Category: Musings

  • Bloom’s Day

    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 this is about the novel Ulysses written by James Joyce. I have only ever read the first part of this tome, similarly with ‘A portrait of the […]

  • Magical Realism

    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 Shafak with great interest and he used the term magical realism. It took me a moment to realise that he hadn’t made this up but that it […]

  • Who decides which books get reviewed?

    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 publicity is good publicity. Publishers are familiar with literary agents and with editors and reviewers of magazines and newspapers. They are well practised in getting their product […]

  • Writing to Authors

    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 of (probably) fan mail whilst others are longing for the postman to stop at their door. Maybe though they are happy to be left alone; not all […]

  • Memoirs and Autobiographies

    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 it, I find it much as I thought!  An autobiography is going to be factual and nearly always chronological whereas a memoir offers considerably more freedom. ‘Blood […]

  • Endpapers

    A strange thing to be writing about I know. Endpapers are fairly obviously the paper at the end of a book (but also the beginning!) that connects the cover to the rest of the book. Sometimes they are completely plain or just solid colour but occasionally you open a book and are offered a real […]

  • Pam Ayres poem

    Dad took me to our local pub in 1953, They had a television set, the first I’d ever see, To watch a Coronation! I knew it sounded grand, And although at six years old, the word was Hard to understand. But little kids like me, and others all Around the world, We saw the magic […]

  • Fun

    I am fascinated by the way in which usage has the power to change language. Now I am old it is very noticeable how the English language has changed since my childhood. France has an institute whose only purpose is to preserve the French language as if it can be held in time and is […]

  • Frabjous day, callooh, callay

    It is indeed a frabjous day because waiting for me when I arrived home was a new Elly Griffiths book: Bleeding Heart Yard. This is the third story about the detective Harbinder Kaur and I am hugely looking forward to reading it. The hardback edition was out last year but I decided to wait for […]

  • Pre-loved

    I have been buying several books from Wob lately: World of Books. They are efficient, deliver quickly, don’t overpack. All good. On the bookmark that they include it says: ‘we love that you’ve just re-homed a book with us. We’re all about reducing waste and helping goods to be reused and re-loved again and again.’ […]