#eburypress

New Post has been published on https://www.tiggerreviews.com/are-you-young-enough-to-read-this-book/

Are you young enough to read this book?

I liked this book in some ways – it is a sort of compilation of mini articles from a magazine – but very French orientated – which was a problem for me, as I don’t see myself having a French style at all – too short and dumpy – which was the other problem. The photos, wonderful though they were, were all of tall skinny women! No normal older – or even younger – women at all. And none of them were that old – just not young any more – by that they meant in their 20s.

I felt that the sayings were applicable to me and would have been even better if I had read the book in my 40s rather than now, when I am rather older than that, which was why a lot of the material was not applicable – and I’ve not had a divorce, and was married in my early 20s, so their lifestyle wasn’t applicable either. Which meant many of the articles weren’t.

Which was probably why the shorter pithy statements appealed to me more than the longer articles.

New Post has been published on http://www.tiggerreviews.com/and-the-girls-who-are-last/

And the girls who are last

At first I thought this was chick lit (baking et al) and then I realised it was much darker than that. The story unfolds from the viewpoint of a girl left alive after the horrific slaughter of her friends at a holiday cabin in the woods, and how many years later she is trying to live a ‘normal’ life. A normal life facilitated by Xanax, wine and nightmares.

There are 3 Final Girls in this story who were supposed to be linked up as Survivors and each tries to live on in a different way  – and as the story unfolds tragedy begins to stalk each of them. And it is this part of the story that hooked me and made think deeply about their methods of living and how would I cope? What would I do, if I were them?

New Post has been published on http://www.tiggerreviews.com/helping-the-war-injured/

Helping the War Injured

An initially interesting read and I did learn a lot about what was damaged and how the general populace still felt about Jews despite the War.  However, I got bogged down about half-way through as it really slowed down and nothing – or very little – happened. I found myself wishing for some action.

New Post has been published on http://www.tiggerreviews.com/lets-help-animals/

Lets help animals

A cozy gentle story with lots of animals and an idealised Dorset village.

About the only true thing about the village is how difficult it would be to get there – a long hilly road in and out, just the one road….

But who cares really?

New Post has been published on http://www.tiggerreviews.com/my-manifesto-is/

My Manifesto is:

I started reading this book and giggled and then I didn’t.

I didn’t giggle when Caitlin talked about Wolverhampton as I knew it from first hand experience when I taught there for 2 years. And so I felt that I knew those families and those children.

I didn’t giggle when she wrote about the so-called bedroom tax.

We are lucky we own our flat. And so on nights when I can’t sleep due to my disability I can use the 2nd bedroom to allow my husband to rest. Sleeping peacefully can be 2 ideas that don’t link for me -I am always restless and awake a lot. So we need our 2nd bedroom. And it permits visitors!

I was a ‘lucky’ working class child as my father worked. So did my grandfather until he was over 70. We needed the money in our multi-generational household to pay the mortgage we had to take out when our house owner wanted to sell. At that after some 30 years of renting from him. 4 adults and 2 children in 2.25 bedroom house. With no central heating until after we bought!

I was lucky in that I was able to obtain a full grant to go to university which paid tuition and some board and lodging. Topped up by the work I did each holiday of course otherwise I could never afford the rent on the mice infested house I shared with several other students! And university moved me up a ‘class’ into being a professional.

I remember celebrating Thatcher’s educational achievement of removing the milk from Primary school children – the milk that enabled my generation to grow bigger than our parents – with a large bonfire in the city square and burning her effigy! All the while chanting ‘Milk Snatcher Thatcher’.