Just a brief note to say I’m over at Shiny New Books today with my review of the delightful Everything Will Swallow You by Tom Cox. It’s a lovely and chucklesome ‘Shaggy Dog’ story (with the quote marks, read and you’ll understand why) of male friendship. If you read his previous novel Villager, you’ll know Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: I Want Every Thing
It’s time for the super monthly tag Six Degrees of Separation, which is hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation #6degrees picks a starting book for participants to go wherever it takes them in six more steps. Links to my reviews are in the titles of the books chosen. The starter book this month is: I Read More
TonyInterruptor by Nicola Barker
A new novel by Nicola Barker is something I always look forward to. Each one is totally different, yet quintessentially Barker, no-one captures the absurdities of life as she does. TonyInterruptor does this brilliantly. The novel all stems from an event at a jazz gig, where a man stands up and interrupts it with the Read More
Shiny Linkiness – Classic Books into Film
Today I’m over at Shiny New Books with a selection of five classic novels that are being made into films or TV series – some arriving on our screens in time for Christmas… Read my post HERE. They include the upcoming Netflix miniseries of Pride & Prejudice starring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden, with Olivia Read More
The Winter Warriers by Olivier Norek – blog tour
Translated from the French by Nick Caistor I don’t read much war fiction, and tend to shy away in general from more modern military stuff (unless it’s part of a spy novel etc.). But there was something about Olivier Norek’s new novel that caught my attention. Having read more Nordic fiction including quite a few Read More
A Lethal Legacy by Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir – blog tour
Translated by Quentin Bates It’s always a delight to read the new titles from Corylus Books, and, using their own tag line ‘to discover new voices’. Icelander, Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir is not, however, a new author. She’s a journalist with a prodigious output including plenty of interviews and biographies as well as a series of novels Read More
Muckle Flugga by Michael Pedersen
Sometimes a book cover calls to you – as this one did – gorgeous colours with the lighthouse’s blazing beacon, silver foam in the waves crashing against the rocks, with the added temptations of pink sprayed edges, lovely endpapers and signed by the author to boot. Nor did this book disappoint; indeed I’d go so Read More
Review Catch-up – two shorter reviews incl Book Group report
Still trying to reduce my books to be reviewed pile, here are two more shorter reviews for you. All that Remains by Virginie Grimaldi, translated by Hildegarde Serle Knowing that I’ve enjoyed Valérie Perrin’s novels (see here and here), I was delighted to receive a copy of another French bestseller, also translated by Hildegarde Serle, Read More
Review catch-up – capsule reviews of Weston, Wiles and Uketsu!
You know what it’s like. You read some wonderful 10/10 type books, but don’t feel inspired when it comes to writing about them! I have two such in the review queue – but they’re not for today. Instead here are capsule reviews of other good reads that I really enjoyed that are also in that Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: Ghost Cities
Apologies for typing in the wrong date – and posting on Friday instead of the first Saturday of the month. However, it’s time for the super monthly tag Six Degrees of Separation, which is hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation #6degrees picks a starting book for participants to go wherever it takes them in six Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – My Summary
As before, Emma has created a questionnaire for us to help share our experience of this summer challenge. You can find the link HERE. The August linky oost will stay open for another full week so you can add any late reviews. Find that HERE. Now for the questionnaire – here are my answers:
Review catch-up including no. 20 of my #20BooksofSummer2025 & #WITMonth2025: Roig, Vassell & Armitage
Some shorter reviews to help reduce the height of the pile of books I’ve read but haven’t written up yet. First my latest read for WITMonth which is also my 20th of my 20 Books of Summer. Challenge done! The Time of Cherries by Montserrat Roig, translated by Julia Sanches The Time of Cherries was Read More
Critical Reading Class
Something I’ve wanted to do for ages is an evening class in critical reading. The Oxford Uni Lifelong Learning course ‘Contemporary Critish Fiction’ sounds wonderful based on novels by McEwan, Mantel, Ishiguro and Zadie Smith, but at 10 hrs a week study over 10 weeks it’s more time than I can commit to while working Read More
Top Ten Tuesday on a Wednesday – Chunksters!
