she can plot and she has a great set of characters in her Stephanie Plum series. This was a new scenario with an FBI agent and thief, and while it was fun and I'll read the sequel, I still prefer the Plum series.

The Ides of April by Lindsay Davis. This is a new series as a spin off from her Falco series. And a good start it was too. Sure, I saw the twists coming, but it was a fun journey.

Jenny Downham’s You against me, underlined her great YA Contemporary writing, after the brilliant Before I Die. The ending was a little rushed, or perhaps just needed a little more of something, but I’d get more of her books without hesitation.

I feel the same way about Laura Jarrett's writing. By Any Other Name was a s strong as her debut Skin Deep. Jarrett and Downham together are exciting new writers on the UK YA Contemporary scene

The Great Gatsby- I got it this time!

 And as always, the other thoughts;

• One of these books felt like it was the last in a three book deal which should perhaps been a two book deal.
• One of these books should have got a Brit to Beta read it
• Three of these books, I skipped to the end as I got bored.
• One of these books I picked up because I had read somewhere that the first proper kiss is amazing. And indeed it was nice, but I started getting bored soon thereafter...
• One of these books has won prizes, and I can see why, but it didn’t rock my boat.
• Two of these books are by an author I like, but I felt meh about them. I didn’t like the MC. She was just too self obsessed.
• One of these books I still don’t get the title

Anyone read any gems or turkeys this season?

Tripping

 I'm conscious of things having gone a little quiet in the recent months- it's a mix of lack of inspiration for blogs, trying to get 1k words down every day on a new first draft and essentially just not having enough hours in the day to do everything. Why hasn't some science bod sorted that out by now?

That said, I'm currently I'm on a trip. Not geographical travel, but book travel. 

 I briefly blogged about a form-based trip I'd been on here, which was in fact a tangent from another book trip where I was pottering around in World War Two, the least likely of destinations for me, but an ace trip none-the-less. It included Elizabeth Wein's fabulous Code Name Verity and Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, so enough said. 

On this trip I am being lead merrily around the US of the1920s, relishing the flappers, the gangsters and the illegal drink.

Here is the route so far:

   The Other Typist - Suzanne Rindell (The story didn't do me, but I got swept up in the setting.)

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (Yes. Yes that is a Classic. A Classic that I have read and finished. Small miracles, right? In fact I've read it twice now. It is so much better when not being speed-read as part of a Uni reading list at 19...)

Vixen- Jillian Larkin (YA)  (This series is so much fun, and really brings the prohibition scene alive)







                                     Ingenue - Jillian Larkin (YA)

Diva - Jillian Larkin (YA)

 And from there I am about to pop back across the pond to read Cora Harrison's Debutantes books.

 Only two of these books were included in the Autumn TBR pile, but the theme seems to have a plan of its own and who am I to argue? Sometimes, you just need to go with the flow.

My trip is almost up, given the new TBR pile being due next month, but there might just be time to get a recommendation in if you have one. Let me know.

Meanwhile, is anyone else travelling at the moment?

Good Luck, Good Luck, Good Luck..

...to all you NaNoists out there. I still think you are bonkers, but admire you greatly none-the-less.

 If you are having second thoughts this morning then fabulous Chuck Wendig has words of wisdom for you here. 

In the meantime, here are some cheers for you to sail off into the wordy sunset with.

Get the chocolates in and  to it!!!

Drum roll please for The Sentinel

My friend Holly Martin has just released her first book The Sentinel, a YA Adventure.

The lovely Holly and I met through the Sunlounger shenanigans, where she won the competition. You can learn more about Holly here and on her blog here.

In the meantime, here's the blurb and some fabulous praise:

When Eve is rescued from a horrific coach crash by her teachers, she is shocked to discover they possess super strength and speed.  But what happens next is even more harrowing.  

In the aftermath of the crash she discovers that everyone in her life from neighbours, doctors, dentists, teachers, shop keepers and even her family and friends are actually super strength Guardians sent to protect her.  They all have one thing in common, a single minded ferocity that she must be kept alive at all costs.

However, she is surrounded by secrets and lies.  Those in the know deny all knowledge of what happened that fateful night.  Everyone else carries on as normal, seemingly unaware of the new strange world that she has stumbled against. 

With the help of Seth, her best friend, Eve discovers the prophecies surrounding her true identity and the super strength she too holds. With her Guardians pledged to protect her, her closest friends ready to die for her, her own hopes and dreams are put on hold whilst she battles to control the amazing powers she has been bestowed with. 

But those that seek to destroy her move ever closer.  Will the Guardians be enough to protect her when so many are prepared to stop at nothing to see her dead? And will she be strong enough to fulfil her destiny when the time comes?

A fast paced fantasy adventure for young adults. 

