Little Baby Nothings by Manic Street Preachers and Valerie Phillips - Review

Alright, so it's not technically a 'book' because it doesn't have words. It's just photos. But I liked it, so I'm going to write a little bit about it here. 

You might know that I was a big fan of the Manic Street Preachers back in the 90s. I have the words 'cheap tarnished glitter' tattooed on my left wrist. I haven't really liked much of their output since like 2003, but I do sort of keep an eye on them. I would have loved to see them with Suede round about now actually, but the logistics of it just didn't work out for me. 

So I saw the band advertising this new photo book and I was intrigued, so I bought it. The first hundred or something were signed copies, and as you can see, I was lucky to get one of those! It arrived really quickly and I was really pleased. The photos are from 1991, way back when the Manics were touring songs from Generation Terrorists. They were supported by the Wildhearts, who I also really like, so it was cute to see that. T shirts cost just £7! There are plenty of photos of the tour, including some photos of the band in tacky bed and breakfast hotels which ended up on the front of the Motorcycle Emptiness single. There are also a number of photos in James' old house, showing the band in his and Sean's bedroom (they're cousins and Sean lived with the Bradfields for quite a while as a teenager) on their bunk beds. There's some beautiful photos of Richey - who has been missing since 1995 - including some of him in leather pants which I don't think I've ever seen before. There are just so many beautiful photos and lots which were poignant and lots which made me laugh, too. I read this really quickly one evening waiting for tea and I'm glad I bought it.

Also see below for the most beautiful end papers ever! 

Norfolk by Elly Griffiths - Review

My friend Sarah bought me this book for Christmas and I picked it up in the towards the beginning of March and kept it on the sofa to read it when I was eating tea or just chilling out. It was quick to read and I really liked it, plus it looks absolutely stunning. 

You may know that the Ruth Galloway books are set in Norfolk, where Ruth teaches at a fictional university and where she lives right on the edge of the salt marshes. Many things in the books happen in the wilds of the Norfolk countryside as well as in its towns. Elly has family history there, which I've heard her speak about before, and which she outlines in this book. 

She intersperses her own history alongside extracts from the Ruth books, set at places specifically mentioned, and also talks about her inspiration for some of her settings, writing, and words. It's obvious that Norfolk is a big part of what makes these books great, and Elly uses the settings to great effect to ramp up the menace a lot of the time. 

The photos are absolutely stunning too. Justin Minns is a very talented photographer. I've been to Norfolk but only a couple of times, but it was nice to recognise some of the places in the photos. I love photos of the seaside so it was nice to see Cromer, in particular. The book is divided into seasons, too, and the photos really show Norfolk in all its glory throughout the year. 

I really enjoyed dipping into this, it's a cute little book for the Elly fan in your life!