LISA JEWELL!!
I first discovered Lisa's work trawling on Amazon one day - I'd actually just bought another book and it came up with one of those "67% of the people who bought the book you just bought also bought this one" (I'm easily influenced) and after reading the reviews of 31 Dream Street I thought, why not?
That why not turned into an obsessive scouring of bookstores all over London for every Lisa Jewell book I could lay my hands on! After tonight, I now own all of them!
Her books are very easy to read, in the sense that the story flows so effortlessly - although after talking to her tonight I gathered that the writing process is certainly not effortless by any means! Her stories transport you into the minituae of people's lives, right down to the colours of their walls and what they have for breakfast. It's the sort of writing I love to read - pure escapism. I also love that they are all set in London - the city that has become my home over the last two years - and I get a giddy thrill over the familiarity I feel with the settings. Joy in Vince and Joy buys a house in the suburb I live in, for example! (well not for much longer, as I'm moving next week).
Lisa's books remind me that there is so much pleasure to be found in reading. Reading for the sheer joy of it, to be lost in a story, to relax and escape. When I studied English at university I still read for pleasure but found myself constantly in an analytical mode where I couldn't really let go and enjoy it for its own sake. I remember a tutorial where one of my professors said "when you've finished studying and can read for pleasure again..." and going on to recommend a few books to us (which I promptly went and borrowed from the library out of sheer curiousity) - so yes, even they were acutely aware that too much of anything will eventually make it less enjoyable. Hence why Ulysses continues to be such a challenge for me!
This evening didn't get off to the best start though. If you're in London, you'll know that it was pouring with rain. I had an umbrella, but unfortunately it had got an ink stain on it from a leaking pen in my handbag some months back. I'd forgotten about this. I walked merrily to the tube, and when I got on the Central line to Notting Hill, I noticed nearly everyone was staring at me, and not in a good way. Thinking that it was probably just my mascara running from the rain, I got out my compact.
Did I mention that the ink stain on my umbrella was a green ink stain?! I looked like I'd walked out of a swamp! Boots cucumber cleansing wipes to the rescue.
And the umbrella went promptly in the bin!!
Anyway, after that drama was taken care of (had I not noticed the stares, would anyone have told me I wonder?!) and I'd had a latte-stroopwafl pitstop, I went along and enjoyed the panel very much. Two other contemporary writers were there, Carole Matthews and Isabel Wolff, and the three read excerpts from their latest books and then took questions from the crowd. I got my burning "how to solve writers block" question answered! Carole Matthews suggested I do something completely off-the-wall like naked bungee jumping, and then write about it! I don't think I'd do it naked, but I liked the tip! Carole also reinforced for me the importance of discipline, which I seem to have lacked a little lately. She said "even with everything else in your life, you can find half an hour or an hour to write each day. If you can't find that small amount of time, then you don't want it enough." My stomach lurched a little with the truth of those words.
When the evening drew to a close, Lisa very kindly signed my books (I resisted the urge to bring all of them with me, on the advice of TS that I not look crazy!) and we had a nice chat about some things she'd brought up in the panel discussion. She was so friendly and easy to talk to, exactly as I imagined she'd be. I can't believe I'd thought twice about going - I'm so glad I did!
I started reading on the tube home :)
Hope you all had an equally wonderful Friday night!
I first discovered Lisa's work trawling on Amazon one day - I'd actually just bought another book and it came up with one of those "67% of the people who bought the book you just bought also bought this one" (I'm easily influenced) and after reading the reviews of 31 Dream Street I thought, why not?
That why not turned into an obsessive scouring of bookstores all over London for every Lisa Jewell book I could lay my hands on! After tonight, I now own all of them!
Her books are very easy to read, in the sense that the story flows so effortlessly - although after talking to her tonight I gathered that the writing process is certainly not effortless by any means! Her stories transport you into the minituae of people's lives, right down to the colours of their walls and what they have for breakfast. It's the sort of writing I love to read - pure escapism. I also love that they are all set in London - the city that has become my home over the last two years - and I get a giddy thrill over the familiarity I feel with the settings. Joy in Vince and Joy buys a house in the suburb I live in, for example! (well not for much longer, as I'm moving next week).
Lisa's books remind me that there is so much pleasure to be found in reading. Reading for the sheer joy of it, to be lost in a story, to relax and escape. When I studied English at university I still read for pleasure but found myself constantly in an analytical mode where I couldn't really let go and enjoy it for its own sake. I remember a tutorial where one of my professors said "when you've finished studying and can read for pleasure again..." and going on to recommend a few books to us (which I promptly went and borrowed from the library out of sheer curiousity) - so yes, even they were acutely aware that too much of anything will eventually make it less enjoyable. Hence why Ulysses continues to be such a challenge for me!
This evening didn't get off to the best start though. If you're in London, you'll know that it was pouring with rain. I had an umbrella, but unfortunately it had got an ink stain on it from a leaking pen in my handbag some months back. I'd forgotten about this. I walked merrily to the tube, and when I got on the Central line to Notting Hill, I noticed nearly everyone was staring at me, and not in a good way. Thinking that it was probably just my mascara running from the rain, I got out my compact.
Did I mention that the ink stain on my umbrella was a green ink stain?! I looked like I'd walked out of a swamp! Boots cucumber cleansing wipes to the rescue.
And the umbrella went promptly in the bin!!
Anyway, after that drama was taken care of (had I not noticed the stares, would anyone have told me I wonder?!) and I'd had a latte-stroopwafl pitstop, I went along and enjoyed the panel very much. Two other contemporary writers were there, Carole Matthews and Isabel Wolff, and the three read excerpts from their latest books and then took questions from the crowd. I got my burning "how to solve writers block" question answered! Carole Matthews suggested I do something completely off-the-wall like naked bungee jumping, and then write about it! I don't think I'd do it naked, but I liked the tip! Carole also reinforced for me the importance of discipline, which I seem to have lacked a little lately. She said "even with everything else in your life, you can find half an hour or an hour to write each day. If you can't find that small amount of time, then you don't want it enough." My stomach lurched a little with the truth of those words.
When the evening drew to a close, Lisa very kindly signed my books (I resisted the urge to bring all of them with me, on the advice of TS that I not look crazy!) and we had a nice chat about some things she'd brought up in the panel discussion. She was so friendly and easy to talk to, exactly as I imagined she'd be. I can't believe I'd thought twice about going - I'm so glad I did!
I started reading on the tube home :)
Hope you all had an equally wonderful Friday night!
Oh my gosh! I LOVED Ralph's Party by her!! I never thought of looking for more books. Now on my list of things to do:
ReplyDelete1. Add your blog to my favs list
2. Order more Lisa Jewell books from Amazon.
Her style is exactly the kind of engaging, character-based reading that I'm in the mood for right now!
(Although to me, the settings are exotic rather than familiar.)
Thanks for the prompt!
Thanks!! I hadn't read Ralph's Party yet - it was the only one I hadn't got (apart from the new one!) - I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteIt's perfect weekend reading....except I have to pack this weekend!
I have read them all as well, except for her newest one! Will have to look out for it- might need to wait til back in Japan now since I have had to box up all the books except those I plan to read in the next five weeks.
ReplyDeleteShe is a fantastic author!
JELLUS! :P
ReplyDeleteI always loved her 'how i became an author' story... just makes you think, all you need is the guts to throw yourself into it :)
You sort of hit the nail on the head of why I didn't study English at Uni - too much analysis and not enough pleasure!
ReplyDelete*Makes me think of Colerdige's definition of a poem: "A poem is that species of composition, which is opposed to works of science, by proposing for its immediate object pleasure, not truth..."