In an attempt to get back into blogging about individual books again, I have decided to revive the 'favourite' format I was using pre-pandemic. I'm not sure why I stopped as I found it a useful way to focus my thoughts on what I had been reading. H is for Hawk is part nature writing, … Continue reading H is For Hawk | Helen Macdonald #GBRnonfiction
When the Moon rose in the Third Northern Hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule to witness the joining of Three Tides. This is something that happens only every eight years. I'm really not sure how I can write a review for this story that will do the reading experience justice. Piranesi was the book … Continue reading Piranesi | Susanna Clarke #WomensPrize
His children are falling from the sky. Part of my desire in (re)reading Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies was to refresh my memory, so that I could have it all front of mind for my very first reading of The Mirror and the Light. As I started BUTB, I realised that Mantel helps … Continue reading Bring Up the Bodies | Hilary Mantel #Readalong
It has taken me a while to finish The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but simply because it became my walking backpack book. It was the perfect choice. It was a slim paperback (i.e. lightweight). It was about going for a very long walk. It was non-fiction and therefore easy … Continue reading The Salt Path | Raynor Winn #GBRnonfiction
I do love the Costa Prize. It regularly throws up a new-to-me author or a book that I come to adore. The Costa folk have a happy knack of selecting engaging stories, quirky ideas and immensely readable books. There was a lot to love about the 2019 Fiction winner, Middle England. Set in Brexit England, with … Continue reading Middle England | Jonathan Coe #UKfiction
I've had a lovely run of Homeric stories retold from a feminist perspective this year - Madeline Miller's Circe and The Song of Achilles, and now Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls.After Miller's wonderful, rich storytelling, I was looking forward to seeing what Barker would come up. I was thrilled that her story was … Continue reading The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
A couple of weeks ago I listed The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay on my post about books read but not reviewed in an attempt to remove the backlog of reviews bogging me down. But I always knew that I would have to return to this book. And thanks to Lenny's Book of Everything by … Continue reading The Skylarks’ War by Hilary McKay
I'm heart broken.And I may just have read my most favourite and best book for 2018.Sally Rooney has written a gut-wrenching, painfully poignant love story about two young damaged souls that will stay with me for a very long time. In Normal People she has captured perfectly all the angst, insecurity and missteps that dog … Continue reading Normal People by Sally Rooney
I finally got around to reading The Green Road thanks to Cathy's #ReadIreland Month. It has been sitting on my TBR pile since 2016.Over my years of blogging, I've come to realise that writing a rave review about a book I really enjoyed, if not loved and adored, is actually harder to do, than writing … Continue reading The Green Road by Anne Enright
As most of you know, the past couple of months or so has been rather trying for me and my family. As a result I've been searching through my rather extensive (okay, out of control) TBR piles for comforting, cosy, entertaining reads to ease me through this time. The Essex Serpent came highly recommended to … Continue reading The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry
The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt The Lost Hero of Science has been on my radar ever since it first came out in 2015.But it was our forthcoming trip to Cuba that brought it front and centre. There is a national park near Baracoa, in eastern Cuba that is named after … Continue reading The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf
Usually, I prefer to read the book before I see the movie, but in this case our hot summer weather beat me to the punch. Last weekend was hot, humid and very unpleasant. My family of boys were absorbed by all things pre-season soccer, so I escaped the heat and the testosterone and sought out … Continue reading Brooklyn by Colm Tóibin
Ahhhh, this is more like it.After the slight disappointment of my Chamber of Secrets reread, it has been very pleasing to feel myself back in the warm embrace of a long lost friend with The Prisoner of Azkaban.From the first page, Rowling hooked me back into Harry's magical world.She kept the recap of previous stories to a … Continue reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
I'm trying to work out what I think and feel about this book. I've been left feeling somewhat perplexed - what was the purpose? What was pure? Why were we left with the elephant in the room?I subconsciously picked this book up from my TBR pile because I needed the title to weave some magic. I … Continue reading Pure by Andrew Miller
Wondrous Words Wednesday is a lovely meme hosted by Bermuda Onion each week to highlight new (to us) words that we come across in our daily reading.This week I'm reading the winner of the 2011 Costa Novel Award, Pure by Andrew Miller.It's set in Paris just prior to the Revolution and I have a number … Continue reading Wondrous Words Wednesday – Pure by Andrew Miller
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