Book news, reviews and recommendations
The first snapshot of my reading year includes a novel published by Salt, a small indie that manages to survive despite the odds, a slightly disappointing short story collection and a piece of consoling non-fiction. The novel I’m reading is Xan Brooks’s The Catchers set in the 1920s American South. I’m not very far in […]
A Snapshot of My Reading #11 Read More »
The first instalment of February’s paperback preview begins with one that slipped through my net when it was first published. Rupert Dastur’s debut, Cloudless, is set in rural Wales where in 2004 Catrin and John wait for their older son to return from Iraq, horrified at his decision to enlist. The appearance of an old
Paperbacks to Look Out For in February 2026: Part One Read More »
This is the fourth review of a Bryan Washington book I’ve posted here, beginning with Lot, his collection of short stories back in 2019. Palaver follows an unnamed mother and son over the few weeks she pays him an unexpected and unwelcome visit in Tokyo where he’s been living for over a decade. I think,
Palaver by Bryan Washington: Home is where the heart is Read More »
Our London break got off to a slightly sticky start thanks to train problems which meant we arrived later than expected. We dropped our initial plans in favour of wandering over to Waterstones Piccadilly for a browse then H suggested a visit to the National Gallery to look at the floor. You might think that
Three Days in London and Half a Book Read More »
Back from my London break (more of which later in the week) with the second instalment of February’s new fiction which kicks off with a couple I’ve already read. The first, Madeline Cash’s Lost Lambs, follows the supremely dysfunctional Flynn family shortly after Catherine, frustrated with her life as a stay-at-home mother, unilaterally declares her
Books to Look Out For in February 2026: Part Two Read More »
Lots of new fiction to keep those of us in the Northern Hemisphere interested through the winter months beginning with one I’m particularly keen to read. Danish writer Helle Helle’s This Should Be Written in the Present Tense was one of my books of 2014 raising hopes for they translated by Martin Aitken, a name
Books to Look Out For in February 2026: Part One Read More »
Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six others to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the titles on the list,
Six Degrees of Separation – Shadow Ticket to Rebecca Read More »
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could. Fiction is too often written off as escapism, but it can illuminate ways of life and beliefs that
Blasts from the Past: The Romance Reader by Pearl Abraham (1995) Read More »
This meme’s an old favourite of mine. Someone usually pips me to the post and this year it was Bookdout who has her own version which Cathy used for hers. Like Karen and Cathy746, I’m using the same prompts as in previous years, drawing on the titles of books I’ve read in 2025 with links to
My Year in Books (2025 Edition) Read More »
I’ve taken to including warnings/reassurances in my reviews of novels when dogs appear. So many meet miserable fates but cats tend to fare better. Below are five novels cat lovers can read safe in the knowledge that no horrible fate will be dealt to our furry friend, although some might beg to differ about the
Five Books Featuring Cats I’ve Read Read More »
The second part of January’s paperback preview begins with two shortlisted for 2025’s Women’s Prize for fiction. In Rósín O’Donnell’s debut, Nesting, a woman flees her home with her two young daughters, convinced that’s it’s no longer safe for them to live there. Her hoped-for escape proves to be tougher than she’d thought with little
Paperbacks to Look Out For in January 2026: Part Two Read More »