Book news, reviews and recommendations
Not my favourite prize but I can’t resist putting together a wish list for the Booker. To be eligible for this year’s prize all books must be published in the UK or Ireland between 1st October 2025 and 30th September 2026 and have been written in English. The judges usually stick to twelve although sometimes […]
My 2026 Booker Wish List Read More »
It’s almost two years since I posted my first five summer reads, mentioning how much I look forward to summer although not heatwaves like the poleaxing one we’ve been experiencing in Europe. The five novels below summon up the season for me, all with links to my reviews. Set over a single drenching summer’s day,
Five More Summer Books I’ve Read Read More »
I was delighted to spot a new Ann Patchett in the publishing schedules, even more so when a proof dropped through my letterbox. Whistler begins with Daphne and her husband sharing a day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when he spots an elderly man who seems to be following her. I hadn’t known there
Whistler by Ann Pattchett: Doing what she does best Read More »
Lots of goodies to look out for in June beginning with one from a favourite author of mine. In Ann Patchett’s Whistler, Daphne and her husband are visiting a museum before Jonathan sets off for Wisconsin to help his sister clear their late mother’s house. The dapper elderly man so interested in Daphne turns out
Books to Look Out For in June 2026: 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 – We Have Always Lived in the Castle to These Precious Days Read More »
The first instalment of June’s paperbacks includes three tried and tested titles, two of which made it on to my books of last year list, beginning with one by a favourite writer of mine. If you’re on the lookout for intelligent summer reading Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake is just the ticket. It’s set on a
Paperbacks to Look Out For in June 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 – Tom Lake to Death Comes for the Archbishop 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 »
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 »
I knew there was a new Ann Patchett on the horizon but wasn’t entirely sure of its publication date so when a proof of Tom Lake turned up out of the blue I was thrilled to bits. I’m a big Patchett fan and although her lovely collection of essays, These Precious Days, had been a
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett: A celebration of life and love Read More »
Not my favourite prize but I seem unable to resist putting together a wish list for the Booker, quite possibly because I know very few will be fulfilled but I’m keen to give some more neglected titles an airing even though they’re unlikely to have been nominated let alone make the judges’ grade. To be
My 2023 Booker Wish List Read More »