With high speed car chases, airborne fights, amazing stunts and super powered beings, this is a story of loyalty, friendship and love.

Praise for The Sentinel
It’s a book you HAVE to read, because it’s incredible. An outstanding book that has left me bereft its finished. I wished I’d savoured it for longer. This book was one of those that once you started it was impossible to come away from. It was fast paced, exciting, full of suspense and action that had me gasping in shock at twists I never imagined could happen. It’s a story of courage and adventure. And no matter how dark it gets, there’s always love and hope. – Victoria Loves Books Blog

It's really hard to find the words to describe how amazing this book is.
This is definitely the best debut I've read this year! I just love this book, I want you all to read this book, in fact you all need to read this book! - Love of a Good Book Blog

Holly Martin throws Eve in at the deep end, subjecting her protagonist (and readers) to a torrent of drama right from the off. - Jack Croxall (Author of Tethers and X)

It's a supercharged, superfast, superhero story with great characters that you'll want to gobble up in one sitting. – Sharon Sant (Author of Runners, The Sky Song Trilogy and The Memory Game)

Happy Publication Holly!

Crazy Lunatic Writing

Being October it means it is almost November, (see, that's a university education, right there...) which for some means it it is nearly Write-Like-a-Crazy-Lunatic month, aka NaNoWriMo. (I just looked at the site, there are 72,998 of them/you signed up already with two weeks to go. )

 No, I’m still not doing it; I’m sticking to my same sorry list of excuses as I mentioned last year here. I am however not a complete lazer at the moment and am two weeks into my own quest of writing 5k words a week until Dec 20, in the hope of giving birth to the majority bulk of a 1^st (verbal vomit) draft on something new. So far there are indeed words accumulating, although they are pretty sketchy, but hey, you can’t fix empty space, can you?

 Anyways, back to NaNo. Here are a couple of links for anyone considering it, from YA Stands and also sage words of wisdom from the ever entertaining Chuck Wendig.
My own advice is obviously still to get good chocolates in for rewards and incentives, but the planning idea is probably a winner too.


Anyone mad enough? contemplating it?

Inspiration required?

Two sites to flag up if you are in need of writing inspiration.

 Firstly, if you are looking for real-life contemporary disasters and life angst, you need look no further than FML. Yes, it is wrong to laugh at the misfortune of others, but they have posted it to share, and I have been in tears of laughter over a few of them.

PostSecret is a site  which I find fascinating as a concept, but it also throws up hundred's of plot premises. Essentially, people  from across the globe are sending postcards they have made with a secret they are keeping to the PostSecret address in the states. The newly arrived secrets get displayed every Sunday. You can trawl the archive too. Some are funny, some are heartbreaking, all of them are interesting

Go have a look, and don't tell me that there isn't anything there that can send your creative juices flowing.

Nooooooo!

That thing where a book that you have been loving, as in L-O-V-I-N-G, ends in a way that you would never have chosen. It might be a true ending and valid blah blah blah, BUT IT WAS NOT THE ENDING I WANTED!!!!! *Stamps feet*

That.

*Cue Belated fanfare* My Autumn TBR Pile

Considering how late it is, this one almost needed a drumroll rather than a fanfare. Apologies. The school start just got in the way.

The pile looks like this;

The Ides of April - Lindsey Davies (Historical Crime)
You against Me - Jenny Downham (UK YA Contemporary)
Underworld - Meg Cabot (YA Fantasy)
Summer Sisters - Judy Blume (Womens Fiction)
You don't have to say you love me - Sarra Manning (Womens Fiction)
Locked Inside - Nancy Werlin (YA Contemporary)
The Seven Wonders - Steven Saylor (Historical Crime)
Severed Heads, Broken Hearts - Robyn Schneider (YA Contemporary)
By Any other Name - Laura  Jarratt (UK YA Contemporary) 
The Church of Dead Girls - Stephen Dobyn (Thriller)

on the e-reader - 
How We Met and other stories - David Levithan (YA Short Stories)
I'm going to hazard a guess that some New Adult will sneak in here at some point too. Sneaky things...

Still to come;
Awaken - Meg Cabot - (YA Fantasy)
The Other Typist - Suzanne Rindell (Thriller)
The Dream Theives - Maggie Stiefvater (YA Fantasy)

Considering I normally stick with YA, I'd say this pile is a bit of a departure in terms of diversity. There isn't quite a 50%-50% gender split, but there are some boys in there, including the obligatory David Levithan tome, because I love him.  Have I mentioned that before? I have? Many times? Good. Because I love him. I would read his and John Green's shopping lists if given the chance. (The Robyn Schneider book is in this pile purely because it is compared to John Green's writing on the front cover. It had better not disappoint, Publishers Weekly...)

