Book news, reviews and recommendations
I’ve been mulling over a post on books I’m looking forward to in 2014 for a little while, wondering how to organise it. At first it was going to be one post covering the first four months, then two made up of two months each but it seems to be turning into one for each […]
Books to Look Out for in January 2014 Read More »
I have to confess that I hadn’t heard of And Other Stories until a copy of Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative dropped through my letterbox. They’re a not-for-profit organisation who publish books funded by subscriptions from the likes of you and me, readers keen to support new writing and happy to pay an annual subscription for
Given that it’s ‘best this’ and ‘best that’ time of the year I thought I’d list my own top six favourite reads of 2013, particularly as it’s been one of my best reading years in ages. Unsurprisngly, I’ve failed miserably to keep to my limit so here are my top however many in no particular
Six favourites from 2013, and then some Read More »
I got together with R and S, two ex-Waterstone’s friends, in Birmingham yesterday, partly for a good old chat but our main destination was Birmingham’s spanking new library which I’d been wanting to visit since it opened back in September. We had a gorgeous day for it – bright sunshine bouncing off the tiered, shiny
The Library of Birmingham: A box of delights Read More »
I’ve just started Joe Moran’s Armchair Nation. Only a few chapters in but I can tell that it’s going to be both entertaining and enlightening as well as a treasure trove of factoids, as H likes to call them. I’ve already stashed away one eye-popping nugget: Anthony Burgess was apparently such a passionate fan of
Armchair Nation by Joe Moran: Life in front of the gogglebox Read More »
It was announced last week that ebooks made up 20% of Random House’s sales worldwide in the first six months of this year. Zillions of readers have enthusiastically embraced the digital age and with good reason. Social media and books work beautifully together; since blogging I’ve had the kind of exchanges that I’ve missed having
Bookish social media and unsociable e-books Read More »
Channel 4 News has been running a story about Amazon’s working practices based on an investigation at their Rugeley warehouse. It’s shocking stuff. An old mining town, Rugeley has long had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country so the announcement that Amazon were to locate a huge distribution centre there was met
Three Strikes and You’re Out Read More »
J. Courtney Sullivan writes the kind of long involving books into which you can comfortably sink, surfacing now and again for a cup of tea or whatever you fancy. I thoroughly enjoyed her previous novel, Maine; intelligently written and completely absorbing. The Engagements is structured around the idea of the engagement ring, a ‘tradition’ apparently
The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan: A brightly polished gem Read More »
This is not a post about lascivious, sensual reading matter: instead it’s the title of a list of books many readers have given up put together by Goodreads. Given my recent disappointments mentioned in Friday’s post I headed off to have a look and found many all too familiar titles – Moby Dick, Gravity’s Rainbow
The Most Abandoned Books Read More »
I’ve given up a lot of books recently. It used to feel like a moral failing leaving a book unfinished but I’ve finally realised that it’s a complete waste of time hoping that something which hasn’t gripped you by page 50 will eventually blossom. I’ve already confessed to giving up Flight Behaviour in Monday’s post
What in God’s Name by Simon Rich: Short, sweet and very funny Read More »
Back from my Sussex hols the highlights of which were undoubtedly two gorgeous gardens – Great Dixter and Charleston Farmhouse – both the kind that look as if they’ve been causally thrown together although anyone who knows anything about gardening, and I know very little, understands that this kind of planting is the product of
Holiday reading ups and downs Read More »