Before she introduced me to Hilary Mantel’s book, Bringing up the Bodies, a friend of mine told me that she was a little bit envious that I had it ‘all to come’. How could you not act on that kind of ringing endorsement?
So this week, when my neighbour told me she had come across a book that she thought would be ‘right up my street’, I headed off to the book shop, sharp’ish. I found what I was after – Plumdog, by Emma Chichester Clark – front and centre, in a neatly stacked pile and understood the recommendation immediately. My 7 and 10-year-old boys did, too. Plumdog is the beautifully illustrated diary of Chichester Clark’s dog, Plum, that started off as this well-published author’s on-the-side Plumdog Blog. Sweet, wry and with plenty of familiar insights that made this dog-owner smile, nod and smile some more (the dog’s constant companion, Radio 4, struck a chord), I came home with a copy and a note to stock up. Christmas is a-coming….
