Author: Susan Brice

  • Went to London, Took the Dog – Nina Stibbe

    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 Cornwall. Will she return the reader wonders as the days and months pass by. When she wrote this, was she already intending it for publication I wonder. […]

  • Bookish Thoughts

    Authors not to read again(!): Marion Keyes Sally Rooney Emily Henry There have been very many times in my life when I have felt out of kilter with what seems to be the generally accepted opinion. These 3 authors would be another case in point. They are all phenomenally popular and successful but they just […]

  • Seven of the best bookshops in the UK

    This is not my list but that of The Sunday Times. At my great age I find I am delightfully encouraged that they choose to let this article, amply illustrated, cover 2 pages of their travel section. A bookshop journey around the UK; lovely. The seven bookshops: Much Ado Books, Alfriston, East Sussex Bookbugs and […]

  • Teeth

    I should have worked this one out for myself but I didn’t, I looked it up. Denticulated. There is the root and the clue at the beginning. Dent as in dentist; thus teeth. A denticulated gate would be one with wooden or metal ‘teeth’ at the top, to prevent intruders.

  • The Small Miracle – Paul Gallico

    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 knew I had read it before but I thought it deserved a second look. It took me less than an hour to read but I am […]

  • Bookmarks

    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 if they are my own I hasten to add. Sometimes I turn down the bottom corner of a page. This is code for: there is something on […]

  • Words and Pictures

    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 at what they’re wearing is interesting, as is hearing snippets of conversation: ‘I really think you should give me back my television now’ or ‘would you come […]

  • Real books for ever

    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 positively heaving with customers and there were queues to pay. It was a Friday and not a public holiday and there were all these people buying books; […]

  • Word of the Week

    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, risk, chance. First found in the English language in the late 1700s and popularised in the mid-20th century by the composer and conductor Pierre Boulez who had […]

  • All around the year – Michael Morpurgo

    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 is a diary written by Michael Morpurgo of the year 1976 and was never intended for publication. During that year, I actually remember it well: drought and […]