Everything Alice

You know those shopping expeditions when you're looking for gifts and you end up buying something for yourself? I bought Everything Alice on one of those. In my defence, it's the awesomest book ever...

I've been enchanted by Alice In Wonderland ever since I owned this edition with a holographic cover picture as a kid:

Isn't it pretty? The photo probably doesn't do it justice, but the pages inside were spectacularly bright and cheery, with the same kind of puppet illustrations.

Anyway, when I found Everything Alice on the bookstore shelf last week, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to revisit one of my treasured childhood stories and make some very creative craft projects based on it.

The magical tutorials include:

• Fabric-covered teapots for the garden
• A vintage cake stand
• Mad Hatter hats
• Wonderland cookies
• "Drink Me" cordials
• A White Rabbit soft toy

And of course plenty more! I can definitely see myself making the hats and fascinators (how great would they be as a burlesque costume?!!) and the teapot plantholder as a gift. There's also a jewellery project of a bracelet, earrings and necklace made out of a dolls' house tea set. Cute!!

Overall, the craft projects and recipes are not only exciting, they also seem achievable and useful, not just boring old coathanger covers and the like. I'm totally won over!

To find out more about the book, check out the web site and the Amazon page.

Rating: 10/10. After reading this book, every other will seem terribly bland by comparison. You've been warned! : )

Have you discovered any cute crafty books lately? Do share!

The 4-hour Work Week

There was such a huge buzz surrounding this book, I just had to check it out...

I hate business books, as a general rule. To me, they always seem to be filled with vague mantras like "work smarter, not harder", without giving examples of how to actually put the concept into practice. Plus, their hard-sell language on the back cover always puts me right off.

I made an exception for Tim Ferriss's book because, frankly, who can resist the lure of working 4 hours a week? Plus, everyone seemed to be raving about it, so there must be something to it, right?

Damn straight, there is! He challenges what we've all been trained to believe from a young age: that to be a good citizen, we should work 40 hours per week in a boring job until we're 65 or so and then retire. By retirement age we're often too old to really enjoy ourselves. Instead, why not take mini-retirements throughout your life and work as little as possible? Sounds good to me.

Before you go thinking Tim is one lazy SOB, here's a quick run-down of his achievements:

• Princeton University guest lecturer in high-tech entrepreneurship
• First American in history to hold a Guinness World Record in tango
• Advisor to more than 30 world-record holders in professional and Olympic sports
• Wired magazine's "Greatest Self-Promoter of 2008"
• National Chinese kickboxing champion
• Horseback archer (yabusame) in Nikko, Japan
• Political asylum researcher and activist
• MTV breakdancer in Taiwan
• Hurling competitor in Ireland
• Actor on hit TV series in mainland China and Hong Kong (Human Cargo)

Impressive, huh? Not only does he share how he's done all this, there's plenty of challenges, online resources, examples, worksheets and links to templates on his web site to help you emulate his success. If you even take away one of his tips in the book, you'd see your life improve, but even if you don't implement any of his suggestions, you'll definitely enjoy the plethora of cheeky anecdotes from Tim, his friends and previous readers.

The principles are certainly applicable to writers and freelancers -- how to "batch" your work tasks, not get distracted during the work day, and ease your way out of a 9-5 job and increasingly work from home. They have definitely helped me.

I borrowed this book from the library, read it, bought the expanded edition on Amazon and then reread it. This is one you'll want to return to again and again until you wear the words off the page.

Read it IMMEDIATELY. Thank me later.

Rating: 10/10.

Have you read The 4-hour Work Week? What did you think?

The Anti 9 to 5 Guide

I actually wrote this review just before Christmas last year and am only posting it now. As you'll be able to tell, I've taken the author's advice on becoming a full-time freelancer to heart...

Does your job resemble Peter Gibbons’ in Office Space? Are you one step away from stapling the company policy to your boss’ forehead? Do you play bullsh*t bingo in meetings, marking your scorecard as managerial types bang on about being “customer centric,” using “best practice” or, God forbid, “value adding”?

If yes, you’ll definitely appreciate Michelle Goodman’s advice for fleeing the cubicle in The Anti 9 to 5 Guide. As a former corporate drone turned freelance writer, she quit the cubicle cold turkey several years back and now advocates a more nicotine patch-style approach to jumping to your dream job. She covers part-time and work-from-home arrangements, temping, and other stop gap measures to help you, as she puts it, “take a flying leap, but wear a helmet”.