I'm particularly looking forward to the books by Jenny Downham who previously wowed me with Before I Die, and also Laura Jarratt's follow up to Skin Deep.

Naturally I can't wait to get my grubby mitts on Maggie Stiefvater's new book, the second in the Raven Boys Quartet,  out later this month. 

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

I haven't forgotten...

So it is the first of September, which means there should be a shiny brand-spanker of a TBR pile here.
Can you see it?
No me neither.
 But it is taking shape.
It just isn't ready yet. Too many of the books are are still en route.

Won't be long though. And there is still time for recommendations.

Summer '13 Gut Reactions

So here we are at the end of another reading season and it’s gut reactions time.

Strangely I'm not feeling so upbeat about this pile. Maybe it was just because some of the recent ones were disappointing, or else summer has got in the way and it has felt more of a chore. How bad is that? I LOVE to read.

So lethargy or lethargic reactions aside, here's the run-down of the summer books.  (Remember - I'm not a reviewer, just spouting gut reactions here.)

The pile looked like this;

The additional e-books were,

Slammed, Colleen Hoover (YA)
Point of retreat, Colleen Hoover (YA)
The Naughty Girls Books Club, Sophie Hart (Adult)
Losing It, Cora Cormack (NA)
Play with me, Kristin Proby. (NA)
Sunlounger, Belinda Jones and various (like me!! No, I'm not reviewing this one.) (ChickLit)

Star of The List goes to Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. This was the last in the Infernal Devices series, and a fabulous example of how to tie up a trilogy – and two love stories no less- perfectly. Loved it, and was so satisfied by the end.

Anti-Prom  by  Abby McDonald – I do enjoy a book that it set in one night, ie Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, or Graffiti Moon. I’d love to write one, just haven’t been able to plot one yet. This one was very neatly done.

Swim the Fly/ Beat the Band by Don Calame – Great teen boy humour. I was laughing out loud at the fart and diarrhea gags. Don’t judge me.

Heart –Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne Ooh this was good and a strong contender for the Star of The List, given it was a debut. The premise is strong (teen in prison for doing something that we don’t know what is (yet) and she is not remorseful for) and I enjoyed the journal format.

The Naughty Girl’s Book Club by Sophie Hart was interesting as it was both  a story in itself a study of a genre. Its own story reminded me of a Maeve Binchy novel, with various people with their own issues coming together to an event, and their stories moving on over time. The genre study of the current popularity of Erotica was an intriguing angle and vehicle for the main plot.

21 Proms- Various - This is what a good anthology should be with different POVs, tones, and genres. I blogged about anthologies here if  you haven't already got one in your TBR pile.

Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List – David Leviathan & Rachel Cohn. Oh, I do like what happens when these two team up for a book.  This is the third collaboration of theirs I've read. I wish I had a writing-boyfriend like this. 

What’s Up with Jody Barton? by Hayley Long–  I think I might have moved away from younger teen books at the moment, but this one has a twist to make you gape.

And then the rest;

• One of these books was by an author I had read one book from before. I hated her MC then, and I didn’t warm to this one either. My gripe is that in both the MC was portrayed as fat, clumsy and not very bright. And that really annoyed me. One day I am going to write a character who is big but by some miracle still capable of being graceful and brilliant.
• One of these books was bloody hard work and felt deranged. It used lots of different forms;  musings, transcripts, reports, letter memos, emails from the MC and then other people hacking the email account. Too much! This had me all excited at the beginning, and exhausted very soon after.
• The next book (by the same author as the one above) also had me excited at the beginning as the form was exam answers. Brilliant, yes? Then there were school reports, meeting reports and I realized she’d done it again…. Too much already. I jumped to the end and bailed eventually as I just didn’t care about them. BUT lesson learned; It was too much of a good thing. The variations in the form lessened my ability to engage with the story and the characters.
• Two of these books I have already moaned about here, as nothing happened in one and in the other it took far too long and I only got to it as on this rare occasion where I had the patience of a saint. Lesson Learned – Don’t believe the Hype.

Look at that. The summary was as lack-luster as the pile itself. Sorry about that. I'm hoping that next season will blow my socks off a bit more. 

Recommendations anyone?

Reading relief

Ahh, the joy of reading a book that restores our faith after a run of lack-luster or disappointing stories.

Tanya Byrne's  Heart Shaped Bruise has been a relief.

 Thank you Ms Byrne.


P.S .The new TBR pile is under construction. Any recommendations?

Measured cheering

I've become a bit of a cheerleader for novels that start with a slower burn. Primarily this is because my stories aren’t of the type that set everything up in the first 250 words. I whinged about it here. I do appreciate pace in a book- it’s a large part of what makes me love YA books- but I don't demand that I have to be hooked in a paragraph. If the wording is good, I am more than happy to sit back and let things unfold over the first three chapters. I can be generous like that.

