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#OffMyShelf “hardback”

This book disappointed me. It‘s not quite memoir nor is it a proper history of jigsaw puzzles or of children‘s games. It‘s a hodgepodge and, IMO, it didn‘t always hang together. Some will find the hodgepodge charming, no doubt. Still, Drabble is a good writer, so it wasn‘t always a slog and I did learn the occasional fact, which hopefully I will remember. Like the Temple of Mithras in London.

#WhereAreYouMonday

I‘m mainly in Long Bennington in Lincolnshire off the Great North Road where Margaret Drabble‘s maternal grandparents had a tea house and lodging during her childhood. This is a gentle, introspective memoir, focusing mainly on one favorite aunt, but also quite meandering.

“Writers are territorial, and they resent intruders.”

I had no idea Margaret Drabble and A. S. Byatt are sisters. That‘s a prolific pair! Here, Drabble is speaking about not wanting to offend anyone when writing about her relationship with her aunt. I imagine it‘s hard to “write what you know” when you have to call dibs on what you both know.

January is National Puzzle month! To celebrate, I‘m reading The Pattern in the Carpet by Margaret Drabble, which is supposed to be part memoir, part jigsaw history. I don‘t know French, so I don‘t know what these endpapers say, but I do know they are gorgeous! #nonfiction2019 #somethingpersonal

A little late posting, but thanks for the tag, @4thhouseontheleft I checked my #TBRBingo card to see what I'm most looking forward to, and these are my #fivestarpredictions. I feel like I may be the last to post for this tag, but if you haven't participated yet, I'd love to see your #fivestarpredictions!