Choosing a baby name can feel like an impossible task. It has to be unique, yet not so unique that it is unpronounceable or will make your child an object of ridicule in school. Names rise and fall in popularity, most usually a particular celebrity or tv show is dominating the headlines. One inspiration for naming your baby could be classic literature. Many of these names perfectly skirt the line between memorable and classic. Whilst they may not sound as modern or unique as the current trendy baby names, you can be sure that they will stand the test of time.   Anaïs Literary Inspiration: The French-Cuban Writer Anaïs Nin. French, pronounced Ah-nai-eece. Whilst it doesn’t have the easiest pronunciation,...

Read entire article

Ernest Hemingway - A Moveable Feast   Oysters and white wine "As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans." A Moveable Feast Quote Print If you’re not a fan of shellfish, this passage in Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast might just change your mind. Even if you’re not convinced, you will come away from this paragraph feeling like you were with...

Read entire article

Books have the power to inspire us, to explore new ways of living, different points of view that can shock or comfort. Literature can be especially important to women, who can read to discover how to live well in a world that does not prioritise their needs or desires. Books can be an escape, or a way to find oneself.   Read about my top five favourite females characters in literature.     Jo March - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott     Nowadays, we have a plethora of books about ambitious and independent young women who strike out on their own to live a different kind of life. But back when it came out, Little Women’s Jo March...

Read entire article

    Most people only know two things about Harper Lee - she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird and, until very recently, never published anything again. So who really was the person behind one of America’s greatest novels?   We love a writer shrouded in mystery. In a world saturated with celebrity authors who reveal seem to reveal all, there is something compelling about a writer who eschews fame and money for a private life. But Harper Lee was not a cipher, she was a real person. We still know little about her personal life, probably because she wanted it that way. Here is a short history of Harper Lee, one of America’s finest fiction writers.   Mockingbird was loosely...

Read entire article