Book news, reviews and recommendations
Far fewer titles than usual have caught my eye for July when the holiday reading season is in full swing, not much of which appeals to me. That said, there’s usually at least one novel that falls neatly into that pigeonhole which takes my fancy. This year’s is Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace spanning […]
Books to Look Out For in July 2021 Read More »
Huge amounts of brouhaha surrounding Zakiya Dalila Harris’ debut, stretching back many months as publishers tweeted their joy at getting their hands on a copy of The Other Black Girl. I’ll admit to suffering proof envy with this one, resorting to NetGalley when it turned out there were none left. Set in a prestigious New
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris: Stepford publishers Read More »
I’d not come across Jen Silverman’s name before We Play Ourselves arrived. She’s a playwright which left me wondering how much of herself was in this novel about a woman in her thirties, suddenly in the glare of publicity after a decade of putting on plays in obscure New York venues, whose star plummets as
We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman: ‘There are so many lives ahead of us all’ Read More »
I was brought up in the countryside but I’m much more comfortable living in an urban environment, a small city rather than a metropolis where cinema, galleries and music venues are all within walking distance, not to mention the odd bookshop or two. I love the beauty of landscape plus the odd glimpse of wildlife
Five Rural Novels I’ve Read 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 – From The Bass Rock to The Reader on the 6.27 Read More »
Way back in 2012, I read Liz Moore’s second novel, Heft, which I remember enjoying although, so many books having passed under the bridge since then, not much else. When I spotted The Words of Every Song in the schedules I hadn’t realised it was her debut, attracted by its New York music scene setting.
The Words of Every Song by Liz Moore: Living the dream, or perhaps not Read More »
I ended my review of Vendela Vida’s The Diver’s Clothes Lie Entry back in 2015, pleased to find she had a backlist to explore. Needless to say, too many bright, shiny new books got in the way so I was delighted when We Run the Tides arrived through the letterbox. Set in a wealthy San
We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida: Beauty and truth, or the lack of it Read More »
There’s a ‘war and its consequences’ theme running through the first half of June’s second instalment of paperbacks but don’t let that put you off: all four books made it on to my books of 2020 list, beginning with Lisa Evans’ V for Victory which catches up with Vee and Noel, names familiar to readers
Paperbacks to Look Out For in June 2021: Part Two Read More »
I remember reading Hideous Kinky shortly after it was published, rewatching the film after getting back from Morocco, hoping to relive our trip, very different though it was from the one in Esther Freud’s novel which drew on her own childhood experiences. I’d also enjoyed her last novel, Mr Mac and Me, reviewed back in
I Couldn’t Love You More by Esther Freud: Love, loss and motherhood Read More »
Despite being fortunate to live in a beautiful city, H and I felt in need of a change of scene and were lucky enough to snap up a cheap deal in an aparthotel in spitting distance of the Tower of London. Our first outing was a walk from St Katherine Docks along the canal to
Seven Days in London and Two Half-books plus the Memory of Another Read More »
A multitude of paperback goodies to look out for this June, several of which fell foul of the pandemic-induced schedule changes that have bedevilled both authors and publishers for well over a year, including the paperback edition of Emma Forrest’s Royals delayed since June 2020. Forrest’s novel is about a working-class Jewish boy drawn into
Paperbacks to Look Out For in June 2021: Part One Read More »