It's a good day for chocolate cake....

Because today is My Birthday!

I woke up to a homemade card that reads: I love you so,so,so,so,so,so,so,so,so,so MUCH! Fabulous.

I received some new earring to replace the ones that were stolen in November (house was broken into). Nothing fancy, just costume jewelery.

I am going out to dinner and then I am going to eat Chocolate Mousse Cake from Buttercream Bakery. They make wedding cakes and use all natural ingredients. Yum!

I am going to treat myself to some new Persephone books thanks to their 3 for 2 anniversary offer; it seems we share a birthday.

Finally, it seems like a good time to share some books that have creeped into my house lately.



Here we have some books I ordered from The Book Depository when they were having a sale.

Persephone's Miss Buncle's Book. The Cranks Bible which is a vegetarian cookbook with a Middle Eastern twist. Singled Out which I've had my eye on for ages. The Blackest Streets - subtitle is The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum - just my thing, and another Barbara Ewing novel - loved The Trespass a few years back.



Here are new advance copies that have arrived.

This Lovely Life: a memoir of premature motherhood - I've skimmed this one a bit - it looks heartbreaking, devastating, and wonderfully written.

Sarah Dunant's new book Sacred Hearts about a 16 year old sent to a convent against her will in the 16th century.

Gifts of War - a love story set against the backdrop of WW2.

Au Revoir to All That: Food, Wine and the End of France - food, wine, France? Sounds good to me.



Here are the books I've purchased, new and used.

The Moonflower Vine - 'A timeless American classic rediscovered, An unforgettable saga of a heartland family' This was a bestseller in the 1960s.

Ruth Rendell. Of course.

Laurie Colwins's cooking memoirs - I got tired of seeing these all over the place and not having read them. I'm on a bit of a food memoir binge, anyway.

The Silent Raga - the story of two sisters in India - the cover is gorgeous - I couldn't resist.

American Cookery - A family saga complete with recipes. I kept picking this up and putting it back until finally I found a used copy and brought it home. Has anyone read this or anything by author Laura Kalpakian?



Finally, here are some books that I've won or mooched, or scored from paperbackswap.

Highlights here include What the Butler Saw:Two Hundred and Fifty Years of the Servant Problem and Barbara Vine's latest, The Birthday Present which is of course worth mentioning today.

Cheers!