La Vie En Straw

The days are long in deepest rural France. Longer still in winter when those who don't hibernate or migrate have largely to make their own entertainment. Each season, though, has its rewards and its own distinct personality. Mark Sampson has selected some of the best of La Vie en Straw, his long-running blog, and put them together to create an entertaining picture of daily life as it evolves throughout the year in a beautiful, largely unspoilt part of the world. With a teenage daughter growing up fast, a coterie of domestic animals and a wife working improbably long hours as a complementary health therapist, the book paints a humorous and intimate picture of family life in an often perplexing foreign land. From deep within the house of straw that's familiar to viewers of Channel 4's Grand Designs comes a form of thoughtful reality TV - without the cameras.