I will start. I’ll write a paragraph and send the last sentence on the the next person on the list. That person will then write the next paragraph and send it back to me. I will then add it to the previous paragraph and send their last sentence to the next person. The order will be determined according to the responses I get. Depending on how many people decide to participate, you might get to write a second or third paragraph. At the end I will publish the complete work with links to the participating writers’ blogs.

If this little experiment works, I’ll do it once a month as well, with a call to action/reminder around this time of the month. You are under no obligation to participate every month, and you can ask to sit out a round when the sentence comes your way.

If you’re keen to participate, inbox me on FB or send me a DM on Twitter with your e-mail address, or simply leave a comment saying you’re interested.

Let’s see if this works and if we can make something fabulous!

I always launch into how Winnie the Pooh, Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton shaped the book whore in front of you today; how my father dropped me off at the library every Saturday and left me there until they closed – me kicking and struggling to stay. Or how every month, come hell or high water, I received a Blue Peter package with my name emblazoned on it. “What a life”, you may think.  It was.  I love books, so let me tell you how much!

There is nothing more exciting than receiving a book in the mail, something I never grew out of. As soon as you lay your hands on the parcel you know, by instinct, what is waiting for you. It’s that fresh smell of paper that knocks me for a six. This is the biggest perk of being a book blogger. The surprise is in the waiting “What are they sending me this time?” and a theme song ensues: you are living your very own Broadway musical with books to boot.

I hate, and I mean HATE, a cracked spine. If I lend a book to a cracker (a spine cracker) I say my farewells to my book there and then. It’s a harsh truth about me, but I am just unable to relent. I love the flick of grubby pages that are owned by others, or those books that I have inherited, but the books I have forked out my hard-earned money for, and searched through endless shelves for, stay in pretty awesome condition (i.e. no cracked spine).

I judge a book by its cover. As a bookseller, publisher and book blogger, covers are the be all and end all of a book. It’s the first impression you get of the book – that first conversation you have with a book is its cover and the blurb. Granted, the older classics of Henry James and Jane Austen were pretty dull impressions of great stories, but these days, with techniques and professionals at our disposal, why not make that first impression, THE impression?

I alphabetise my bookshelf by author surname. It is a task that even Goliath would groan at, but it’s a nasty habit I picked up during my bookshop days. I shelve and re-shelve until series, author and gift books are exactly in the right place.

I sniff the pages of books. Ok, this one is weird. I open the book, breathe deep, and away I go.  I have always done this and probably always will.

I have a relationship with my books. I take them on coffee dates, select them by how I feel, and send them to comfort friends. I talk to them. I chat about my day, and in turn I get a story that lives – even for a few crazy, hallucinating moments the story is real.

So now you know my dirty little bookish secrets. Tell me yours!

Thanks to Kelly Ansara, Junior Publisher at Pan Macmillan South Africa for sharing her love of books. 

I’m thinking of getting a guest post once a month, particularly to get a bit more bookish value back into my blog, and if you have something book-related you think would fit on here, let me know! In the meantime, happy reading.

Related articles

• Confessions of a Bookaholic (monicanastase.wordpress.com)
• Decorative Bookshelves for Every Room (apartmentguide.com)

The Fifth Edition of the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language was recently launched. It is promoted as the “greatest resource for discovering new thoughts and perspectives, forming your own ideas and opinions, and expressing them your way”. For Americans, at least.

This landmark Fifth Edition features 10 000 new words and senses, the latest research on the origin and meaning of words, and over 4 000 new full-colour images. Three different formats let you access the dictionary whenever and wherever you need to: the bound book, an app and their website.

To promote the new edition, this website was created. The publishers say “your words really do define you, and you can make the most of them with the Fifth Edition of the American Heritage® Dictionary”. And to prove it, the AHD invites you to create a self-portrait using your words.

“The words that tell the world who you are. That make you, you. It’s easy to do, whether you decide to link to places like Facebook for words you’ve already written, or write something new specifically for your portrait. Either way, you’ll create a unique image that can be shared and saved and will remind everyone that You Are Your Words.”

I used the words of my 2011 in review post to create this portrait. You can change the fonts, the colour, the contrast, and share it or download it to print it out. I love this campaign – that might just be the writer in me which it appeals to.

Related articles

• Words Matter (fillingmypatchofsky.com)
• “You Are Your Words,” Says American Heritage Dictionary (deliberateink.com)

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,500 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 25 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

My champion from 2011, GlamBox, has absolutely nothing in this month’s box that appeals to me. Sure there are full-sized items, but they’re not products or brands I use or want to use.

