Interview with author Andrew Clover

Welcome Andrew Clover, who is on a blog tour to promote his new book, The Things I'd Miss. I used to like reading Andrew's column, Dad Rules, in the Sunday Times Style magazine. I miss it! So it's pretty cool to be able to ask him a few questions here...

First book you remember reading?
A Fly Went By by Dr Seuss. I was walking through my brother’s room, I kneeled down to read it, and I still remember finishing it and thinking: I just read a whole book on my own! I can’t tell you what the plot was. I think it involved a fly, which went by.

How do you decide on what book to read?
Well I write literate love stories, so I read up the best stuff in that genre (Beautiful Remains, One Day, Where’d Did You Go, Bernadette..) While

BOOK CLUB REVIEW: The Dinner (Herman Koch)

On a summer’s evening in Holland, two middle class couples meet for dinner at a rather pretentious restaurant.

Over the course of the meal, a dark and troubling secret is revealed about their teenage children.

Billed as a ‘Marmite’ book – you’ll either love it or hate it – the story hinges on our perception of the unreliable narrator, Paul, as we begin to question his motives and morality.

In fact, the dinner went down universally well with book club. The lack of ‘likeable’ characters wasn’t off-putting and we agreed that it was a story that drew the reader in.

A short book, set in one place and time (with the use of flashbacks), it reads like a well-made play, set over three acts.

Wallace and Gromit

   


    Latest column page 6, in which I compare my children to a well-known dynamic     duo....

Apologies for a belated BOOK CLUB BOOK REVIEW: Apple Tree Yard (Louise Doughty)

My goodness! What’s happening? Nothing since March and then I go a write two in one day. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: blog posts are like buses. Well, mine are anyway.

This is a partial review. It’s more like a letter to explain why it’s not a review. Of the dog-ate-it variety.

You see, the thing about writing a book blog is that you really need to read books. Ordinarily this is not a problem for me. However, of late, I’ve been using the little bit of me-time I have before I go to sleep to do something other than reading. Never fear, this is not going to be too gratuitous. Although it does involve YouTube.

Diary of a laissez-faire mum

Bonjour! Tour de France fever is reaching boiling point here in our part of Yorkshire, where the famous cycling race will be taking off in a matter of weeks.

Even I've got into the spirit, and my latest Families column is all about Le Grand Depart. I say latest, but in true (im)perfect style I have left it a little late posting the May/June issue.

And while I'm in confessional mode (when am I not?) I failed to update the previous, March/April issue too. So there they both are, two for le price of one. (Page 6 in both).

 

BOOK REVIEW: H is for Hummus (Joel Rickett and Spencer Wilson)

Forget advice. Forget bath oils and cupcakes. When a friend has a baby, buy her this book.

What better initiation into modern parenting than this seriously funny, tongue-in-cheek ABC.

A is for Apple, B is for Ball, blah blah blah....
Get up to speed with the realities of modern day toddlers and their  busy schedules with this essential handbook, in which A is for Allergy, B is for Babyccino and C is for Controlled Crying.

For parents who love nothing more than a good laugh at themselves, this gorgeous little rib-tickler, which I was introduced to by my good friend @kchickman, is a perfect way to keep you sane

Happy (Chinese) New Year

Hello hello and a very belated happy new year to you. I am a tardy blogger, I do apologise. I'd make a new year's resolution, but my unreliability in this area is documented on page 20 of the current issue of Families, on which I share 10 Resolutions I Already Know I Will Break....

There's also the column, on page 6, where I confess parenting failure when it comes to the five-year-old's Show and Tell day at school.

And since I missed the first new year, I will bid you a happy Chinese one instead. My little boy has been learning all about it at school. He's very excited. Last night