Tag Archives: books

if you like recomendations…

Then you might like Librarything‘s features The Suggester and far better(er) The Unsuggester.

As you can imagine taking actual (publicly declared admittedly) collections of books and analysing similarity throws up some things you’d expect. So for example Blankets by Craig Thompson leads to an ordered list starting with his other works before widening out to Persepolis, Jimmy Corrigan, Watchmen, Box Office Poison and Bone. The unsuggester reveals a scary list of John Grisham, Robert Ludlum and Patricia Cornwell. Does this mean graphic novel fans hate series crime/thriller novels and vice-versa? Nothing shocking really.

Of course, Amazon have been doing this for years. I felt a little tickled that they saw fit to highlight that I might want to pre-order a Teasmade, or indeed a fan should I need to keep cool in the shocking November heat. I do love just how classic the teasmade styling is.
Tea-Hee.gif

Some things are best decided outwith the minds of machines.

2006 – a year of creation

2005 was a strange year.
It’s the first full year I’ve had down here in London, and it is still down here as I’m only just getting used to it being my home rather than Edinburgh. Of the many things I’ve done in 2005, the most rewarding has been the baking.

gingercake mix

So it was only proper that I made a cake today, a further variation on the ginger cake in Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries with mixed peel in the place of sultanas on the grounds that I don’t have any sultanas in the cupboard and that mixed peel is the best baking ingredient in the world.

gingercake oven

I don’t think I’ve ever blogged so little as the past few months, and while the fanzine idea is great and is happening – it didn’t really catch fire in 2005. There’s all manner of longer pieces up my sleeves and I feel in the mood for writing more, not least because I now have a nice clean new keyboard to write them on.

baked ginger cake

So, as ever, the proof will be in the eating but the aim of the year is to bake and cook more. Take some photographs with the new camera (a digital SLR at last – now that’s a good Christmas and Birthday present). I would be offering you some delightful photos of London today were it not for the fact that the January sales were far too tempting, and also the light was the greyer than grey.

May 2006 bring all of you dear (dimishing no doubt) readers all that you wish. I’ll be raving over the next few days on the Music, TV, and even Books that made staying in during 2005 worthwhile. The Theatre, Films and exhibitions that made 2005 worthwhile have almost all gone in one way or another (though if you are in London see Ibsen’s Pillars of the Community at the National Theatre – it’s ace).