Book news, reviews and recommendations
April’s snapshot includes an exposé of jaw-dropping fraud in the art world, a short story collection from a writer whose novels I love and a novel set during the pandemic in a once grand Egyptian hotel about a mischievous octogenarian who meets her match in an eight-year-old boy. The non-fiction book I’m reading is Orlando […]
A Snapshot of My Reading #14 Read More »
March’s snapshot includes a Swedish short story collection from a writer whose novels I’ve enjoyed, a piece of non-fiction in which the author is absent, and a novel largely set in 1990s New York. The short story collection I’m reading is Sara Stridberg’s beautifully expressed Hunter in Huskvarna. Her writing is often lyrical, vividly summoning
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February’s snapshot includes a novel I’m crossing my fingers for, a short story collection from a favourite author and a well-known critic’s very personal piece art history. The novel I’m reading is Rupert Thomson’s How to Make a Bomb which begins with an academic returning from a conference, experiencing what may be a breakdown. I’ve
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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
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December’s snapshot includes a chunkster of a novel set in India written by an Ethiopian American physician, a short story collection by a Swedish writer from a favourite publisher and a doorstopping piece of travel writing that I started last month, making two that more than qualify for Laura’s Doorstoppers in December. The novel I’m
A Snapshot of My Reading #10 Read More »
This month’s snapshot includes a novel by a Korean American author, a short story collection from a promising young Irish writer and a doorstopping travelogue. The novel I’m reading is Paul Yoon’s Run Me to Earth, chosen because I so enjoyed his short story collection. It follows three young Laotians, recruited to help at a
A Snapshot of My Reading #9 Read More »
This month’s snapshot includes the follow-up to a novel I read well over twenty years ago, a short story collection popular with bloggers a while back and an account of a garden restoration which draws on art, literature and history. The novel I’m reading is Michael Bracewell’s Unfinished Business, a sequel of sorts to The
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This month’s snapshot includes a much-acclaimed Booker Prize winner, a short story collection by the mother of one of my favourite novelists and an account of a year spent sampling Britain’s subcultures The novel I’m reading is Samantha Harvey’s Orbital which follows six astronauts aboard a space station as they encircle the earth multiple times
A Snapshot of My Reading #7 Read More »
This month’s snapshot includes a novel about three astronauts preparing to travel to Mars, a short story collection from an Irish national literary treasure and a memoir about living alone and unattached well into old age. The novel I’m reading is Meg Howrey’s The Wanderers which I bought having loved They’re Going to Love You,
A Snapshot of My Reading #6 Read More »
This month’s snapshot includes a novel I’ve almost decided to give up, a short story collection from an acclaimed Irish author which has started well and a memoir that might make you think twice about eating in Parisian restaurants. The novel I’m reading is an unsolicited copy of Juhea Kim’s City of Night Birds sent
A Snapshot of My Reading #5 Read More »
This month’s snapshot includes a novel which disappointed several bloggers whose opinions I trust, a short story collection by an International Booker Prize longlisted author and a memoir by a museum guard. The novel I’m reading is Francis Spufford’s Light Perpetual which I started yesterday so it’s early days. It begins with a devastating event
A Snapshot of My Reading #4 Read More »