Book news, reviews and recommendations
Part two of July’s paperback preview kicks off with two superb novels from Irish writers, both favourites from last year. Sheila Armstrong’s Falling Animals spans a year in which the authorities try to trace the identity of a corpse found on an Irish beach within sight of the shipwreck that caught fire a while ago, […]
Paperbacks to Look Out For in July 2024: Part Two 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 »
After last year’s surprisingly sunny visit to Manchester we decided we’d probably used up our Northern spring good weather luck, heading off to St Leonards-on-Sea in Sussex for a short break to see family in April. The month’s reading got off to a brilliant start with ex-bookseller Alice Slater’s Death of a Bookseller which took
Books of Year 2023: Part Two 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 »
I was delighted to spot Sheila Armstrong’s first novel in the publishing schedules having been so impressed with her short story collection, How to Gut a Fish. That had a touch of the surreal about it which I half expected from Falling Animals, given it’s slightly disconcerting, rather lovely cover, but Armstrong’s novel is not
Falling Animals by Sheila Armstrong: For those in peril on the sea Read More »
I’m pleased to report May’s bursting at the seams with goodies, a few tried and tested although not the one I’m kicking off with. I was a huge fan of Jen Beagin’s idiosyncratic Pretend I’m Dead and enjoyed the follow up, Vacuum in the Dark. Her third novel, Big Swiss, sees Greta entranced with the
Books to Look Out For in May 2023: Part One Read More »