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The Boozy Book Club Blog - Books & Literature
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Matt Haig's, The Life Impossible.
What would I want readers to know about this book if they had picked it up to think about buying it?I'd want them to know they should feel a sense of excitement. That there is a visceral joy to be found between it's pages. That they were about to go on an adventure, at times so fantastical and full of magic that they would wonder where it was taking them. For me, that's one of the many beautiful merits, losing yourself in a good story brings - a sense of escape, somewhere to go that intrigues
Our Book Club Home from Home!
Words can't describe how delighted I am to be bringing our Book Club Meetings to The Marine Hotel, North Berwick every month.It's such a gorgeous, cosy space with sumptuous armchairs and sofas, cocktails on tap or a mocktail if you don't want the Boozy part of The Boozy Book Club. It feels like the perfect place to meet up with the authors, be that in person or via zoom.And that's exactly what we are doing every month! The first live zoom broadcast with author Fran Littlewood was a huge learning
Bookish Gifts for your (Cow) Girls
You all know by now how much I love pairing and in fact how much I love sharing too. When I find something good I want to shout LOUD about it. I read Dawn O'Porter's book, The Cows quite a few years ago, well before The Boozy Book Club ever started. It's brilliant, fast paced with a real "Oh My God" what just happened moment too. A fab book to share with your girlfriends. I discovered Dirty Cow last year because my daughter is lactose Intolerant and used to love Bailey's but obviously it doesn't
Bookcitement!!!
I am always most excited when I've finally done all my runs to the post office and I know my boxes are on their way to everyone. It's the thrill of knowing they'll be opened soon and I so love to hope that the anticipation of opening your Boozy Book Club Box is always a delightful one and that you enjoy all the parts that make up the box. I'm always a little bit mad with myself when I don't get them to the post office till a Friday or Saturday because then I always have to wait the whole weekend
Win this beautiful piece of Imprint Casting Art!
It's been such a delight pulling together all the element's for this month's Boozy Book Club Box. Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee is an absolutely gorgeous story about Sarah Haworth, a young girl pushed to the outskirts of society who has hopes and dreams like any other teenage girl. Cunning Women or Cunning Folk, were also known as folk healers or wise folk and were known for making botanical potions and lotions. Their practices were known as the cunning craft. Some were persecuted as witches. W
Book Club Questions for Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
This Thursday (30th March) we'll be back online for our Boozy Book Club discussion for Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. Thanks to Karen for the above photo of her "December of Crows" cocktail (I wish I'd added cream) that was paired with last month's book. I am seriously tempted to get some more Hotel Chocolat sachets so I can make myself another one for Thursday night. I always knew I wanted the drink to be a take on an Irish coffee, for obvious reasons but a warm drink seemed even mor
Our Book Club Questions for A Terrible Kindness, by Jo Browning Wroe.
A new feature for our Book Club discussions. Every month when we meet via zoom to chat with the author of that months book, I will also post here the questions I want you individually to have a think about and then if any of you want to discuss with us after the author has left, I'll open up the floor to you!!! A good book can bring with it a whole host of emotions for the reader and really give us something to reflect upon. I think sharing these emotions, coping strategies and the things we lea
Balancing Act...
It's a tough time for everyone right now, businesses, families, people - we are all feeling the pinch and to say it's stressful is an understatement. It's hard to know what to do and I am sure I am not the only one having sleepless nights worrying. One things for sure though, I'll keep on trying and I'm a firm believer that if you work hard, try your very best, are full of good intentions and ideas and have a wonderful community supporting you, then you are in a much better place than most. When
Once upon a time....
One of my friends once said to me "Kirsty, you are a bloody Fairytale!" and I am not going to lie, I often have my head in the clouds and sometimes I'm completely away with the fairies, but I was absolutely delighted with this description! Today my mind was blown!!! Those of you who joined our online meet, way back in March, with Matt Haig, will remember when he told us about his Christmas movie and I told him that in a past life (or business), I was actually Mrs Christmas for 5 years, welcomin
New Year, New Books, New Hero's
I didn't just read this book once and it definitely won't be the last time I pick it up either. As soon as I had finished it I was skim reading it to send snippets to friends, to make them laugh (there are so many hilarious anecdotes in this book), to make them know they aren't alone in what they are facing and to just generally buoy them on. Caitlin Moran get's it and says it in a way that makes you hopeful too. Hopeful that we are getting somewhere even if there is a long way still to go, hope
Norman's about to become your new favourite person!
