Book news, reviews and recommendations
Dept. of Speculation is Jenny Offill’s second novel. Her first, Last Things, was published way back in 1999, so long ago that I confess I have no memory of it except that I know that it must have been good as it’s still on my shelves having survived the series of charity shop culls over […]
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill: A long time coming but well worth the wait Read More »
This may seem an unusual post from me but I enjoy eating almost as much as I enjoy reading and would do a lot more of it were I not in fear of an exploding waistline. Travel comes a close third which makes Mina Holland’s culinary atlas an attractive prospect, all the more so thanks
The Edible Atlas by Mina Holland: A tasty little post which involves Jaffa cakes Read More »
As promised last Monday, here’s the second post trailing the bumper bundle of novels published in May that have found their way onto my wish list. Tom Rachman’s The Rise and Fall of Great Powers was always going to be there because it’s about a bookseller – not just any old bookseller but one with
Books to Look Out for in May 2014: Part Two Read More »
I read a lot of first novels – there’s always that hope of spotting a shiny new talent. Often, of course, those hopes are dashed but this is not a blog for dashed hopes. You’ll only read about the books I’m happy to recommend here which is why you can trust what may well turn
Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler: An American smalltown gem Read More »
Being a bit of an Elizabeth Strout fan, I was delighted to see her latest novel long listed for Baileys Prize last week. The Pulitzer-prize winning Olive Kitteridge was greatly admired in the States but I’m not sure it made much of an impression here in the UK. She writes the sort of quietly understated,
The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout: A Baileys contender Read More »
I wrote four posts like this before Christmas, trailing novels to be published in the first quarter of the year that I was particularly looking forward to. Time’s been marching on – and I enjoyed doing them enormously – so I thought I’d write one about books to be published in May that take my
Books to Look Out for in May 2014: Part One Read More »
You’re either brave or happy to court controversy if you choose to write a book with this kind of title unless you mean it to be taken with a pinch of salt. You lay yourself open to be shot down in flames, ridiculed for your ignorance and put right by every Tom, Dick and Henrietta
Fifty Books that Changed the World by Andrew Taylor: A brave, bold claim Read More »
There’ve been a few exchanges in my booky little Twitter corner recently about commercial and literary fiction, how one is thought to be more worthy of serious attention than the other. I haven’t been joining in partly because I’m not sure what I think about it. I do know that my own reading would be
Last week was the first birthday of Tinder Press, an imprint of Headline publishers. I remember being excited by the first clutch of titles they published and thought them very canny in transferring Maggie O’Farrell from the Headline Review imprint to Tinder for their launch title, Instructions for a Heatwave. I think they’ve every reason
The Snapper by Brian Kimberling and The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh Read More »
Before I write anything else I should apologise to Jackie at Farm Lane Books for stealing her idea. It was so strikingly simple that I wanted to do the same. I hope she won’t mind. The long list for one of my favourite awards, the Baileys (née Orange) Women’s Prize for Fiction, will be announced
My wish list for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014 Read More »
When Helen Oyeyemi was supposed to be studying for her A-levels she was actually busy writing her first novel, published in 2005. I was the reviews editor for Waterstone’s Books Quarterly at the time and a quick skim of The Icarus Girl was enough for me to make it a lead review. I commissioned Lesley
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi: A fabulous tale of race and identity Read More »