Category: Musings

  • Unexpected Extras

    Whilst I buy many books from Waterstones, Daunts, various indie bookshops and, yes, Amazon, I do also buy from sites like Biblio UK and World of Books. Secondhand; Pre- Loved. And then there are, sometimes, the unexpected extras. I use bookshop bookmarks and postcards to mark my place in a book but the options are […]

  • Truth

    I enjoyed Tracy Chevalier’s ‘The Last Runaway’ and so when I came across a book about the underground railway I wanted to read it. The underground railway was of course neither of those things. Instead it was a system of safe houses that enabled escaping slaves to move from confederate southern states in the USA […]

  • Reading Lists

    When was I last given a reading list I wonder? Very many decades ago I think. This all came to mind after finishing ‘The English Teacher,’ the third book by Lily King that I have recently read. (See readings.) After the acknowledgements and the now fairly common book group questions, there was a list of […]

  • Fly on the Wall

    Sometimes I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the offices of various publishers, to hear and hopefully understand the decisions that are made there. Two cases in point: ‘The Explorers’ by Katherine Rundell, which I have just read at the behest of my 11 year old granddaughter runs to nearly […]

  • French Folds

    I feel I must have written about this before but it appears not. I like French folds, they add gravitas and style to what would otherwise be an ordinary paperback. A French fold is a continuation of the book cover that folds inwards and thus can be used as a bookmark. It also allows artwork […]

  • The Lord of the Flies – William Golding

    Maybe it depends upon whether you are an optimist or a pessimist as to whether you follow RM Ballantyne’s portrayal in ‘The Coral Island’ of children castaway on a tropical island, not only surviving but thriving or the anarchic picture in William Golding’s ‘The Lord of the flies’ of lost boys becoming tribal and murderous. […]

  • Half-priced pleasure

    I have bought 2 hardback books lately, chosen from the round display tables in Waterstones. I’m pleased with my purchases but they pose several questions. Both books were first published in 2025 and here they are already, vastly reduced, indeed literally half the original price. Do publishers almost plan for this eventuality? I would not […]

  • Both Sides of Tim Daunt

    …and the mixed fortunes of independent bookshops. The Sunday Times recently ran a lengthy article about the bookseller extraordinaire Tim Daunt. Having set up his own excellent bookshops, the most elegant of which is in Marylebone High Street, he became CEO of Waterstones and now also oversees the chain of Barnes and Noble in the […]

  • Getting Hooked

    My granddaughter says that she knows within 2 pages of a book whether she will like it and want to read it … or not. Some people may feel they decide even sooner than that. If we could clearly put into words what it is that hooks us into a book then authors would be […]

  • What’s In A Name?

    Depending where you look, pseudonyms and nom de plumes are synonymous…or not. If you want to be pedantic then nom de plume is obviously a name for writing whilst a pseudonym would be simply a name to hide your identity. However, most websites seem to use them interchangeably. This subject came to my mind because […]