Two of the last few books I have read had this slow fuse characteristic. I spotted it and consciously read on, geared up to enjoy the ride. However, in these two cases the ride went on and on and on... The thing with a slow fuse is that it should still lead to an explosion. The ride has to still arrive somewhere, otherwise it isn't a journey, it's just  passing time. Amusing as that might be, the payoff isn't overly moving.

The first, a book called Penelope that was shouted about in various places, dawdled to the point of never actually getting anywhere. At all.  It covered the first year at Harvard for a socially awkward girl. I felt I was being smartly led, and I was happy to go as the small insights were well observed and humorous, but frustratingly nothing ever came of it all. I was as flummoxed by the whole experience as the MC was by Harvard. I had to check the Amazon reviews to see if it was me that had missed the point. Apparently not.

I've just finished Prep, which has many accolades, and I know I'm late to the party on this one. The writing and observation is great, and the build is slow, allowing us to get a feel for how the MC feels about her boarding school  and peers on just about every single level. But 285 pages of small font before there is any proper drama?!? (I'm not counting fainting at having her ears pierced at page 63.) If the author's intention was to convey the four years of prep school as being  long and drawn out, maybe she hit the mark after all.

Additionally, I don’t know if it is coincidence, but I didn’t connect with or like either MC.  Was it because I was shouting “Come on!!” at them all the time?

Ultimately, my slow-fuse cheerleader status just got adjusted. YAY! for measured starts that let stories unfold, but BOO! for stories that take the reader's goodwill too far or don’t bring the goods at all. 

Anyone else experienced this?

Cheaper than a Mr Whippy!

Yup, still  banging on about Sunlounger, but it seems like a public service to herald the fact that it has just gone on Summer Sale at 99p on Amazon, which is less than 3p a story. Yes really, 3p. (Actually 0.0225p if you want to be mathematic about it). I'm sure penny chews can't be had for 3p nowadays, in spite of trade descriptions rules...
(For those in the outerworld, you can  currently acquire it on Amazon.com for $1.51. Sorry, did you want the math too? That's 0.034cents a pop. Bargain!)

For those who haven't bought it yet, the saving you'd make means you could have a ice-cream while you read it on your sunlounger. 

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Stories, stories, stories

I know I have been hammering on about the Sunlounger anthology quite a bit recently, but forgive me- it might be my only moment. However, more importantly,  it has highlighted that I had forgotten briefly how much I like short story anthologies. So this is about anthologies in general, and why I’m suggesting you should have some in your TBR pile.

As a form they are perfect for busy times when you really cannot afford for your brain to be wrapped up in a humdinger of a full length story. Like when summer holidays are imminent and school is at Defcon 5, or when you are plotting something of your own. It might just be me, but it is hard to lose yourself in your own thoughts when you are a slave to someone else’s. 

Anthologies are pick-up-and-put-downable. You don’t have to feel guilty about it. And let's be honest, if you don't like a story, you can just skip to the next without anyone noticing that you are cheating...

Genrewise, if you are new to a genre or want to extend your field of preferred writers, anthologies are fab for giving you a taster without the commitment to a whole book. Some writers will appeal and some might not. You cannot like everyone’s style. FACT. You’ll know not to seek their books out in future, but instead to go hunting for that author who you'd never heard of but who wowed you. 

Reading them as a collection, they bring something else to the table. I've just finished reading 21 Proms. As you can imagine all the stories were based on the theme of prom in all its guises. Reading all these stories as a batch showed how all these different writers tackled the theme in a vast variety of ways. They wrote from differing genres and with different POVs and tones. Across the book, you come to consider the choices they have made in constructing the story.

 If you write, it encourages you to try something new in your own writing. I just had a go at 2nd POV, which isn’t my norm, prompted by one of these stories. Using Sunlounger as an example, the collections shows a multitude of ideas based on women travelling. They are all so different. Some involve a love interest, some don’t; some are open ended, some complete; most are realistic, but some have a fantasy lilt. So many styles, all within the umbrella of Women’s fiction or Chciklit.

This isn’t just a one off. There have been various anthologies in my TBR lists in the few years;

21 Proms -ed. David Levithan and Daniel Ehrenhaft

Losing It - ed. Keith Gray

Let it snow. (Three stories by three writers, to form one whole.) -John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle)

Steampunk! ed. Gavin J Grant

Naked City , Tales of Urban Fantasy – ed. Ellen Datlow

 The Curiosities -Maggie Stiefvater, Tess Gratton & Brenna Yovanoff)

If you are looking to add something different to you TBR pile, this would be my summer recommendation: Whether you are a writer or not, grab yourself an anthology, of the theme of your choice, and see the joy that a cluster of little things can bring.

Anyone got any to recommend? Please let me know through the comments box below.