My original plans were to read this book and Oracle Night this week alongside Baumgartner, which would have left only Sunset Park of Auster’s novels unread, but I was enjoying his 2002 novel The Book of Illusions so much, I took it a little more slowly to savour the text. Now I have the hard Read More
Category: Authors A
Baumgartner by Paul Auster – #AusterRW25
I chose Auster’s last novel as the buddy read for Paul Auster Reading Week. Published in 2023, a slim novel at just over 200 pages, it didn’t disappoint and revisits many of his favourite themes. The first chapter sets a comic scene.: Baumgartner is sitting at his desk in the second-floor room he variously refers Read More
Welcome to Paul Auster Reading Week 2025
Paul Auster is my absolute favourite author. Five years ago I hosted my first Paul Auster Reading Week, and since his death last year, I decided to host another. However, timing it to coincide with his birthday which is today, Feb 3rd rather than the anniversary of his death in April; he would have been Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: Les Liaisons Dangereuses
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 Read More
Talking Header Images
One last fun post before School starts; I do have book reviews scheduled – honest! I was looking at my header images on the blog, and wondering if I should update them… Obviously, they’re cut down from larger photos to fit. I have six current ones, which are randomised to appear with each refresh of Read More
Reading Plans & Resolutions 2025
Happy New Year to you all! It’s traditional to set out one’s stall with reading plans for the year ahead. I was aiming to keep them as fluid as possible, yet have managed to sign up for 5 blog tours in January, how did that happen? I am aiming to do fewer blog tours this Read More
Review of the Year #3, 2024 – Books of the Year!
It’s finally time for me to share my favourite books of the year with you. It’s always a difficult decision and, as so often happens, the last two books I finished, but have yet to review, both pushed their way onto the list! I read 122 books this year, of which I awarded 10/10 to Read More
Shiny Linkiness – Despentes and Ayoade
I’ve two recent reviews at Shiny to share with you here too. Both are lockdown books, such is the length of the publishing cycle. Dear Dickhead by Virginie Despentes Translated by Frank Wynne I would never have predicted that Virginie Despentes, creator/director of the 2000 rape-revenge novel and film Baise-moi, author of the superb ‘State of Read More
Five Feat… “Surrey”
This is the first of a new occasional series ‘Five Feat…’ (apologies to those who don’t like the slangy abbreviation of ‘featuring’, but it keeps it neat!). I’ve decided to start at my beginning and have found five books I’ve read that are set or partially set in or adjacent to my home county of Read More
Paul Auster Reading Week II anyone?
Back in February 2020 I hosted a Paul Auster Reading Week. He was my most admired living author then, but sadly he died from cancer last April. Rather than time a second reading week for the anniversary of his death, I’ve decided to celebrate his birth instead, which was on 3rd Feb 1947. So who Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: the last book you read
First Saturday of the month and new year too, 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 Read More
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Dear lovely readers, I’d like to raise a toast to you and wish everyone the finest greetings of the season, however you spend the holidays. Before getting busy with lunch and presents, I shall be reading with my first cuppa, a Hans Christian Andersen short story The Fir Tree, which the Renard Press have produced Read More
Two more reviews: Richard Armitage and Roland Schimmelpfennig
Still clearing the to be reviewed pile. Today, proof that planning your year end best of early can mean readjustment when a late contender appears. But first… Geneva by Richard Armitage Yes, it’s a celebrity thriller, but given Armitage’s pedigree as an actor, and narrator of many audiobooks, one that I had higher hopes for Read More
Reading the Decades: #6 The 1980s
I am more often than not devoted to contemporary fiction, the shiny and the new. But I do read some older books too as my stats will attest. This series picks out some of those old books that I’ve read, sorted by publishing date, not reading dates which can be any time. You can read Read More
Kerching! It’s so 1980s – Money by Martin Amis
I originally reviewed this book back in 2015, but thought I’d republish a slightly tweaked review after hearing of Martin Amis’ death this weekend. It’s also spurred me to dig out my copy of London Fields to re-read as one of my 20 Books of Summer. Here’s my review: So, earlier in the summer we Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: Hydra
First Saturday of the month, 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. This month Read More
The 1940 Club: Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler
When looking through my books to choose one to read for Simon and Kaggsy‘s 1940 Club reading week, I was surprised to find I’ve only read one (since I started keeping my spreadsheet) published in 1940 – that was the sublime Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker (reviewed here). However, I found two super classics from Read More
You Will Never Be Found by Tove Alsterdal – #NordicFINDS23
Translated by Alice Menzies It’s fitting to end my Nordic reading for January with this Swedish crime novel – for it was published today! You Will Never be Found is the second in a series featuring Police Assistant Eira Sjödin. I very much enjoyed reading the first volume, We Know You Remember last year, set Read More
Review of the Year #3: 2022, Books of the Year!
