Well it’s been quite a week! Returning to school from furlough was a bit of a shock. I’ve been in the habit of waking up naturally at around 8, then tea and reading in bed until around 10 when Woman’s Hour starts on Radio 4 (never got on with that programme). Then a bit of Read More
Category: Annabel Elsewhere
Meanwhile at Shiny…
…I’ve had several reviews published recently. In the Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant Sarah Dunant’s latest novel chronicles the last year of Pope Alexander VI’s life. He was, of course, head of the Borgia family in Renaissance Italy. His mad and vicious soldier son Cesare, and daughter about to be thrice-married Lucrezia complete Read More
Shiny Linkiness
I can promise more reviews before Christmas, but in the mean time, here are some more links to my reviews in the latest issue of Shiny New Books… Old Buildings in North Texas by Jen Waldo This compact novel had me chortling from the first page. Olivia is a recovering from a heart attack and Read More
Weekend Bookishness
Ramble on… Planning my reading year in review I’m starting to think about my end of year posts – they’re going to be fun this year! I think I’ve excelled myself in the amount that I’ve read (135 books and nearly 40000 pages at the last count), and no DNFs either, which I hope, says Read More
The TBR Dare now has its own website
Visit http://tbrdare.com/ I hadn’t realised that Lizzy’s blog was incompatible with Mister Linky – so have taken the step to create a new website for the TBR Dare so we can both post there about it. We’ve added a Twitter feed too @DareTBR. If you’d like to use the first few months of 2017 to Read More
Shiny issue 12 published today
One of the reasons I’ve been quieter here, despite reading like mad is the number of books I’ve been reading and reviewing for the next issue(s) of Shiny New Books, and Issue 12 is published today! I’ve reviewed an eclectic mix of books for this issue, and would like to highlight the two non-fiction titles Read More
Shiny New Books Issue 11
Issue 11 of Shiny New Books was published this morning – I got up early to do most of the admin, and then went back to bed! This issue, with everyone still reeling after the Brexit vote, the Shiny Eds had a great discussion about European Culture on the page and screen. It would be Read More
Shiny is 2!
Happy Birthday to Shiny New Books Shiny New Books is two years old today! I’ve added two rather basic candles to our logo (and I’m looking forward to when we can have four!) A huge THANK YOU to my co-editors Simon, Harriet and Victoria and every single one of our contributors who, through quality writing and enthusiasm, have made it the success it undoubtedly Read More
Shiny Fiction Linkiness
Time to share my Fiction reviews from Issue 8 of Shiny New Books with you – four very different but enjoyable books, click through to read the full reviews, links within the text refer to my previous reviews: The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre Best known for his Verhoeven trilogy, Lemaitre has turned from contemporary fare to the end Read More
BBAW Interview Day
Welcome to day two of Book Bloggers Appreciation Week – It’s interview day. I was assigned Amanda of The Zen Leaf and we’ve been batting emails back and forth for a few days interviewing each other. Amanda’s blog is new to me so after having a good look around it I started off by asking Amanda Read More
My Books of the Year 2014 – Part One – the Shiny Edit…
This year for the first time, I’ve split my best of list in two. Having read around 130 books this year, there are too many to feature in just one post and there is an obvious split – today’s first part will feature those books that I’ve reviewed over at Shiny New Books. Forgive me for continually Read More
Christmas at Shiny New Books
If you’re a regular visitor here, it can’t have escaped your notice that the link in my sidebar to Shiny New Books recently sprouted a holly sprig! Yes, I’m delighted to direct you to head over there to experience our Shiny New Books Issue 3 Inbetweeny. Over thirty new reviews and articles to give you reading (and gift) Read More
More Shiny linkiness …
It’s been a couple of weeks since Issue 3 of Shiny New Books went live, so I thought I’d highlight the other fiction reviews I wrote for it to you – I hope you’ll click through to read the whole pieces… At the moment, we’re busy putting together our Christmas special which will be out Read More
My new reviews at Shiny New Books
The third issue of Shiny New Books came out on Monday. Now it’s time for me to highlight some of my reviews that appear therein and point you in their direction. As it ended up, I didn’t write as many reviews for this edition, but I shall still split them into a few posts in Read More
Issue 3 of Shiny New Books is here!
This morning, my fellow eds and I are proud to publish the third issue of Shiny New Books. As of yesterday (although that may have changed by the time this post goes live), it includes 85 book reviews and 16 BookBuzz articles and interviews. 101 pages feels good! Thank you very much to all our contributors, Read More
Getting back to Banks…
The Quarry by Iain Banks I was saddened at Iain Banks’s untimely death last year, and although I added his last novel The Quarry to my collection, I couldn’t read it straight away. Nine months later, it was an opportune time to read it – coinciding nicely with the paperback issue and the launch Read More
A Miscellany of Gaskella’s 2010 Midweek Miscellany posts
In 2010, I used to do a regular(ish) Midweek Miscellany post – full of bits and pieces. As I’ve been adding back all the reviews lost in the transfer process from old blog to new, what to do with posts like these has become a bit of a quandary, as some of these snippets are Read More
