Book news, reviews and recommendations
August’s snapshot includes the same short story collection I was reading last month, an account of art thievery by a young aesthete, keen to differentiate himself from common crooks, and a novel about time travelling historical figures. The short story collection I’m (still) reading is Tessa Hadley’s After the Funeral thanks to Andrew O’Hagan’s thumping
A Snapshot of My Reading #18 Read More »
Coming of age is a common theme in fiction with characters growing into maturity, or not, as their creators develop them, but in some novels it’s more dominant. Below are five that see young people growing into themselves, some facing adversity, others surprised by life, all with links to my reviews. In The Party, Tessa
Five Coming-of-Age Novels I’ve Read Read More »
This month I’m reading a short story collection by a novelist I’ve had a slightly patchy experience with, a memoir combining travel and food – two of my favourite things besides reading – and a prize-winning novel I’d hoped to enjoy more than I am. The short story collection I’m reading is Tessa Hadley’s After
A Snapshot of My Reading #17 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 – Seascraper to Shadow Ticket Read More »
Only a few paperbacks caught my eye for October, probably because it’s prime time horror season which I rarely read. There are a few gems appearing on the horizon, though, including two favourites from last year. I was so impressed by singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack’s That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz, I included it on my Booker wish
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It’s almost longlist time for the Women’s Prize for Fiction which will be celebrating its thirtieth year this time around. Tuesday March 4th is the date to add your diary. Only novels written by women in English published between April 1st 2024 and March 31st 2025 qualify. I’ve followed the same format as previous years,
My Women’s Prize for Fiction 2025 Wish List Read More »
Much of October was taken up with a trip to Portugal where we were lucky enough to snatch a last blast of summer. Hard to leave Lisbon on a balmy blue-skyed day but a standout book in my first week back eased the pain. Set on his beloved Shetland, singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack’s That Beautiful Atlantic
Books of the Year 2024: Part Four Read More »
November’s the month when publishers line up their big titles ready for Christmas, two of which I’ve included here, both from old favourites of mine, beginning with the one I’ve already read. Jonathan Coe’s The Proof of My Innocence opens in early September 2022 against the backdrop of Liz Truss’s brief disastrous premiership. Newly graduated,
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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 »
This second instalment of July’s new fiction has more chunksters than usual beginning with one I wasn’t sure I’d read. Despite feeling somewhat disappointed by Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes I put my hand up for The Half Moon mostly because of that cover. Set in a small New York town, it follows the
Books to Look Out For Out for in July 2023: Part Two Read More »
The first batch of February’s paperback goodies didn’t set foot outside America but this second instalment starts in the heart of Europe with Robert Menasse’s The Capital, something of a bittersweet read for me given my country’s Brexit shenanigans. This sprawling novel takes a sharply satirical view of the European Commission, exploring its many accumulated
Paperbacks to Look Out For in February 2020: Part Two Read More »