On the surface it looks like rubybox is kicking ass this month, with lovely brands and indulgent products, again just too many fragrance samples (I really don’t care for any such samples – I buy magazines) and a tan intensifier that was in the December box as well.

Now there’s a new player in this market: GLOSSYBOX - a personalised luxury box filled with cosmetic & beauty products.

“Every month, you will receive your indulgently wrapped GLOSSYBOX filled with carefully selected luxury trial products.

Our product selection is original and innovative. You can try them out in the comfort of your own home or office and in your own time without any pressure from sales consultants.”*

I’m wondering why they charge R30 more than the two more established services (their response to this question on Facebook is “One could say we are the Rolls-Royce of beauty boxes… The moment you receive your box, you will understand why ”). January has been a miserable month, but I will subscribe to this as soon as the powers that be clear my pay cheque, to see if this higher rate can be justified.

Already there has been debate on their Facebook wall about whether their boxes will (or should) be segmented by profile, and it seems that they will personalise future boxes according to individual beauty requirements. Currently you can’t set up a profile (I’ve registered and tried).

So the one thing that seems consistent through all three services: you can’t please everyone. And the one thing I’d like to tell these companies: that’s okay. There will always be someone who complains, who is dissatisfied, who feels done in, but as long as you remain professional and keep learning and growing, you’re doing a great job.

* I actually had a conversation with a few colleagues regarding sales consultants and their attitudes this morning. It seems like some people feel intimidated by them. I just marvel at their general lack of interest in what they’re doing in several instances. I went to the Philip Kingsley counter in the mess that is Edgars Sandton a while ago, and there was no one there. A few people were standing around, looking apathetically in my direction, but no one could be bothered to help.

Another time I went to the La Mer counter to ask about a specific product which they did not have a sample for (and if any of the sales consultants can be snotty it’s the ladies at the upmarket brands like this), and the sales lady sat with me and discussed my skin needs. While La Mer is pretty much completely out of my range, I bought a lip balm (my most pressing need), got a few other samples, and signed up for a facial – the value of which I could redeem against the purchase of another product. It’s all about engagement, not ego.

Related articles

• December rubybox review (syllableinthecity.wordpress.com)
• Comparing boxes with boxes – synopsis (syllableinthecity.wordpress.com)

• Best online shop: Yuppiechef. This site is amazing! It has a huge variety of products and brands in every price range. They’re shipping is pretty quick and the customer service is legendary.
• Favourite online magazine: Vintage Lifestyle. I love this magazine – it speaks to the girly-girl in me and make me want to curl my hair, lie on the floor with my legs against a wall, twirling a phone cord while pouting.
• Free-time website: Pinterest. I can lose hours on this site, and I almost regret introducing my mom to it. Her favourite pastime now is “pinning”. Pinterest is an online pin board that allows you to organise and share things you love.
• Best pamper spot: Skin Sense Day Spa. It’s hard to believe this spa is in the heart of Sandton, it is so tranquil. And it’s huge – upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside AND it has a hair salon to boot!
• Specialist shop: The Bedroom. This is probably Johannesburg’s best-kept secret. They’ve also got some great little secrets hidden in their garter belts to spice up your life.
• New magazine: Goeie Huishouding (Good Housekeeping) launched a South African edition in November 2011. It perfectly captures every aspect of modern living in each issue.
• Best beauty find: GlamBox. One of the two companies currently providing a “try before you buy” service, GlamBox offers ladies the opportunity to try out new products. For R100 month you get a box with goodies – some sample-sized, some full-sized – often well-known brands, other times brand new offerings.
• I didn’t get to read many books that were published this year, but I’ve read to great local offerings: The Mall and Deadlands. South African Science Fiction is fantastic! The Mall is a fantastic, haunting book. Deadlands has a great twist on the science behinds zombies.
• Some of the greatest things I’ve bought this year include the Denam shampoo brush. It’s a great budget buy and can be found at Dischem. It massages your scalp, untangles hair and distributes conditioner evenly – a fabulous treat every time you wash your hair.
• Another great hair accessory is the coloured hairpieces (I had two blue extensions, but through certain teenage forces I’m left with only one) I got from Joanna at Cut of Africa. Call her on 012 998 0008.
• I have also invested in a Maidenform strapless full slip (invested, since it is currently the single most expensive item in my wardrobe), and I don’t regret it for a moment. It comes with removable straps, which gives you the option to wear it as a strapless, crisscross, or demi. The fabric has a low friction finish which allows garments to easily slide on and off, does not cause static, and doesn’t ride up when you move around. It slims and shapes seamlessly, and boosts confidence infinitely. I think it’s my ultimate best buy of 2011.
• And finally, the best ride of the year goes to the Gautrain. Pretoria to Johannesburg in under an hour, and you can even nap if you’re so inclined.