I still award a score to all the books I read – recorded on my Reading List page. I score out of 10, including half points (so out of 20 really!). Those scores are only snapshots of course, and some books fade from your memory as others, which maybe scored lower initially, stay or grow. Read More
Review Catch-up
In an effort to plan for Christmas and beyond (who am I kidding?), I’m aiming to clear the decks of my review pile, so this is the first of a couple of catch-ups. Shiny Linkiness My three latest reviews for Shiny … Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries – edited by Alan Taylor. Rickman’s diaries, Read More
Review Catch-up: Naspini, Atwood, Grant & DNFs
And breathe! Half term has arrived for me, and I can relax after the busiest first half of term I can ever remember at school. I’ve had a new boss to get to know for the Health & Safety part of my job; new H&S computer systems to learn and then update everything in; a Read More
Under the Blue by Oana Aristide #20BooksofSummer
When I read Rebecca’s review of this novel last year in her 20 Books of Summer for 2021, I immediately had to get a copy for myself, but didn’t get around to reading it until now when it fitted into my 20 Books of Summer! As Rebecca says, if you’re a Station Eleven fan (and Read More
Review Catch-up: Ginsburg & Alsterdal
I’ve spent so long writing up a review for Shiny with a companion blog piece for this Thursday, I’m getting rather behind on my other reviews, so here’s a twofer of shorter reviews for you today, both from Faber & Faber Books. Unusually in my reading they show serendipity – both feature an older woman Read More
Five Novels about Cinema
To celebrate my first going out of an evening in a long time to the cinema to see Cruella – which I loved (it’s like The Devil Wears Prada with extra real teeth: Emmas Stone and Thompson have a whale of a time! – trailer here), here’s five novels I’ve enjoyed about cinema, involving the Read More
Reading the Decades #2: The 1970s
Those who visit this blog regularly will know of my devotion to contemporary fiction, the shiny and the new. But I’m not really a one-trick pony in my reading. The metrics in my annual reading stats include the number of books I’ve read published before I was born in 1960 and those between 1960 and Read More
Shiny Linkiness
Just a quick post to direct you towards Shiny New Books where I have two reviews posted this week, both from indie publishers: Mr Cadmus by Peter Ackroyd This is Ackroyd having huge fun with not a Victorian in sight! This novella is a sort of dark, twisted version of a quaint British cosy mystery Read More
Review of the Year #1 – A Year of Reading and Blogging
I’m saving my books of the year for the 31st, but today I plan to share some other blogging highlights, discovered authors and the few disappointments of my reading year. Let’s go through the year first… JANUARY – was the beginning of The Japanese Literature Challenge 13 which carried on until March. I read The Read More
Nonfiction November – My Year in Non-Fiction
This is my third year of taking part in Nonfiction November. Each week has a different theme and is hosted by a different blogger. Week one is to survey your year in non-fiction, prompted by Leann at Shelf Aware. Last year, just over 25% of my reading was non-fiction at 33 books, my best ever. Read More
Vampire novels I have read – Ranked!
When I was writing my recent review of Vlad by Carlos Fuentes, a literary relocation of Dracula to modern Mexico, I was struck by the large number of vampire novels that I’ve read over the years, especially since I began blogging – probably more vampires than zombies, fallen angels, demons and perhaps even ghosts added Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: The Turn of the Screw
My favourite monthly tag, hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation picks a starting book for participants to go wherever it takes them in six more steps. Links in the titles will take you to my reviews where they exist. This month our starting book is: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James I’ve Read More
