Mary Roach, Gulp

As Christmas is 3 days away, this book about digestion seems kind of appropriate, as no doubt a lot of people will be indulging and over-eating. 

Synopsis: (non-fiction) Mary Roach takes a tour along the alimentary canal, from mouth to rectum, making stopoffs along the way to discuss pet food, drug smuggling and fecal transplants. An informative and disgusting look at our digestive system. 

Rating: 3.5/5   

full review under the cut:

IWM- modern warfare

I'm going to step away from the Christmas posts and show you some more (rather un-festive) pictures from my recent trip to the Imperial War Museum, London.

I've followed the floor plan of the museum and split my posts to reflect the different exhibition, these pictures are all from the modern warfare section:-

Time for Tea

Another good idea for a Christmas present is to treat a loved one to a spot of tea somewhere special. You could make an event of it, or do it as part of a day trip or shopping expedition.

Here are a couple of places I'd recommend in London and the south:-

present ideas for readers

I've got a slightly smug face on as I've only got one Christmas present left to buy, but if you're struggling to think of something to buy for the reader in your family I've got some ideas.

List under the jump:-

Christmas ideas- Non fiction

One of my new years resolutions for 2014 was to read more non-fiction- I've kind of failed on this one.

Still, here are some non-fiction releases that have caught my eye, and are potential ideas for Christmas presents:-

Lyndsay Faye, Dust and Shadow

Seems ages ago that I did a proper book review- so allow me to present Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye....

The Plot: A serial killer is on the loose, dubbed The Knife, he is murdering, then mutilating street-walkers in Whitechapel. Unable to solve the case, the metropolitan police engage the help of a renown crime-fighting duo, Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes. It isn't long before suspicion falls on Holmes himself, and the private detective may well have met his match with Jack the Ripper.  

Rating: 3/4

WW1, Imperial War Museum

As I've already said, the First World War galleries at the Imperial War Museum have recently been renovated.

Let's take a closer look:-

The Imperial War Museum, London

This weekend I went to The Imperial War Museum. It has recently been renovated to coincide with the centenary of the First World War this year. 

 

I'm going to split up my photographs, to cover the different exhibitions in depth, but I just wanted to briefly give an overview if you are considering visiting IWM. 

The museum is free to visit, open daily 10:00-6:00. Due to the high volume of visitor at the moment, it is timed entry for the WW1 exhibition, but again this free (but still very crowded). 

Photograph is allowed in the museum, apart from (and rightly so) in the Holocaust exhibition. Another thing to note- the Holocaust exhibition is not recommended for children under the age of 14, and includes graphic photographs. 

We spent about 4 and half hours in IWM and didn't manage to see all of the exhibitions. We didn't go in Truth and Memory or A Family in Wartime, simply because we ran out of time. 

I'd recommend you bring your own food and drink. There was a poor choice of sandwiches and both the tea and coffee are horrible.    

Bookity

With Christmas coming up (hey, it's officially December, it's ok to talk about it now) I thought I'd start giving you some gift ideas for your bibliophile friend.

I was given this bracelet for my birthday by my smallest sister- but this is the first time I'm showing it off on the blog.
 

It is available on etsy  and The Literary Gift Company. It designed by Bookity, who makes handmade jewellery from damaged books.

My particular bracelet is made from Kafka of The Shore by Haruki  Murakami. I'm a big fan of his work, read my reviews of The Underground  and  Tsukuri Tasaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. There are plenty of other authors to choose from including Tolkien, Austen and Agatha Christie.  

The bracelet feels tactile, the inside is smooth. The only downside is, that the clasp is non-adjustable.  

P.s Happy Birthday to my big sister!

what I've read this month (November)

This post should have gone up yesterday, but I was out and about. This month I've read a grand total of two books:-

1. Patrick Rothfus, The Wise Man's Fear 
2. Richard Flanagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North 

The Narrow Road was this years' Man Booker winner, but as you can see by my review I wasn't blown away by it. 

The Wise Man's Fear is the second book in a fantasy series I'm intending to work my way through. My review of the first book can be read here.  This one is more of the same really, a solid fantasy epic, that is sometimes formulaic but nevertheless entertaining. 

I've started several books this month, but have yet to finish them. On a morning I'm just picking up whatever is to hand and whatever can fit in my bag, so it has meant my reading this month has been bitty. 

Hopefully I'm going to be more organised this month, and be able to read more and blog more regularly.