How often do you read a book that is so gorgeously uplifting and full of feel good vibes, that you want to share it with everyone you know, because even if they aren't big readers you know a book like this will make them, A) Want to read more books & B) Feel very, very warm inside! This is exactly the kind of book "The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman" by Julietta Henderson is. Oh, My, I LOVED it so much. It's the kind of story that makes you want to be a better person. That restores your fait
Getting Lost in Stories
It's easy to get lost inside our own heads and to not be as kind to ourselves as we would be to others and it's useful to have tools to help you unwind, even distract when the buzzing from the outside world gets too much. This week is MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and as much as many of us now have a greater understanding and awareness of mental health issues it's still important not to stop the conversation. The last couple of years have been strange ones and as the world is opening back up again a
Gingerly Comforting...
Before I even get started on this month's box, especially if you read the blog post before this one, WE ONLY BLOOMING DID IT!!! With the help and support and love and just general spurring me on and making me believe it might just be possible, all of you and some more, made it happen. I successfully won my daughter Abbie's Hare at the auction, to keep it in the community for everyone to enjoy. I'm not going to lie, I was an emotional wreck and I am certainly not cut out for the auction room. You
A Good Heart these Days is Hard to Find...
Showing my age here, who else sang that title? And actually if this month's book is anything to go by, then I don't agree with old Feargal, because this book is brimming with the very best kind of hearts. I LOVED this story so much, but I will admit it made me sob (a lot) too. Our Because of You Boozy Book Club Box is live on the website, ready to buy and I'll be packing (for my sins) all week and sending them out to all of you. Once the first lot have reached their new homes, I'll let you know
My All Time Faves!
Who remembers the brilliant bags that went in our Lost Dog boxes, the apocalypse kits from My Name is Monster or the beautifully, luxurious soaps that went in The End of Men box? Over the years there have been some fantastic gifts picked to theme with the book and I have loved collaborating with so many other female independents. It's a great way to introduce companies I've found and loved to you guys. For a long, long time (well as long as you can get in a 23 month old business) I have wanted t
Dancing with Death
Scuse me, while I play with my glitter ball (a lovely Christmas gift) but as we have already sold out of January's book (I will try to get more if poss), I thought I'd let you all know the dazzling book I've lined up for February. This book was recommended to me by Evie Wyld, who wrote The Bass Rock which was in the Box way back last August. I loved Mrs Death misses death, so poetic, so thought-provoking. It's intoxicating, joyous and heartbreaking. It's powerful and will make you think. For alt
Dark & Stormy Cocktails and Tunes
I am having far too much fun getting February's Box - Mrs Death Misses Death, ready for you all. I have sampled so many delicious cocktails and found it so hard to choose that I've had to just settle for two. One has been made for you by Cocktail Canaries and is in the box and the other has the recipe included on the bookmark for you to try making for yourself. It's my version of a Dark and Stormy, a mood and taste that suits the book perfectly and I have named it "Dark Date Rum-ba". The recipe
New Month means New Book!
I am so excited to be welcoming Christina Sweeney-Baird to The Boozy Book Club. Imagine writing a book about a viral pandemic that sweeps the world killing many and then having to complete the final edit while you find yourself in Lockdown due to the Corona Virus. Actually having the virus and not knowing when you'll see your family next. This is exactly what happened to Christina Sweeney-Baird after writing her debut novel, The End of Men in 2018/19. What she had thought was a wildly imaginativ
Bouncing Back!!! (with lot's of new books).
When I didn't manage to get the author of our first book of the year to join us, I'll admit, I felt a bit deflated and like I'd let everybody down. You all, on the other hand, told me not to be silly and when we met for our zoom it was really lovely to have you all join in the conversation about the book too. Going forward, I'm looking at having two meets a month. One with the author and one just for all of us to chat about the book - watch this space! Now having had our first author join us thi
Release Your Inner Witch!
