When I had read ‘Lessons’ by Ian McEwan I decided I had to read more by this acclaimed writer. ‘Enduring Love’ is a fascinating if rather disturbing read. […]
I have read the suggestion that one should avoid reading newly published books and focus on those at least 10 years old. The premise being that if they […]
Sometimes I like a reading break away from fiction and this book presented itself. I may have mentioned before that Petroc is my favourite Radio 3 presenter! His […]
Having just read Margaret Forster’s book ‘Is there anything you want?’ (and written about it,) I have been thinking around this tricky question … and also wondering if […]
I like the feel of Bloomsbury, one of London’s many ‘villages.’ Every area of the city has its own distinct flavour and Bloomsbury is full of interesting learning […]
I have great admiration for Tracy Chevalier. In my opinion she is an accomplished writer. As with most people I think, the first novel of hers that I […]
Matthew Parris in the Times wrote that some words have partners that they cling to. ‘Scantily’ is always followed by ‘clad’ … well, I think I agree with […]
I have written about today’s riches of Irish writers, some to my taste and others definitely not but Maeve Binchy was writing of a different Ireland, somewhat contemporary […]
Oxford Brooke’s University holds the archive of Penguin books. It was fascinating to visit this and listen to the archivist talk about the history of the iconic and […]
I have visited Keat’s House in Hampstead, London but I didn’t know there was a similar place by the Spanish Steps in the middle of Rome. A delightful […]
I certainly didn’t intend to see any of the BBC’s strangulation of Ian Rankin’s Rebus programmes but I did, not once but twice, catch the last ten minutes […]
Anita Shreve is one of those East Coast American writers who often seem to be facing out over the Atlantic, very, very taken with historical and political events […]
Most readers will be familiar with the novel Chocolat from about the year 2000 and the delightful film that followed later starring Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp and Judi […]
In St Alban’s Museum for the rest of the summer is a delightful exhibition about the history of Ladybird books. These books were an essential part of my […]
Going sideways from the previous musing, in amongst the media hype and TV adaptations of books by Sally Rooney, I was fascinated to see she had refused to […]
Why are there so many well-known and successful Irish writers, particularly over the last decade I pondered. In a recent (excellent) article I read about Colm Toibin, he […]
I have read several books by Salley Vickers including ‘The Cleaner of Chartres’, ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’ and ‘Mr Golightly’s Holiday.’ I enjoyed them all: imaginative, well constructed stories. […]
I read this book immediately after reading ‘Hotel du Lac’ by Anita Brookner. The difference in style hits you quite full in the face and added to my […]
All of these were really impulse buys and 2 of the three were successful so that is pretty good I think. In Daunts beautiful bookshop in Marylebone High […]
Do you like reading aloud I wonder? Do you like listening to someone reading aloud? Many have quite strong feelings about this, one way or the other. I […]
I sometimes enjoy reading a book about books and book lovers. This is a wide church of course. There are very different members of this club. I came […]
Having just read Bibliomaniac by Robin Ince, I have been thinking about how many different ways there are that booklovers show that love. There are of course many […]
I first heard of this book, and indeed this writer, at a U3A session. Coincidentally the author was then a guest of Michael Berkeley on Radio 3s Private […]
It is always good to receive news from Slightly Foxed. The book that caught my eye this time was called ‘My Salinger Year’ written by Joanna Rakoff. It […]
At the end of the Radio 3 breakfast show, the presenter Petroc Trelawny finishes by saying Good Morning. It occurred to me that using those words to say […]
This is a minor Daphne du Maurier fest about 2 of her novels: Rebecca and Frenchman’s Creek. I will leave Jamaica Inn and My Cousin Rachel for another […]
And now for something totally different. You may know the author Alan Garner from his children’s book ‘The Owl Service’ which was important to several generations and subsequently […]
Along with Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women books and the Heidi stories, Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild looms large in my childhood reading. Goodness knows how many times […]
The date of the birth of James Joyce, strangely and nicely noted and commemorated this morning on the Radio 3 breakfast programme. They then played ‘Love’s Old Sweet […]
This was a strange read but one that I am still thinking about sometime after finishing it. If I hadn’t been told otherwise I could have believed that […]
If you know anything about Stella Gibbons, then it is probably her first novel: Cold Comfort Farm. In this book Aunt Ada Doom famously saw ‘something nasty in […]
This book is apparently a follow up to a first publication venture called ‘The Secret Life of Cows’ which I have not read. I might though, because I […]
