Book news, reviews and recommendations
Quite a mixed bag of paperbacks to kickstart January, beginning with one I expect to see piled up on bookshop tables. Anne Tyler’s first novella Three Days in June follows Gail whose daughter is about to be married, starting with the wedding rehearsal day which has already started badly for Gail, summoned to her boss’s […]
Paperbacks to Look Out For in January 2026: Part One Read More »
Lee Cole’s Groundskeeping was one of my books of the year back in 2022 raising my expectations for his second. Fulfillment sees two half-brothers returning to Kentucky, one with his hopes dashed and in debt, the other married and apparently successful, teaching for a term at a local university. For anyone discomfited by that extra
Fulfillment by Lee Cole: ‘Despair and Late Capitalism’ or ‘The Hero’s Journey’ Read More »
I’ve long enjoyed campus novels but much more so since my partner became an academic. They frequently have a satirical bent as if the author’s getting things of their chest which I’ve come to understand is quite often the case. Here, then, are five of many campus novels I’ve read, three with links to my
Five Campus Novels I’ve Read Read More »
A few of my 2022 favourites are published in paperback in January the first of which is Lee Cole’s quietly accomplished Groundskeeping which follows Owen who’s working as a groundskeeper in order to pay for his writing course. At a college party he meets Alma, the writer in residence, younger than him but with a
Paperbacks to Look Out For in January 2023: Part One Read More »
This year continued the move back towards normality for me. H and I finally managed to take both the holidays abroad we’d booked for 2020 and there was much more socialising and getting out and about. We’re going to the cinema again (easy to lose touch when you don’t see the trailers) but I’ve realised
Books of the Year 2022: Part One Read More »
This is the third novel in as many weeks I’ve read with a writing theme although it’s entirely different from either Antoine Wilson’s Mouth to Mouth or Andrew Lipstein’s Last Resort. It was part of my attraction to Lee Cole’s Groundskeeping but if I’m honest it was that lovely jacket that first snagged my attention.
Groundskeeping by Lee Cole: ‘Isn’t that what fiction is, though? Sanctioned lying?’ Read More »
Things are looking up in my part of the world with spring on the, albeit distant, horizon and some great new fiction on offer in March beginning with Charlotte Mendelson’s The Exhibitionist, seven years in the writing according to the letter that accompanied my proof. Artists Ray and Lucia Hanrahan have been together for decades.
Books to Look Out for in March 2022: Part One Read More »