When I read The Crucible by Arthur Miller as a teenager at school, I still remember the feelings of outrage and shock I had for the persecution of women and girls convicted as witches, the disbelief in the mass hysteria and what can happen when a society is consumed by superstition and fear. I was angry at the men calling the shots, but also disappointed in how the girls seemed to so easily turn against each other. But I also remember feeling worried. I wondered where my moral compass would lie
An Artfully Curated Box
This months box - The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld, feels even more curated than ever and I think that's because of all the Artists I have been able to work with to make up the extra gifts going in the box. As well as having chosen a book named after a famous landmark in my town, which has inspired so much artwork over the years, I have also been inspired by another local project - The Big Hare Trail. Dotted all around my hometown of North Berwick for the past few months, have been 10 stunning and hug
Full of Soul
I’ve been looking at this bottle for days now and thinking how it matches this month’s beautiful book - Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden And there’s a funny wee story that goes with this bottle - it was a handmade prize given to me and my partner Andy (To the Berry’s, though I’m still not a Berry, never say never 😂) for being the best fancy-dress pair at a very macabre Halloween party, hosted by my friend, Nik. He loves all things gory while me, well I'm a big wuss! Not entirely sure exa
Sunday Musings
I feel like I am having the perfect Sunday! Some of my friends are away doing a half marathon and I may hugely admire them but think I know myself well enough now to know that's not my thing. My partner and youngest son have gone out to take Bob a huge walk up the Law and I have the whole place to myself. I've read, I've written, I've reflected and I'm feeling relaxed and in touch with who I am. Younger me might have felt guilty for not going too but I'm trying to understand myself better and tr
For New Christmas Traditions!
Anybody else's kids wondering what all the fuss and delight is about when your Boozy Book Club Box arrives each month? Anyone else's kids saying they wish they got a book box too? Matt Haig said my attention to detail is second to none, but actually I can't take all the credit for the very beautiful Christmas Book Box (it's for kid's but I've treated myself to my very own one). My daughter Abbie illustrated the boxes for me. I wanted them to be a beautiful keepsake box that creates a new Christ
Finding Joy in the Little Things!
As I type this I'm bubbling over with Joy and excitement. This month's book is so Joyful, inside and out and as well as launching it, I'm also trying to launch a # FindYourJoyrides campaign to raise funds for the mental health charity - MIND. Now, I know I am easily excitable (you should have seen my face when I received a voice note on my phone, from Angela Scanlon herself, I mean just her gorgeous, lilting, Irish accent is enough to make you smile!) but this time the excitement isn't just for
Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow
Tonight we have Evie Wyld, author of The Bass Rock joining us online for our monthly Boozy Book Club meet-up. It's actually the second time, I will have chatted to Evie as she also came to our first ever live author meet up as part of Fringe by the Sea, an annual festival in my Hometown of North Berwick. When I saw her book in a shop window, it immediately intrigued me as The Bass Rock is ever present in my morning dips on East Beach. You can see it in the picture above, as well as The Scottish
Guess who's Back?
Back again, Haig is back, Tell a friend! I'm just a little bit excited and I just want to double make sure everyone knows that this is happening (again!!!). I don't want anybody missing out. The most genuine, lovely, chatty and blooming brilliant author - MATT HAIG is only gracing The Boozy Book Club with his presence again. All my friends and family keep saying to me, when I excitedly tell them my news, "But you knew he would" and I keep telling them, "Honestly, I just didn't want to tempt fate
Absolutely Buzzing to bring you our March Box.
A first for The Boozy Book Club - A Historical Novel! If you are like me, sometimes a historical novel can put you off as sometimes they are so tied up in telling you the history of the time that you lose the story and sometimes that puts me off a bit. Not this one though, perfectly pitched with just the right amount of factual history to set the scene but with the loveliest characters and friendships going on to make you keep wanting to read more. Another 3 day read for me and I'm sure everyone