It has been an interesting year, but I’m glad it’s over. I’m excited to see what 2012 has in store.

If you’re interested, send me a mail to syllable@syllableinthecity.co.za or tweet me @SyllCity.

Competition closes at midnight on 27 December 2011.

Only South African residents eligible.

Colour of nail polish may differ from the picture.

Related articles

• December GlamBox review (syllableinthecity.wordpress.com)
• Comparing boxes with boxes – synopsis (syllableinthecity.wordpress.com)
• December rubybox review (syllableinthecity.wordpress.com)

I love mascara; it is the one makeup item I will wear most often. Unfortunately I also love rubbing my eyes. I can happily report back, however, that the Bourjois mascara did not smudge or leave me racoon-like.
When I asked on Twitter for a picture of this month’s box, Kathryn from GlamBox responded quickly with a few great pics. She even offered to send a courier to pick up the second box that was delivered to me, but I instead paid for the second box. I quickly sold it to a colleague who was very impressed with it, after she was disappointed with the November rubybox.
I’m extremely happy that a friend has subscribed me for the January GlamBox for my birthday, and I am very tempted to take out the one-year subscription. I love the variety of attainable items (I don’t want to try out luxury items if I can’t buy them anyway), and I absolutely adore the full-sized treats. I know some people had a lot to say about the tea bag in a previous box, but I like tea, and I like finding different flavours of tea. I also like nail polish and chocolate. Especially chocolate! I think it is great that everything arrived in tact; no broken anything. Great response to social media and e-mail communication. Well-rounded offering.

Related articles

• Comparing boxes with boxes – synopsis (syllableinthecity.wordpress.com)

I’m reviewing the December boxes from the two “try before you buy” companies separately to do them both justice, without boring readers with pages of info.
So, December’s rubybox promised a lot of things, which I can’t exactly tell you about because of my failing memory and the company’s tendency to change its website after several complaints started pouring in. You see, before the December boxes went out, rubybox hinted at an extra special treat, courtesy of Elizabeth Arden. I went to check the info for the December boxes after receiving mine, and this is all they’re saying (now):
“It’s party season rubies and you know what that means – late nights, lie-ins and lazy beach days. This December we’ve put together the ultimate party package. Depending on your beauty profile, look out for a COMBINATION of the following products; a luxurious body balm, organic day cream, playful fragrance, scented soy candle (which doubles up as a moisturiser) a party-proof hairspray or a glow-enhancing sunscreen.”

There also seemed to be a bit of a mix-up with my December box. I had still not received any indication of when I can expect it, long after others have received (and started complaining about) theirs. When I saw they didn’t debit my bank account (this was a lengthy e-mail discussion with them) I posted on their Facebook wall that I had sent them another mail, in which I asked about the debit and the December box. They responded that they definitely debited my account and that I should receive my box within the next day or two (this was Thursday and I finally received my box the next Monday).
What I received where the following:
15 ml Piz Buin Tan Intensifier SPF15 (a lot of people complained about this item since they were “naturally tan. The response was that it was still an SPF15). So you apply this squirt somewhere you would not normally expose, I assume, because that spot will be darker than any other part of your skin, given the “intensifier” bit. So I won’t be using that then.
Diesel Loverdose sample – again, something I could’ve gotten from the counter, or a magazine. Moving swiftly along to what seemed to have been the most coveted item: 30 ml Charlotte Rhys body cream.
And probably the most useful item (for those whose didn’t get broken in the mail): an Earl Jones soy candle.

I know this picture isn’t the best quality, I did ask Twitter (including both companies’ handles) for pictures. GlamBox responded and sent me some pics, rubybox just continued to ignore me.

As for their proposed January box, I’m in no way enticed to sign up for it: “Happy new year rubies! Start 2012 with a bang by signing up for the January rubybox. Interested in trying nasty-free skincare from the likes of international organic brand Dr Hauschka or home-grown greenie Esse? What about seductive fragrances from sexy denim brand Guess? And how about protecting yourself with the authority in sun care Piz Buin? Or perhaps you’re keen on trying quintessentially English body care from Crabtree & Evelyn? If you’ve found yourself nodding to one or more of the brands, sign up and look forward to receiving your personalised beauty treats every month!”

And in case you think I’m just a miserable old cow (which you are completely entitled to), this is some of the other feedback on rubybox’s Facebook wall.

Related articles

• Comparing boxes with boxes – synopsis (syllableinthecity.wordpress.com)