I’ve never done one of the ‘Top Ten Tuesday’ prompts hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl but having seen some blogger friends joining in this week, couldn’t resist – but I’m a day late. Last year, I had a bit of a rant about the time that chunksters take to read, which means that quantity of Read More
The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E.Bowman – #20BooksofSummer2025 no. 19
This novella was sheer joy to read! A rediscovered masterpiece, Rum Doodle is a comic novel satirising men, their work and obsessions on an expedition to the Himalaya, first published in 1956, written by an unassuming structural engineer from Guildford, so Bill Bryson tells us in his intro to this edition. It wasn’t a huge Read More
3 for #WITMonth2025 and #20BooksofSummer2025 nos 16-18
It’s now a tradition to read books by Women in Translation each August (see my earlier post about it here). I’ve read 4 this month already – 1 will be reviewed for Shiny New Books, the other three are reviewed below – 2 hits and 1 meh, in three different languages from three different indie Read More
Making It So by Patrick Stewart – #20BooksofSummer2025 no 15
Stewart’s memoir is my favourite kind of actors’ autobiography, combining lots of Shakespeare, building from one-liner parts to the title character, then film and TV success, with more theatre all the way through. Add to that an interesting working class Yorkshire childhood, and the fact that he’s a humble and lovely bloke, it was perfect. Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – Nos 11 & 14 – Newman and Barry
My internet is back, but it’s patchy, so I bought a wireless home hub to fill in the outages! I’ve now read 17/20 books of my 20 Books and have some reviewing catch-up to do. Here’s two more for you… Sandwich by Catherine Newman There was a time when my parents rented the same cottage Read More
20BooksofSummer2025 – July Questionnaire
As she did for our June reading, Emma has created another fun questionnaire. Do join in! Get the link here. Now here are my answers this month:
Lay Your Armour Down by Michael Farris Smith – blogtour (belatedly)
Argh – I would have posted this days ago, but I’ve had no internet – the idea of trying to do WP on my phone terrifies me. Sadly, there’s a major fault in the cabinet my wifi goes to – and the engineer couldn’t give me a time for when it would be fixed properly Read More
Women in Translation Month – #WITMonth2025
For many years now, August has been Women in Translation Month – #WITMonth, hosted by Meytal. I’m not sure whether she’s continuing to run it formally this year, but I along with many others I’m sure will continue to support the initiative informally. At the beginning of the month, I usually go back over my Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: The Safekeep
First Saturday of the month and time for the super monthly tag Six Degrees of Separation, which is hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation #6degrees picks a starting book for participants to go wherever it takes them in six more steps. Links to my reviews are in the titles of the books chosen. The starter Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – August (into Sept for late reviews)
June started the 2025 20 Books campaign off brilliantly and July continued the trend. Emma and I have been delighted with your wonderful response, and we hope you’ve enjoyed visiting some of the posts too. It was lovely to see so many linking in with #parisinjuly2025 too. August brings another chance to join in two tags at Read More
Shiny Linkiness, #parisinjuly2025 #20BooksofSummer2025 #TranslationThursday
Every Thursday it’s #TranslationThursday as founded by Stu (I’m never quite sure if I get that tag right), and this and last week, I posted reviews at Shiny New Books of translated fiction old and new. Today, my post is about the new Penguin Maigret Capsule Collection – 12 hand-picked titles from the 75 Maigret Read More
The Serial Killer’s Party by Amy Cunningham – blog tour
A new to me author, but what a fun sounding thriller! You can’t beat a book about rich people being naughty and profligate with added bodies for a summer thriller read – and on that score The Serial Killer’s Party certainly didn’t disappoint. I loved how Amy’s bio at the beginning says, “Amy has previous Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 no 10 – Bad Actors by Mick Herron
I’m managing to keep up with my 20 books – just finishing reading 12 & 13 at the moment, and nos 13 & 14 will be a double bill of Maigrets in new editions which I’ll be reviewing for Shiny New Books and tying into Emma’s Paris in July tag. Having read many Maigrets as Read More
Divinity Games by Lou Gilmond – blog tour
Two years ago, I read Lou Gilmond’s first novel – a near future set political thriller called Dirty Geese, and enjoyed it a lot. It featured Harry Colbey and Esme Kanha, both Tory MPs, Kanha being Chief Whip, and backbencher Colbey was touted as the replacement Minister at the Department for Personal Information when the incumbent Read More
Lost in the Garden by Adam Leslie – #20BooksofSummer2025 No 9 and a DNF
I’m currently reading my 11th book of my 20, loving Sandwich so far – a brilliant summery read. But I had one DNF too – let me get that out of the way with a few comments. The Appeal by Janice Hallett – DNF, 55/445 pages This novel has been a huge bestseller – I’ve Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – Nos 7-8, Herron & Osman
Nine books now read, time for reviews of numbers 7 & 8, which just begged to be paired together, as both involve crime / spies, but both later volumes in series, where I don’t want to say too much – so shorter write-ups are game here. Slough House by Mick Herron, (Slow Horses #7) First Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser
First Saturday of the month and time for the super monthly tag Six Degrees of Separation, which is hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation #6degrees picks a starting book for participants to go wherever it takes them in six more steps. Links to my reviews are in the titles of the books chosen. The starter Read More