Not sure of your dream job destination but break out in hives at the thought of “those self-helpy parachute books”? Goodman’s got you covered with her “Career quiz for women who can’t stand career quizzes”.

Feel free to snoop on my answers...

1. What’s on your nightstand?

It’s basically Magazine Mountain, with Madison, Shop Til You Drop, Cleo, Cosmopolitan, and Marie Claire all taking up real estate. Also putting in an appearance are Paris and New York travel guides and, of course, The Anti 9 to 5 Guide.

2. Out of all your friends’ jobs, which one are you most jealous of?

Although I’ve never met her, I am totally envious of the chick who won the Westfield shopping centres’ “Get Paid $100,000 to Shop and Tell” competition. It can’t get much better than a year of shopping and blogging for a hundred grand. Hell, I already do that for free, I’m just waiting for the salary to kick in. Any day now.

3. What’s the one thing you’ve been talking about doing forever that your friends are sick of hearing about?

Writing a book and freelancing for magazines.

4. What’s the one off-the-wall, pie-in-the-sky job you’ve always wanted to try that no one knows about?

A computer game or Lego model designer. I also fantasise about building the Big Banana’s and Big Pineapple’s stylish second cousin, the Big Stiletto, and selling shoes, chick flick DVDs, pink cupcakes and Sex and the City memorabilia from the gift shop, with part proceeds going to the RSPCA.

5. If you could start any business or organization, or sell any service or ware, what would it be?

My body. Just jokes – my writing and maybe shoes.

6. If you could work anywhere in the world, in any country or organization, where would it be? Doing what?

In Denmark for Legoland or writing on a deckchair in the Maldives with a chocolate-y cocktail.

7. If “debt,” “years,” and “practical” weren’t words in your vocabulary, what would you be doing now – besides sipping margaritas on your own tropical island?

Oh, besides getting sloshed on a gorgeous beach? I wouldn’t mind job hopping from one crazy role to another and getting paid to write about them at the same time.

The results are quite revealing – I’m nuts, have a shoe fetish, am a not-so-closeted nerd and am gagging to write for fashion mags. What would your answers say about you? Take the quiz and then check out the chapters to help you reach your dream, whether you want to work from home, be your own boss, do work that helps others, feed your wanderlust or crack open the door to a male-dominated field.

Whatever your Holy Grail of occupations, Michelle Goodman’s witty but invaluable advice and nifty action plans will have you on the right track – correction – your right track in no time. And once you’ve taken your cautiously optimistic flying leap out of the cubicle, read the sequel, My So-Called Freelance Life, to learn how to sell your wares once you’re no longer selling your soul. For more info on both books and living a freelance life, drop by Michelle's blog, http://www.anti9to5guide.com/.

Rating: 9/10.

Are you itching to flee the corporate jungle? What's your dream?

Fabulous Bookstore

That's right, you can now source all your lust-have fashion and beauty books at the one destination: the Becks and the City bookstore!

The store, which has made an appearance on the right-hand sidebar, currently contains titles featured in the Fabulous Books series of reviews, including:

I've also added a selection of Becks and the City readers' favourite books, as nominated by you in last week's giveaway.

Has your recommendation made the cut? Click here to find out.

"Burlesque/Fetish and the Art of the Teese"

Step right up to have your fantasies and fetishes fulfilled! Having recently developed a taste for burlesque dancing, I decided to check out the book by its undisputed queen...

I'm known as a bit dance-crazy. Having taken ballet and jazz classes as a kid, I'm a sucker for sequins, tutus, bright lights and a big stage. Last year, I discovered burlesque. I heard of well-priced lessons nearby and, relieved the instructors said we could keep our clothes firmly on in beginner classes, have had a ball ever since.

Hardly a man-eating siren, I'm addicted to the glamour of it. We ladies dress up for classes. No one flutters an eyelash at classmates sporting sailor shorts, rainbow hair, fascinators or fishnet stockings. In fact, they're encouraged. Basically, it's like dress-ups with a smidgen of dancing thrown in.

