Book news, reviews and recommendations
September’s second batch of paperbacks begins with two of my books of 2022, the first of which I was reluctant to read despite it being by one of my favourite authors. Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy by the Sea is both the second outing in quick succession for Lucy Barton and a pandemic novel hence the wariness. …
Paperbacks to Look Out For in September 2023: Part Two Read More »
I’ve long had a weakness for American small town novels. I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps it’s the idea of a small canvas onto which universal human traits are projected together with a curious nostalgia for a country where I’ve spent quite a few holidays but never felt I’d entirely got to know. Hard to …
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 – Born to Run to Mouth to Mouth Read More »
We’re on the last lap, you’ll be pleased to hear, with a surprising number of gems in November, an indication of the way the publishing year has shifted since so many sales migrated online. I remember when October was the big publishing month. That month’s only stand out title for me was Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy …
Unusually for me, I had mixed feelings when I saw a new Elizabeth Strout in the schedules: Lucy by the Sea is Lucy Barton’s third outing, the second in a year, and it’s a pandemic novel. I wondered if she was becoming little overexposed but knew I’d read it anyway. Lucy and her ex-husband, William, …
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout: ‘This is how we lived. It was strange’ Read More »
October’s a little light on eye-catching titles for me although for the second year running we’re being treated to a new Elizabeth Strout featuring Lucy Barton which came as a surprise. Lucy by the Sea sees her leaving New York City for lockdown life in Maine with the ex-husband she was reunited with in last …
We’re on the final straight which is chock full of novellas crammed into October and November thanks to my new found (relative) freedom which included a week in Edinburgh and another short break in London. I was in two minds about accepting my first October pick. Lauren Groff’s Matrix is a reimagining of the life …
My sense of time has been off during the pandemic: sometimes an event seems as if it was just the other day, others years ago, both assumptions often prove to be wrong. Perhaps that’s why I was surprised to spot a new Elizabeth Strout in the publishing schedules, convinced that Olive, Again was only published …
Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout: ‘We are all mysteries, is what I mean’ Read More »
This second instalment of October’s new titles starts with a treat for Elizabeth Strout fans. Just as Olive, Again revisited a much-loved character so Oh William! renews our acquaintance with the narrator of My Name is Lucy Barton, now widowed, who has unexpectedly bumped into her first husband. William has a few troubles to share …
Slim pickings for November’s paperbacks with just five that stand out for me, two of which I’ve already read. I’ll begin with one of my favourite books from last year which saw the return of the irascible yet essentially warm-hearted Olive Kitteridge, familiar to fans of Elizabeth Strout’s eponymous Pulitzer Prize-winning book published in 2008. …
Another year, another Booker Prize longlist in the offing although this year has been far from normal both in the book world and beyond with titles bouncing around the publishing schedules like tennis balls thanks to the pandemic. I’d half expected a postponement of the longlist announcement but the Booker brigade seem to be sticking …