This is essentially a diary written by the author whilst living in London for a year, on what she calls a sabbatical from her marriage, left behind in […]
This is a small review for a small book, that is worth reading nevertheless. I came upon this little hard back whilst doing some clearing out and reorganising. […]
I read an article about bookmarks and it started me thinking about my collection. I have to admit that I do turn down the pages of paperbacks, only […]
I went to the Royal Academy today to an exhibition of drawings by Impressionist artists. Part of the fun of going to an exhibition is people watching. Looking […]
I did a little shopping in Daunts in London yesterday. I was about to write ‘a little gentle shopping’ but it really wasn’t gentle because the shop was […]
Here it is : aleatoric, as in ‘an aleatoric cast of mind.’ Near enough it means random, coming as it does from the Latin alea meaning variously: dice, […]
I enjoy reading books about the natural world, the countryside, the landscape etc and I very much enjoyed this one. It is however different in several ways. This […]
I had never heard of the poet George Barker but I was sent on a Barker odyssey recently by my favourite Sunday Times columnist India Knight. ‘Read Notes […]
During the long siege of Sarajevo between 1992 to 1996, a cellist stood at his apartment window. He looked down at the bakery on the opposite side of […]
Apparently, cockney rhyming slang is dead (brown bread) or at least taking its last breath. Rather sad if that is the case although I suspect some of it […]
A friend recently sent me a newspaper article about Louisa May Alcott, the author of ‘Little Women.’ I would have been interested anyway but more particularly now as […]
It is very difficult to be original don’t you think? Original thought is exceedingly rare. It is not surprising that everything in one way or another is derivative […]
Who knew that Shakespeare Day was November 8th? Definitely not me. If asked I would have gone for 23rd April, his birthday and possibly also the date of […]
This is a gentle book and an almost perfect one. I suppose it focuses on the extraordinary goings on of very ordinary people. The main character, Anna, tells […]
I have enjoyed my teaching career but I might have also enjoyed other ways of earning a living. Careers advice at my school was abysmal. Nursing and the […]
I won’t post anymore of these but I am delighted to find them in so many places, used and not vandalised. Cheering … and full of that nice word community.
I remember listening in the staff room to somebody who said: ‘And there they were, all sat at their desks ready for the lesson.’ This sounded quite foreign […]
You know when Amazon says: we think you’d like this one! Well, sometimes I ignore and refrain and well, other times I press the button. Evie Woods is […]
Although many would associate the 19th century with much that was dark, dirty and downright bad, it has to be said that there was also a concern for […]
This funny little community library is in Grantchester Meadows in Cambridge. It’s a little bit scruffy and contains a weird collection of things including some children’s board books, […]
This is one of those books that I’ve always been aware of but only recently managed to get around to reading. The adjective that immediately comes to mind […]
As I walked into the kitchen, Petroc Trelawney, my favourite Radio 3 presenter was talking about a book called An Equal Music, by Vikram Seth. However, he didn’t […]
I have read 2 books by James Rebanks, the husband of the above author. ‘The Shepherd’s Life’ and ‘English Pastoral’ are both excellent reads, written in a cogent […]
When you are selling many copies of your books, they are applauded by literary columnists and your readers wait avidly for the next instalment, it seems very brave […]
A Sunday Times article recently educated me about the author Danielle Steele, now in her mid seventies. She has sold over 800 million copies. I had to check […]
I love the bookstalls underneath Waterloo Bridge on the South Bank of the Thames. You never know what you might come across and I’ve seen books there that […]
Is it OK to buy books simply because of the cover, or the colour, size or design? Bookstagram and Booktok (and probably many other social media sites that […]
I wonder where you stand on this? I had been doing some proofreading and wanted the word ‘youngest’ changed to ‘younger.’ If you have 2 sons, then as […]
Happy Bloom’s Day, 16th June. It might be fun to be in Dublin today, drinking Guinness and eating oysters as that seems to be the tradition. So all […]
I went to a good U3A literature session recently but probably even better was the chat on my journey home. The driver talked about the books of Elif […]
Getting your book reviewed is the best sort of advertisement. Even if the reviewer is not greatly enamoured by your work there is always the case of all […]
Why would one write to an author I wonder. To ask questions maybe or to express strong opinions, positive or negative. Presumably some writers are overwhelmed with sackfuls […]
I am reading ‘Blood Knots’ by Luke Jennings and its appellation is ‘memoir.’ It made me think about how a memoir might differ from an autobiography. Looking into […]
