Being bookish

Posted on by nyamazela

“All the suspects in a classic murder mystery have secrets, and to keep them they lie, dissemble, evade the interrogations of the investigator. Everyone seems guilty because everyone has something to hide. For most of them, though, the secret is not murder.This is the trick on which detective fiction turns.”

The Suspicions of Mister Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale

ReadingBonjour à tous! ça fait trop longtemps!

Il fait intéressant pour vous: The word ‘clue’ comes from ‘clew’, meaning a ball of thread or wool. It came to mean ‘that which points the way’ from the Greek myth in which Theseus uses a ball of wool, given to him by Ariadne, to find his way out of the Minotaur’s labyrinth.

The plot of the ‘who-done-it’ – one of my fave genres – is a kind of knot. The story can only end satisfactorily with a denouement, an unknotting. Continue reading Being bookish

January writer’s block: stalking me like a monster

Posted on by nyamazela

“He was the crazy one who had painted himself black and defeated the world. She was the book thief without the words. Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain.”

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

never give upI knew this day would come. It’s been lying in wait, holding on for just a Tuesday like this one to pounce – writers block! One writer described it as the bogeyman waiting in the mirror. I’m looking into the mirror now, and all I see is little old me, defenceless. January is one of those months – regenerative, scary and disappointing all wrapped into 31 cold, short days. It holds so much promise, but who can carry all that pressure without occasionally stumbling at the awesome weight of the load? Continue reading January writer’s block: stalking me like a monster

Words: a beloved engine of communication and fun

Posted on by nyamazela

” Quite suddenly, with blinding insight, the secret of their blissful marriage was revealed to me. She couldn’t speak a word of English, and he couldn’t speak a word of Spanish.” 

Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950’s by Jennifer Worth

Mr & MrsHaving been married myself now for almost 18 months I cannot even begin to write tomes of wisdom on the subject, but I do love to collect quotes from books I have read. I share them first with my husband, who generally mumbles ‘ahem’ while distractedly reading something else. Then I highlight and save the clipping to muse over later. Continue reading Words: a beloved engine of communication and fun