Professor Munakata's British Museum Adventure - Hoshino Yukinobu

Professor Munakata's British Museum Adventure by Hoshino Yukinobu. Published by the British Museum Press, 2011.

Professor Munakata's British Museum Adventure is a manga by Hoshino Yukinobu created in collaboration with the British Museum. The British Museum hosted an exhibition of Yukinobu's work in 2009 and invited the author to come and visit. This visit inspired several drawings of Professor Munakata (one of Yukinobu's reoccurring characters), which led to another visit to the British Museum and eventually this book. Although I've hardly ever read manga (I read the first two volumes of Full Metal Alchemist in high school a long time ago, and that's it), the idea of a manga set in the British Museum really appealed to me and I decided to give it a go. I was not disappointed.

Sphinx - T.S. Learner

Spinx by T.S. Learner. Published by Sphere / Little Brown, 2010.

I'd never heard of T.S. Learner, but when I spotted her book Sphinx on sale at a bookstore, I decided to give it a go. The bookflap promises intrigue and a race against time in Egypt set in the seventies, as Oliver Warnock must protect a powerful ancient artefact excaved by his late wife, and it recommends this book to lovers of Dan Brown and Kate Mosse. Whilst I've never read a book by Kate Mosse, I do love a bit of Dan Brown (secretly, I'm always very excited when a new Robert Langdon book comes out). And after having read Sphinx, I will stick to Dan Brown rather than T.S. Learner.

About Time

About Time. Written and directed by Richard Curtis. 2013.

About Time is the latest romantic comedy written and directed by Richard Curtis (whom we all know from Love Actually). The film tells the story of Tim (Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Weasly in the Harry Potter films), who finds out on his twentyfirst birthday that all the men in his family can timetravel. Not in a very spectacular way though; they can't go to the future, but they can go back in their own timeline. All they have to do is stand in a dark place (a cupboard, for example), clunch their fists and think of the moment they want to go to. Tim, who's a not-so-smooth ladies man, decides to use this power to find the love of his life. And this turns out to be an excellent premise for a warm and loving film.

Cook with a Book: Jamie's Reizen (Jamie does... Spain, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Greece, France)

Jamie's Reizen (Jamie Does... Spain, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Greece, France) by Jamie Oliver. Published by Kosmos Uitgevers, 2011. Translation by Jaromir Schneider.

I love looking through cookbooks. Not only do they contain delicious recipes, they are always full of beautiful photographs. There's one name most people will have in their cookbook collection: Jamie Oliver. I recently picked up my first Jamie Oliver book, namely the Dutch version of Jamie Does.... Spain, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Greece, France, named Jamie's Reizen (I find with cookbooks, it's best to stick to your own language). As the title already gives away, this book is filled with recipes from these six countries, and each chapter is introduced by a short text on Jamie's stays in these countries and his experiences with that country's cuisine. The beautiful photography (done by David Loftus) just makes you want to start cooking, and that's what I did.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories - Susanna Clarke

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007.

Even though I bought Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke ages ago, I still haven't gotten around to reading it. Probably because it's quite a big book. Not that I mind that, I actually love it, but for some reason it always takes me a bit longer to start in a big book. So when I came across The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Clarke, I decided this would be an easier way to start reading Clarke's work, of which I've only heard positive things. And it most certainly did not disappoint.

Bits and bobs #2

Woops... Haven't really kept up with this blog in a while. So to ease my way back into the writing, a little bits and bobs.

• With autumn finally arriving, I've  been a real homebody, cozying it up on the coach with television shows to keep me company. I'm currently head-over-heels in love with The Great British Bake Off; I don't know why, but I just love that show so much. Everything they make looks scrumptious and all the contestants are a bit weird, but o-so loveable! Won't lie, I was a bit upset that Howard had to leave last week. With a cup of tea and maybe a biscuit (or two), this is the perfect show to relax with. I've also been trying to keep up with all the new shows premiering in America at the moment, but failing miserably. Did see Sleepy Hollow, and I have to say, the first episode looked very promising!

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Published by Orion books, 2008.

As you  might have read, I've been busy reading Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind. And now, after what feels like forever, I finally finished it! Don't worry, it didn't take me this long because the book is boring and hard to get through. It took me this long because this is a Big Book, with more than 600 pages. And when you're busy with work and what not, that's a lot to get through. However, it's totally worth it.

The Name of the Wind is the first part of The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy. The story is about Kvothe, an infamous adventurer, musician and arcanist (sort of wizard but not really), who has retreated from this life and now lives as an innkeeper named Kote in a small village with his apprentice Bast. When Devan Lochees, known as Chronicler because of his profession, discovers Kvothe's true identity, he persuades him to tell his life story so he can write it down. Kvothe agrees, telling Chronicler it will take three days to tell it. The Name of the Wind is the first day of telling and it covers the period from Kvothe's youth until he's a young man at the University.