HELEN McCOOKERYBOOK: Read on Sister!

I really am a fan of Helen McCookerybook. Her blog is essential reading, if - like me - you like meandering stories about DIY, books, politics and being an unconventional female musician in a conventional person's word. The other day she posted such a delightful ramble which started off with her nearly sticking two of her fingers together with superglue and soon went on to recent books she has read. I was so engrossed in it that I felt duty bound to share it with you as the perfect antidote to a monday morning.

I have just narrowly avoided supergluing two of my fingers together while gluing som draught excluding stuff to the bottom of the door. Offsprog Two and myself have been painting and decorating and I have also spectacularly failed in an attempt at making a raspberry cake.
There's a huge pile of books on the floor, some academic (we haven't had access to the campus during the Olympics so half of my books are here) and some not. As usual I have been plundering local charity shops for crime novels. One, by Lynda La Plante, was so racist that I read it till the end, expecting some sort of ironic twist that never materialised. I read a jolly dark book by Ruth Rendell..

I'm halfway through Max 'battle of' Hastings' autobiography; I got a bit stuck in the bit where he indulges himself in a lot of war stories as told by his relatives. I am also halfway through Women and Madness by Phyllis Chesler,which is an unnerving read for any woman born in the middle of the 20th century; when husbands tired of their wives even in the early part of that century and before, it was common practice to declare them mad and have them committed to an asylum. Having earned this label a mere five years ago, I count myself very lucky to have been born when I was. The book is informative and frightening in equal parts, although the references to the classical stories of gods and goddesses don't add anything to its discourse. It is an essential read and was given to me by Caroline Coon, who was given one in turn by Yoko Ono...

Read on...

...and check out her Gonzo artist page