Bendigeidfran son of Llŷr was crowned king over this island and invested with the crown of London. One afternoon he was in Harlech in Ardudwy, at one of his courts; he was sitting on the rock of Harlech, above the sea, with his brother Manawydan son of Llŷr, and his two brothers on his mother's side, … Continue reading The Mabinogion: The Second Branch of the Mabinogi | Sioned Davies #Dewithon23
"I'm going to marry Damian." Joanna said. Claire wasn't paying attention. She smiled and nodded, intent on unravelling a ball of garden twine that had become tangled. I said: "Well, that's nice, or course. But Damian's married already." It didn't matter, Joanna said, and repeated her resolve. Joanne was five at the time. It is … Continue reading Marrying Damian | William Trevor #Begorrathon23
Tommy had intended to spend the last night at the old house sweating through three shirts and four pairs of underwear. I cannot remember the last time I devoured a book in a weekend. However, Michael Thompson has written an engaging, easy-to-read story with a fascinating premise that I couldn't put down. How To Be … Continue reading How To Be Remembered | Michael Thompson #AUSfiction
Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash Balloons are not really the environmentally friendly thing to do these days, so digital balloons are my way of celebrating my birthday month in books! During February I finished reading: FebruaRY: TITLEAUTHORCOUNTRYGENREPUB DATEORIGINA Difficult Young ManMartin BoydAustraliaHistorical Fiction1957TBRThe Island of Missing TreesElif ShafakEngland/TurkiyeFiction2021TBRThe Kidnapping of Pearl ButtonKatherine MansfieldNew ZealandShort … Continue reading February 2023 | The Books
When I told Julian that I would write this book, the first intention was that it should be about my grandparents, but we agreed that it should also be an exploration of Dominic's immediate forebears to discover what influences had made him what he was, and above all to discover what in fact he was. … Continue reading A Difficult Young Man | Martin Boyd #AUSfiction
Dream: I am at my mother's house, though it is also a mansion, and she is also a mother I never had but always wanted, the kind who knows and sees. I should be writing reading responses to several other books that I finished a couple of weeks ago, but I'm starting with the most … Continue reading Little Plum | Laura McPhee-Browne #AWWfiction
Photo by Yousef Salhamoud on Unsplash One of the things that caught my eye as I recently read The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak were the references to other authors and poets. Lawrence Durrell and C. P. Cavafy in particular. It turns out that Durrell spent some time in Cyprus from 1952 where he took up … Continue reading C.P. Cavafy | The City #poem
Once upon a memory, at the far end of the Mediterranean Sea, there lay an island so beautiful and blue that the many travellers, pilgrims, crusaders and merchants who fell in love with it either wanted never to leave or tried to tow it with hemp ropes all the way back to their own countries. … Continue reading The Island of Missing Trees | Elif Shafak
Grace died. As Zoë replaces the lid of the electric kettle - having steamed the envelope open - her eye is caught by that stark statement. Unintentionally, the two stories I chose to read from Cheating at Canasta for Cathy & Kim's A Year With William Trevor, were both about adultery. The Room featured a 47 year … Continue reading Old Flame | William Trevor #IRLshortstory
With a drop of ink for a mirror, the Egyptian sorcerer undertakes to reveal to any chance comer far-reaching visions of the past. This is what I undertake to do for you, reader. Adam Bede was my lucky choice for the last Classics Club Spin. I was thrilled to then discover that Nick @One Catholic … Continue reading Adam Bede | George Eliot #EliotReadalong
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash Last year for the first time, I kept a tabulated list of all the books and short stories that I read during 2022. It was a BIG list. This was a direct result of abandoning Goodreads part way through the year; I had to find another way of tracking … Continue reading January 2023 | The Books
Cover Design: Gingko leaves by Dana Li Five years ago I read Banana Yoshimoto's (1988) debut story Kitchen (which also contained the short story Moonlight Shadow). I enjoyed the two stories with some reservation about how deceptively simple they appeared. I think what I was trying to articulate back then is how it is possible for a … Continue reading Dead-end Memories | Banana Yoshimoto #JPNshortstories
'Do you know why you are doing this?' he asked, and Katherine hesitated, then shook her head, although she did know. As much as I would like to participate 100% in Cathy & Kim's #WilliamTrevor2023 reading event, I knew that it would be an impossible ask. As much as I adore William Trevor, to read … Continue reading The Room | William Trevor #IRLshortstory
There’s a person living not too far from me known as the Woman in the Purple Skirt. She only ever wears a purple-colored skirt – which is why she has this name. I had no idea what to expect from The Woman in the Purple Skirt - perhaps another Japanese story about a slightly odd … Continue reading The Woman in the Purple Skirt | Natsuko Imamura #JPNfiction
One grey morning the first snow began to fall in Moomin Valley. It fell softly and quietly, and in a few hours everything was white. It took me a ridiculous amount of time to read this pocket-sized, yet delightful children's book. Finn Family Moomintroll is the first Moomin book translated into English, and at only … Continue reading Finn Family Moomintroll | Tove Jansson #NordicFINDS23
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