Name: Claudine's review of The Year I Stopped to Notice by Miranda Keeling
Item: The Year I Stopped to Notice
Rating: 5
Author: Claudine

Miranda Keeling

'This book is a delight ... the world is full of little surprises, momentary little fountains of pleasure and beauty, that could be visible to all of us if we learned to stop and notice as Miranda Keeling does.' Philip Pullman 'An odd, beautiful book ... Buy an extra copy to give to someone you love.' Neil Gaiman January: A man walking along Caledonian Road falls over onto the huge roll of bubble wrap he is hugging, perhaps for just this sort of situation. Inspired by her popular Twitter account, The Year I Stopped to Notice brings together Miranda Keeling's observations of the magic, humour, strangeness and beauty in ordinary life. Through the changing seasons, on city streets and on buses, in parks and cafes, Miranda notices things: moments between friends, the interactions of strangers, children delighting in the world around them, the quiet melancholy of lost items on the pavement. Accompanied by stunning watercolour illustrations from Luci Power, Miranda's poetic vignettes take us on journeys of discovery and share with us the joy of stopping to notice. September: On a sweltering, packed rush-hour train, my arm suddenly feels lovely and cool, and I look down to see a shopping bag held by the woman beside me - full of just-bought cartons of milk.

The Year I Stopped to Notice

Claudine

Elderly woman to her husband See? Don't say I never take you anywhere different.

A man arguing in a café with his friend emphasises every point with a half-eaten banana. its yellow skin flapping joyfully about

A great read to start a trip! Not all moments can be photographed, but everything can be written about from memory if we, well, stopped to notice. Made me reflect about how much value is now given to photographs as proof of things actually happening (sure, a thousand words and all), but how much can we speak of what we feel and what we’ve actually observed? When the photograph (end product) is more important than what is actually seen at the moment of capture, it raises the question of how we use our senses (because they truly are a gift!), and how much of a moment we truly absorb.

Claudine &
The Year I Stopped to Notice by Miranda Keeling

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Claudine &The Year I Stopped to Notice by Miranda Keeling

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Claudine &
The Year I Stopped to Notice by Miranda Keeling