Here are two more pocket paperbacks of short stories from the 1995 Penguin 60s collection for you for #ShortStorySeptember, hosted by Rebecca. Both also fit the RIP XXI challenge with their dark themes… The Portobello Road and Other Stories by Muriel Spark This little volume comprises four stories selected from Penguin’s The Collected Stories of Read More
Month: September 2026
Booker Prize 2026 Longlist reading #1 – Riley & Harrison
This year is the first in a few years that I’ve got any excitement up about the Booker Prize, and I’ve now read four titles with a fifth just published (Switzy by Emma Cline) arriving immentently, but I won’t necessarily get that one read before the shortlist announcement on Sept 22. Here are my thoughts Read More
AnnaBookBel comes of age!
I didn’t remember until late last night, but yesterday on September 15th, my blog reached 18 years old! Gosh, I never thought when I dipped my blogging toe into the water back on Blogspot in 2008 that I’d still be going – but I just love talking about and sharing books, the best kind of Read More
The Butterfly House by Teresa Solana -blogtour
Source: Review copy from Corylus Books – thank you ! Translated by Peter Bush I loved the first of Catatan author Teresa Solana’s Barcelona Nights series of novels from Corylus Books, Black Storms, unusually for a crime novel, combined the investigation of the crime with the rich family drama of the lead detective, Norma Forester. Read More
A House in Winter by Emily Hourican – blogtour
Source: Proof copy from Bonnier/Eriu books for the Random Things blogtour – thank you. Hourican’s novel is based on real events. In January 1965, Princess Margaret and her husband Tony, Lord Snowdon, visited Abbeyleix House, County Laois, the home of his sister Susan, Lady di Vesci). This was a private family holiday, without their two Read More
Short Story September – Highsmith & Turgenev
Little tales of Misogyny by Patricia Highsmith My reading for Short Story September got off to a good start with the Highsmith, which also fits in with the RIP xxi challenge. It was first published in German in 1974 and in English in 1977. The edition I read was part of the pocket-sized Penguin 60s Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: Your Book Group Read
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: Your Read More
20 Books of Summer – #20BOS26 – My wrap-up
I’ve really enjoyed hosting this year’s 20 Books of Summer. It’s been lovely going round all your links. I did click through to all of them, although i didn’t always have time to leave a comment. I’ve also had a good summer of reading! I read 25 in total that qualified by my criteria (all Read More
H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker
This was my third Barker Books read of the summer. Originally, I’d planned to read Darkmans, but that is a doorstopper and time was running away so I picked H(A)PPY instead – I might as well have tackled the more straight-forward narrative of Darkmans though, given that H(A)PPY took me longer than anticipated to read! Read More
