Book news, reviews and recommendations
It’s almost longlist time for the Women’s Prize for Fiction which will be celebrating its thirtieth year this time around. Tuesday March 4th is the date to add your diary. Only novels written by women in English published between April 1st 2024 and March 31st 2025 qualify. I’ve followed the same format as previous years, […]
My Women’s Prize for Fiction 2025 Wish List Read More »
I ended 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 2022 and 2023 with this meme having been prompted by a post from at least one blogger, usually Annabel who started the ball rolling again this year, followed not long after by Cathy then Karen. I’m using the same prompts as Annabel, drawing on the titles of books I’ve
My Life in Books (2024 edition) Read More »
Much of October was taken up with a trip to Portugal where we were lucky enough to snatch a last blast of summer. Hard to leave Lisbon on a balmy blue-skyed day but a standout book in my first week back eased the pain. Set on his beloved Shetland, singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack’s That Beautiful Atlantic
Books of the Year 2024: Part Four Read More »
Summer still hadn’t got off the ground by August. Very little time was spent on our new deck, reading or otherwise, and only one book stood out that month, too. Written in spare, crisp prose, Sarah Manguso’s Very Cold People was one of my books of 2022. Liars is the equally bleak story of a
Books of the Year 2024: Part Three Read More »
April marks the real start of spring although I tend to be on the lookout for it from the beginning of March. I certainly felt it had finally arrived sitting in the gardens around Manchester Cathedral when we visited the city for the second time in three years. Just one title stood out for me
Books of the Year 2024: Part Two Read More »
Last year I managed to keep my books of the year to a mere twenty and felt very pleased with myself. This year, much to my surprise, I’ve done the same. Perhaps I’ve finally learnt some self-restraint. As with previous years, I have four posts planned, each roughly equivalent to a calendar quarter. Set in
Books of the Year 2024: Part One Read More »
Not my favourite prize but I can’t resist putting together a wish list for the Booker, perhaps because I know very few will be fulfilled but I’m keen to give some more neglected titles an airing. To be eligible for the prize all books must be published in the UK between 1st October 2023 and
My 2024 Booker Wish List Read More »
It’s Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist time again. Tuesday, 5th March is the date to add your diary should you be as keen on this particular prize as I am. Only novels written by women in English published between April 1st 2023 and March 31st 2024 qualify. I’m not in the business of predictions –
My Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024 Wish List Read More »
I ended 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 with this meme having been prompted by a post from at least one blogger, usually Annabel who was quick off the mark again this year. I’ve used last year’s prompts (I suspect I nicked them from Annabel) drawing on the titles of books I’ve read in 2023
My Life in Books (2023 Edition) Read More »
Much of October was taken up with a rail jaunt around Central Europe, our first since covid struck. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Such an interesting part of the world; definitely worth exploring further. Despite less reading time than usual, two books stand out, the first of which is Jhumpa Lahiri’s exquisite short story collection Roman
Books of Year 2023: Part Four Read More »
We’d come back from Glasgow ready for summer which never quite materialised, or not the long warm days I’d been envisaging so, once again, reading was done on the sofa rather than in the garden, and more of it than I’d originally planned. The first of July’s two books was one of those novels you
Books of Year 2023: Part Three Read More »