Tiah Beautement's Blog, page 179

White cover, black main character ??????

So I think I am in Heathrow airport right now for 8 hours. Given my almost-2yr old daughter is with me - I am sure we are having a blast. Um. Hmm... Anyhoo, while taking a mini-break from packing I stumbled on this gem: Bloomsbury backs down over book cover race row Ah - the joys of "marketing" - a job description that claims to require creativity and yet so few think outside the box. Publishers can set themselves up for catch 22s in so many ways -but we'll keep it short. The idea is this - whit

In defense of the NHS

About ready to fly off and noticed that the US is a bit worried about the UK's NHS: article here. Now I'd be the last to claim the NHS is perfect. I have also had my run-ins with idiots, since people are people and some people are not nice. I could say the same with private health care in US and SA. But I love the UK's NHS. LOVE IT! The doctor's offices may not be posh and shinny, the hospitals may not give you individual suites - but by golly George and bless their little British hearts - the..

Kopano Matlwa

And this week is: Coconut, by Kopano Matlwa US, UK, SA, or order it from your local independent. And a link to a very brief interview of the author here. I found the writing style an adjustment at first, but admittedly, I was pretty tired when I first cracked open the pages. That said, once I got the hang of how the story was switching between thoughts, I blazed through it. The title is a rude one. If this had been written in the US the title would probably be "Oreo." Not an easy subject to addr

This is it

I am off to the States. I wavered back and forth if I should go – and at more than a few times this weekend it looked like I could not because the gods of travel were against me. Husband has been a hero, spending the majority of what should have been a stunning holiday amongst nature in front of a computer screen where websites taunted him. But at last, the "system failure" messages have stopped and my daughter and I are off on Wednesday. I think my book reviews will keep popping up, but after t

She will be missed

"Sometimes all you accomplish in a day is your children become a day older." -Mary E. Carleton, my grandmother- 16 July 1906 - 7 August 2009

An era is ending

Going to dip my toe into an semi-emotional little post here...hmm... This morning while doing errands my daughter didn't want to ride on my back. I asked her twice, and with firm grunts confirmed that no, she didn't want up, she wanted to walk then ride in a trolley (shopping cart.) She has been doing this more and more - wanting to walk or ride in a trolley. She wants to be big, like big brother. She is moving on. And despite being a half-pint in size, she is growing up. We are not a pushchair

Grey hair and time warp

I am currently perfecting the art of being hung-up on. At this rate my behind will be shipped back to Britain. And as much as I do miss my friends there, there are better ways to arrange meeting up. In short, I think we may need to enlist a professional. I can fill in all the boxes, in fact have already done so. The problem is, there are question marks over certain boxes and how I do it. I have already found conflicting information on the form's requirements and the official South African websit

Well, I didn't think I was having a bad day

Before we get to yesterday, let me tell you that we did have a ball-skills session today. And let me tell you - you could really tell we hadn't had class in 6-weeks. Oh my - cheeky. And very interesting how some of the worst behaved are the ones that seem to love you best - how is that possible? Flattering, yes. But really, I'd settle for slightly better behaviour. They were all told "You get stickers this week because I really missed you. Next week, I will not have missed you so much." They lau

Well, I did think I was having a bad day

Before we get to yesterday, let me tell you that we did have a ball-skills session today. And let me tell you - you could really tell we hadn't had class in 6-weeks. Oh my - cheeky. And very interesting how some of the worst behaved are the ones that seem to love you best - how is that possible? Flattering, yes. But really, I'd settle for slightly better behaviour. They were all told "You get stickers this week because I really missed you. Next week, I will not have missed you so much." They lau

Pieter Dirk-Uys

I love this man (No, I don't know him personally): Elections & Erections by Pieter Dirk-Uys. US, UK and Abe books who list sellers in SA. (Please excuse photo, it was raining that day and daughter insisted that her beloved pillow be part of the "moment.") My husband bought this book during a visit to South Africa. Pieter is a well known South African comedian who South Africans seem to either love or hate. He is also a crusader for HIV/AIDS awareness and encouraging people to exercise their righ