Judith Johnson
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My Fantastic Five - Books I Love #1: Sara Browne

20/11/2018

4 Comments

 
When my favourite item in the Waitrose Weekend paper (My Best Books) was chopped to just one book a week from five, I really missed it - I just love to hear what other people rate their cherished reads, so I decided to start my own guest-blog. Many thanks to Sara Browne for agreeing to be my pioneer!
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Sara trained at CSSD and was an actor for many years before changing career in her fifties to become a lecturer in Early Years and education. She currently works for Beanstalk, a children’s reading charity, training volunteers to turn children who struggle with reading into passionate bookworms.

Here are her fantastic five:
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​Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
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I paid 3d for this at the village fete when I was 7. I have read it dozens of times. Who did I want to be? It was either Posy, because she danced so brilliantly, or Pauline because she was beautiful and got to do theatre and eventually the movies. Nowadays I fully appreciate the efforts Narnie made to hold the family together, but I don’t want to be her. Maybe I could be Petrova and fly planes; maybe I should read it again and find out.

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​Excellent Women
by Barbara Pym
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This was the first of her novels that I read, tempted by the statement that she was “underrated” and “neglected”. She works on a very small canvas: mid C20 Middle England, academia, the church, awkward romances. It’s a safe, Pinewood Studios world, but not without depth and wit. I have laughed out loud at some moments and characters.

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​Appetite by Nigel Slater
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I had an occasional email correspondence with Nigel Slater before he got swallowed up by Twitter. I once told him that I read this book of his from cover to cover, as though it was a novel, and he was delighted. It is almost twenty years old now, and he will admit that food tastes and fashions move on, but he consistently reeks of warmth and pleasure and variety. Keeping Smarties in the basic store cupboard is just one of his strokes of genius.

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​Miss Hargreaves
by Frank Baker
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A dear friend sent me this. It is bizarre, surreal and enchanting. The protagonists set up a situation for a joke and then tie themselves in knots trying to justify and then reverse it. The suspension of disbelief is key here. I believe in Miss Hargreaves, but like Norman and Henry, I don’t have any rationale. Enormous fun.

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The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald

I loved this book so much when I first read it that I saved reading it again for a time when I could pay it fullest attention. It is very romantic, so brilliantly evocative and so clean and spare in style. I send copies to people all the time, sharing the joy.

4 Comments
Alison Cromb
26/12/2018 09:09:06 pm

Because “ Ballet Shoes” remains my favourite Noel Streatfield, I have ordered the others on your list through my local library. I am looking forward to reading them over our long summer break

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Judith Johnson link
27/12/2018 09:27:01 am

Hi Alison- delighted to read your comment, which I will pass on to Sara. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to think her favourites have appealed to another reader! All best, Judith

Reply
Sara Browne
27/12/2018 11:20:09 am

That’s so delightful to read! I hope you really enjoy finding some new books.

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Simon T (StuckinaBook) link
6/6/2019 08:52:59 am

Lovely to see Miss Hargreaves mentioned - my favourite novel!

Reply



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    Lifelong bookworm, love writing too. Have been a theatrical agent and reflexologist among other things, attitude to life summed up by Walt Whitman's MIRACLES.

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