Forgive me if this 'review' (I object to the author's use of grammar) has been posted already, or indeed if anyone has tried to mail me. My email has gone totally arse over tit again, and it'll be a miracle if this gets through. (Not a very spiritually meaningful one, admittedly.) This was in the times on Saturday, in a guide to what books to give for Xmas: ************************ If your recipient’s tastes encompass brooding creative types and “intelligent pop music”, the dark yet gentle Nalda Said (Imp, £7.99), the debut from Stuart David, bass player with Belle & Sebastian, is a must. The narrator is a hospital gardener who believes he had a bizarre secret pressed upon him by a woman called Nalda during an unsettling childhood. Working at a hospice, he falls in love with a nurse, whom he eventually confides in. The first few chapters of this modern parable were posted on the website for Looper, David’s pop project (www.treehouse.clara.net/), then snapped up by Imp. David is said to have a stockpile of unfinished writing which may emerge in the next year. *********************** Huh. If I had a pound (or a large advance) for every bit of 'unfinished writing' I've got which 'may emerge in the next year', I'd be a rich woman. I wonder what the rest of Stuart's output will be like. On balance, I think I'd rather he publish his thoughts in book form than as Looper records. Meanwhile, I had a dream last night that he and I were taking turns to read from Nalda Said on Radio 4, on Book at Bedtime or something. My first B&S dream. Another first: my train was replaced with a bus service yesterday. I never normally get buses. But I was quite pleased to be getting this one as I had B&S on my walkman. So I have now done the proper thing and listened to them on a bus, and it was a Good Plan. Dreams aside, my social life is still less exciting than my grandmother’s, although she’s going to something called a ‘widow’s party’ soon, which admittedly doesn’t sound like a barrel of laughs. I've decided that in the new year I will move out, whatever happens. I may draw a new city to live in out of a hat, so if anyone wants to nominate their home town, let me know. Dreading Christmas, Archel xxx ps: i don't know where those capitals came from all of a sudden. i feel like i've changed my identity. that's better... ************* Rachel Playforth archel@iname.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+