A Book in Time

What an entertaining idea - to write the history of a book from the book's perspective! Spanning nearly 250 years, this beautifully-bound, first edition book of poems by Miss Emily Swanson travels from owner to owner, back and forth to France, is stored away, restored, and at the end, resurrected into new eternal life.

During its life time, the book is 'owned', cared for and adopted by interesting and famous people, such as Charlotte Brontë, Sylvia Beach, Sarah Grand - and meets many more authors, suffragettes and ordinary people. But the book always feels itself to be an orphan, longing to be reunited with its birth mother. And maybe that is the story of the author himself, who was adopted as a small child.

"Books can be both a blessing and a curse ....they can carry traces, memories of the times in your life when you read them, and those memories can sometimes be traumatic, tarnishing the value of the books in your estimation.... Books are like people. They come into our lives just when you need them ..."

This book has many quotes, alludes to many others, and is a gem of insights and information about literature, showing a wide knowledge of and love of writing. It is feels like years of research and and a deep love for literature and for specific books - such as the beautiful and gorgeously bound old book that is the narrator of this (alas paperback!) book.

And by the end - spoiler alert - the book is transported, from its futuristic destruction to a new and glorious eternal life, as the sun kisses the sea and the winter is truly over.

Perhaps above all this is a love story - about the longings we each have to be loved and cherished, to know and be known.

I enjoyed reading this, I enjoyed the literary associations and I enjoyed the ending. The only part I found uninteresting was the fantasy/futuristic chapters, which is just not my 'thing' but the rest was immensely fascinating. Well done to the author for being awarded the inaugural Page Turner Award For Fiction for this book.

Britain’s Most Relatable Mum Designer

‘Britain’s Most Relatable Mum Designer’, Isobella M. Smugge, (it rhymes with Br-ugge-s)  is back in fine fettle in her third year of living in the Suffolk countryside. She’s now a solo working parent of four, and is caught, as so many are, with looking after a young family while caring for an ailing parent – her gin-swilling mother who has moved in upstairs in Issy’s beautiful designer Georgian house.

As Issy’s life slowly but surely changes at every level, and as she continues to hashtag her way through it, her emotions are pulled in all directions. And so are those of her readers, laughing and crying at the different situations that arise, the difficulties facing Issy, and her explorations of the meanings of the Christian life. I chortled out loud at this for some time:

I might give this home group thing a try. I had Jenna over for

coffee the other day and she is a hoot! Within five minutes, I

was crying with laughter as she described an unfortunate

incident at their previous church. The Praise and Graze

Fellowship Lunch, a monthly event, was always fraught with

stress and tension owing to a long-running feud between two of

its members over flower arranging. Things came to a head just

after grace was said when one lady made a derogatory comment

about a salmon and broccoli quiche made by the other. Harsh

words were exchanged and a full-on fist fight was only averted

when the curate stepped in. “One of the ladies went over to the Methodists after that.

Probably just as well.”    #quichewars

Issy is a successful influencer and award-winning lifestyle author; there are certain standards she needs to maintain. But, without giving too much away, by the end of the book Issy is discovering that there is more to life than maybe she ever thought possible, that family and friends matter more than she had ever realised, that healing from deep wounds of the past is possible.

Ruth Leigh has done it again with this third book about her heroine, a wonderful mixture of Jane Austen heroines and Instagam influencers. By the end of this book, I was as ever sad to reach the final page, my head full of hashtags – and finding myself even beginning hilariously to add hashtags to my own stream of consciousness.

Ruth, what HAVE you done to us?!  More please.

Here's a challenge for you: think of a name for the next installment and you could appear in the book yourself!

“On the cover of book three, we see Issy taking a selfie. She’s been gazing at herself through the reflective lens of social media since we first met her back in January 2021, but three years on (in her life, anyway), that gaze is a lot clearer and it may be that she is considering a slightly different path. Once this book is out, I’m taking a break to publish something different next year. But for all you Smugge fans, don’t worry, the woman Gorgeous Home magazine once called, “Britain’s most relatable mum designer” will be back. There are too many dangling threads at the end of book three to leave her story there.

Which leads me to this. What do you think the fourth book should be called? Genuinely, I’d love your thoughts. If I pick one of your suggestions, your name will appear in that book as a character.”

” – from Ruth’s blog where you will find details as to how to send her your suggested title.

Ruth Leigh, creator of Isobella M Smugge

THE CONTINUED TIMES OF ISOBELLA M. SMUGGE is published on October 22nd. You can however already get a signed copy from Ruth’s website

Ruth says: Signed copies complete with merch can be ordered via my website (www.ruthleighwrites.co.uk) and from good bookshops, Eden, Waterstones and Amazon from 22nd October. In Suffolk, Issy Smugge is stocked by Woodbridge Books, Dial Lane Books in Ipswich and The Halesworth Bookshop.

Paperback and Kindle editions of books I & II:

The Art of Hospitality ...

….. or how to make people feel at home when you wish they were.

A Place at The Table - Miranda Harris and Jo Swinney.

This is a beautiful (hardback) book and is featured in The Big Church Read over the next few weeks  - there are 6 videos to download, discussion questions and more. To watch the video of Jo introducing the book, click HERE.

And if you like reading more about authors and their books, you can find photos, recipes, stories and more on the book's website. 

I was privileged to know Miranda and her husband Peter a little; and now Jo, their daughter. This book is an evocative and emotional and deeply moving read; it has extracts from Miranda's journals, Bible studies by Jo, Miranda's writings about the art of hospitality and how and why it's so important. 

"Rooted in the story of the Christian environmental conservation charity, A Rocha, and the life of its late co-founder, Miranda Harris, ‘A Place At The Table’ is a profound reflection on hospitality and the transformative power of community.

Miranda Harris' tragic death in 2019 sent a shockwave across the globe to those closest to her and the many who found her approach to hospitality and community a life-long inspiration. Her daughter Jo Swinney honors her mother’s dedication to a life of community and fellowship with ‘A Place At The Table’—pairing her own words with her mother’s writings and exploring how sharing food is at the heart of a shared life.

Now you can journey with Jo through ‘A Place At The Table’ with 6 exclusive videos and discussion questions, all available for FREE on the Big Church Read." - from The Big Church Read

Click HERE for the link

The book takes us through the stages of a meal and the weekly videos follow the same progression -

Session 1 - Chapter 1 Hunger

Session 2 - Chapter 2 Preparation

Session 3 - Chapter 3 Welcome

Session 4 - Chapter 4 At the table

Session 5 - Chapter 5 The clean-up

Session 6 - Chapter 6 The forever feast

Links for the hardback and the kindle editions:

And if you sign up to receive my monthly emails (on that annoying pop-up menu!) there’s a free signed hardback copy available for one lucky reader! You need to sign up by 3pm BST on Sunday Sept 25th so hurry and do it now! You’ll also receive some other free downloadables and special offers so don’t miss out on those!