While it would never win awards for the best workout ever, there's certainly an art to it and classes just plain make me happy. How could you not be entertained when every week you're learning to flutter fans, sway around chairs, strut dominatrix-style and shimmy and sashay around a room? I'm even considering adopting a cute stage name a la my teachers, Sapphire Snow and Luna Eclipse at Peaches 'n' Gin. Cinnamon Buns, perhaps?

So, if I could develop even a champagne drop of the class of Dita Von Teese, I'd be delighted. I decided to take matters into my own hands and purchase her book. It's quite a nifty set-up. The main cover shows pretty-in-pink Dita in sultry burlesque mode. Flipping the book upside-down reveals an alternate, darker, raunchier front cover on the back, "Fetish and the Art of the Teese".

The book serves several purposes. It's a rich, colourful picture book for ladies to admire and men to ogle. It would sit nicely on your coffee table if you're not the blushing type. There's plenty of content too, whether you wish to know the opinions and stories of the woman herself, or simply wish to glean some glamour and burlesque dancing advice. Expect plenty of how-tos and snippets of history of the burlesque movement. If you're looking to use it as a seduction manual, you'll find sexy, yet tasteful, tips for that too.

The book is stunning quality, can be found for a reasonable price and is a tantalising read. Buy if you are a fan of fashion, fancy-dress, dance or Dita and enjoy with a Margadita or two.

Dita is still the queen.

Rating: 9/10.

Have you ever delved into the dark and delightful world of burlesque? What do you think of Dita Von Teese?

"Summer and the City"

I wasn't so impressed with Candace Bushnell's first prequel book to the Sex and the City series, The Carrie Diaries (see my review here -- I've since revised the rating from 8/10 to 7/10). So does the continuation of Carrie's story about her first arriving in New York City fare any better? Let's see...

I'm going to try to review Summer and the City with as few spoilers as possible. Suffice it to say that throughout the book Carrie begins hanging out with a couple of her best friends from the TV series and meets one of the men featured in the very first episode (now your brain is ticking over wondering who it is!).

Reading this novel very much helped to reconcile the previous book with the TV series version of Carrie. She makes a brief trip back to Castlebury and a few of the hometown characters from The Carrie Diaries stumble onto the pages of Summer and the City, but mostly to explain why they're never mentioned in the TV series. They're brought up to be dismissed.

Carrie deals with the issues of reinventing herself in New York City. The other characters, with their varying personalities, represent the different choices of who Carrie could become. Should she assume a fake identity, like one of her friends who's lying to her fiance? Will she crumble under the pressure of New York and have to crawl back home in disgrace? Has she changed in the big (Big, ho ho!) city? Is she a snob for no longer respecting her previous small-town existence?

These questions were answered in a believable and well-written way. I also enjoyed the struggles and self-doubt in Carrie's quest to become a writer -- I could relate to this all too well! Although quite painful in spots, Carrie doesn't give up on writing and of course, we know that's the right decision from what her future holds.

I felt much more compelled to keep reading in this second instalment of the prequels. Overall, I'd suggest reading The Carrie Diaries only so you fully understand Summer and the City. It's the questionable main course you must suffer through to earn your dessert. And what a dessert it is.

Rating: 8/10.

Have you read Summer and the City yet? Do you agree?

"L. A. Candy"

Star of The Hills reality TV show and all-round fashion icon, Lauren Conrad, has now released four books and I've been hankering for the chance to taste a little L. A. Candy in the form of her first novel...

I'm a Lauren Conrad admirer, I'll admit it. As shallow as The Hills was as a show, I was smitten with it and Lauren was my favourite. She always seemed so likeable, the perfect friend. So tick, I'm intrigued to read her books.

The problem is, are they really her books? Although I believe she's more than a pretty blonde and capable of writing a novel, with these celebrity books, they frequently have ghost writers churn them out and then the big name takes the credit. There's a good chance that happened here.

This makes me uncomfortable, as a writer, and as a reader. I want to interpret the novel from Lauren's perspective, but I can't know for certain whether she really created these characters, the plot, the scenes. Frustrating!

These elements follow The Hills pretty closely in the book. The main character is clearly a cardboard cut-out of Lauren, although her best friend is definitely different from Heidi Montag. Similarly, there's a Whitney clone who pops up halfway through, which is about when the action starts to pick up.

