The Literary Sofa

Yesterday, I was the special guest of The Literary Sofa host, Isabel Costello.  Somehow, my name got picked out of a hat and I won lunch!  And my, but it was wonderful. (I had the smoked swordfish carpaccio and a Tuscan bean & cavolo nero ribllita, since you ask, with tiramisu for pud.)  These, plus a very welcome glass of bubbles, were just the thing for a rainy day in London, though the highlight was, of course, a great few hours of book talk, where Isabel tried to add to my TBR stack and, admittedly, combat my reading funk.
The Literary Sofa is my favourite book blog.  Isabel is a perceptive and generous reader with her eye peeled to find the best new books – particularly those that arrive with less fanfare than others, and – much welcome – books in translation.  Her quarterly Sofa Spotlights are the place to go if you’re looking for book ideas.  Winter’s includes a new gothic tale by Essie Fox, debut novels by Fiona Melrose and Saleem Haddad, and books from Holland, Portugal and Korea.
Isabel Costello is, of course, an author in her own right as well.  Her debut, Paris Mon Amour, has received a clutch of fantastic reviews, such as this one from Essie Fox’s blog.  Paris Mon Amour is digital-only from Canelo.  Click here to have a look and a download.  I, for one, can’t wait to read it.  Soon as my reading funk passes, I’ll be there like a shot!   (Here’s Isabel on a very smart sofa.  Sorry not to have a picture of the two of us to hand – too busy stuffing aforementioned carpaccio into gob, apparently…)
Thank you very much, Isabel – for lunch, great book chat & the marvellous Literary Sofa.  Cheers!