Book news, reviews and recommendations
When I spotted Rare Singles on NetGalley I’d read just one novel by Benjamin Myers – The Offing – although I have The Perfect Golden Circle on my TBR shelves and Cuddy on my ‘to buy’ list. Spanning three days, it’s about an American singer in his seventies with the slimmest of back catalogues who’s […]
Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers: ‘Grief is the price of love’ Read More »
September sees the publication of several novels many readers are probably already well aware of from social media, beginning with a one I’m sure will be piled up on Christmas tables. Sally Rooney’s one of those authors who provokes strong reactions in readers but whether you love her writing or find it infuriating, it will
Books to Look Out For in September 2024: 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 – The Museum of Love to Did You Ever Have a Family? 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. When I considered The Prince of West End Avenue for a Blast from the Past post, I half
Blasts from the Past: The Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler (1994) Read More »
I took a punt on Susan Butterwieser’s Junction of Earth and Sky looking for something absorbing but untaxing in the summer heat. The blurb promised a novel spanning six decades and two continents, comparing it with both The Paper Palace and The Dutch House, neither of which sprang to mind for me. Butterweiser’s debut begins
I always look forward to summer, unfailingly optimistic at the prospect of long days full of light and warmth with perhaps a breeze to cool things down now and again. Living in my part of the world, I should know better. Climate change has also shortened the odds, delivering storms punctuated with brief heatwaves more
Five Summer Books I’ve Read Read More »
When I spotted Laura Sims’ How Can I Help You on NetGalley it reminded me of Alice Slater’s dark, funny Death of a Bookseller which I inhaled last year. Set in a library, Sims’ novel follows Margo, who’s not at all who her colleagues think she is, and Patricia, a frustrated writer, new to the
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims: A literary page-turner Read More »
Disappointingly few paperbacks caught my eye for August, although some readers with a toppling tbr pile might find that a relief. I’m beginning with one I’m not too sure about but it’s published by Pushkin Press which has swung me in its favour. Maya Binyam’s Hangman sees a man return to his home in sub-Saharan
Paperbacks to Look Out For in August 2024 Read More »
August Thompson has chosen an unusual structure for his debut which is what made me want to read it. Anyone’s Ghost is a love story which hinges on three car crashes involving two men, boys at the beginning of the novel, the last of which is fatal for one of them. I wanted Jake as
Anyone’s Ghost by August Thompson: A love story in three parts Read More »
Published in the States under Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint, Alina Grabowski’s Women and Children First came billed as perfect for Elizabeth Strout fans but it was its structure and small-town setting that made me read it. Grabowski traces the lives of ten woman and girls before and after the death of a high school student
Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski: A small town tragedy Read More »
This second batch of August’s new fiction begins and ends with slight disappointments from two of my favourite authors. Heart, Be at Peace returns to the setting of Donal Ryan’s A Spinning Heart as the town struggles with the fallout from Augie Penrose’s lucrative drug business. Bobby becomes determined to do something about this menace,
Books to Look Out For in August 2024: Part Two Read More »