Sadly, this novel is drab at first. I was able to read part-way through, then put it down and neglect it for days. If it had been brilliant, I would have pulled an all-nighter because I felt compelled to find out what happens. To be fair, it improves later on and there's a nice little cliff-hanger at the end. Read on the beach, a plane or anywhere you need a light distraction. It's not a challenging read and is mildly entertaining.

Borrow from the library, don't buy it.

Rating: 6/10.

Did you find L. A. Candy sweeter than I did?

"Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights"

When I discovered Sophie Dahl, plus-size model and granddaughter of classic children's author, Roald Dahl, had released a cookbook, it was a must-read...

I readily admit, I'm a lazy, neglectful cook. I've famously declared I don't cook anything with more than four ingredients (if only I'd turned my philosophy into a cookbook before others jumped on the bandwagon!), have ruined a packet cake and still can't poach an egg unless you prefer them rock-hard.

I have, however, improved at this cooking lark enough to covet pretty cookbooks like Miss Dahl's. Being Scrooge McCook, I borrowed it from the library, but having sampled some recipes, I've decided shelling out actual $ for it is a sound investment.

My girl crush on Miss Dahl has intensified. Not only did she pioneer a resurgence in plus-size modelling, proving non-stick figures can be confident and beautiful, she's a cracking cook. And, unlike Gwyneth Paltrow, I can believe Miss Dahl adores eating food and knows her way around a kitchen without all the hired chefs and macrobiotic bullsh*t.

Miss Dahl's cookbook is divided into seasons, making it easy to jump to winter warmers, summery salads or other weather-appropriate picks. One of my biggest gripes about overseas-created cookbooks is the confusing international names for ingredients (courgettes/zucchinis and eggplants/aubergines, for example), as well as impossible-to-source ingredients not grown locally and different units of measurement. These potential problems are side-stepped with ease in Voluptuous Delights and the recipes are simple, yet elegant and impressive. Sophie provides cute snippets of information from her childhood and cooking exploits to add just enough colour.

So what did I cook? I gave the caramelised red onion omelette and breakfast burritos a go and they turned out beautifully, took ten minutes each, produced few dishes (oh, I sound like a boring housewife!) and pleased Mr Big no end. I'd definitely whip them up again. Winner!

Rating: 9/10.

What's your favourite cookbook? Have you tried any of the celebrity offerings?

"The Carrie Diaries"

So, is The Carrie Diaries all it's cracked up to be? I set out to answer this question.

I call myself a massive fan of Sex and the City and its writer, Candace Bushnell. I've won myself two box sets of the TV series, own the deluxe wedding collection edition of the first movie, soundtrack of the second movie and several of Candace Bushnell's other novels. I've even themed my blog and hens' weekend around the show. Why then, when the author released a book about main character Carrie Bradshaw's high school years did I wait so long to read it?

I was scared.

Well, scared and lazy, but mostly scared. After the epic crapness of certain moments in the Sex and the City 2 film (formerly mortal gay enemies, Stanford and Anthony, getting married, Charlotte and Miranda's terribly patronising confessional about how privileged mums have it so tough, etc), I was afraid this book might suck hard as well, especially as a prequel. How can you ever create suspense in a book where the audience knows the ending? Deeply suspicious.

I've now read it and can tell you, it being a prequel isn't a problem, as the only character you'll recognise from the TV show is Carrie, so Bushnell was free to take the other characters where she liked -- swapping partners, killing them off, whatever. Actually, I lie. Without being a spoiler, one of Carrie's three New York City besties makes a cameo appearance in the novel and it's a doozy. One of the best parts of the book, in fact.

The downside, I've gotta say, is that young Carrie sometimes feels like an imposter. In several scenes, she's dishing out cookies to her boyfriend, whipping up coq au vin for her family and generally making like a regular Martha Stewart. Remember her neglected kitchen in the series, using her oven as storage, telling Big that fondue was the only recipe she'd ever mastered? Hmm. It feels like her voice is right, but certain character traits are inconsistent with the TV series. Young Carrie on the swim team? Really?

If you ignore these nit-picky details though, it really is an enjoyable story. It accurately captures in-depth aspects of female friendships, manages to tie up all lose threads of the storyline without being too predictable and keeps delivering action at a steady pace.

Rating: 7/10.

What did you think of The Carrie Diaries? Rate it or hate it?