One hundred n.o.

And to celebrate, let us first salute the genius of Media Monkey embracing web 2.0 - hola MyMonkey!

And secondly, this month's 26 newsletter recommendations are here; and below.

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'The Golden Gate' by Vikram Seth (Faber & Faber, RRP £5.99 or £4.79 on Amazon)

A word to the quick in this faltering stanza;
In the space of the lines left here
Let me attempt to convince you of a bonanza
To be found in sheaves not so dear.
A novel in verse, startling and bold
First written in 1986, and yet not old
A meditation on what makes life pleasurable and true
At first appearance flighty, and yet you do
Soon discern the depths within
Characters well drawn, rounded
Musing on art, love and sin
In tetrameter well-crafted, not hounded
Into life by Vikram Seth, 'The Golden Gate' is to be praised
Buy it, and enjoyment will be raised.


'Words Fail Me' by Teresa Monachino (Phaidon, RRP £7.95 or £6.36 on Amazon)

This is a delightful look at some of the exasperating quirks of English. Monachino has collected some of those oddities that can baffle a non-native grappling with the language: why is abbreviation such a long word? Why does monosyllabic have so many syllables? There are things that will make you chuckle out loud, and the book is set beautifully, a delight to look at.