He had come into the habit, before dinner, of taking a walk around the park: ten laps, as slow as he pleased on some evenings, briskly on others, and then back up the stairs of the house and to his room to wash his hands and straighten his tie before descending again to the table. … Continue reading To Paradise | Hanya Yanagihara #USAfiction
Honeybee by Craig Silvey is my first book club read for 2021. It has taken Silvey over ten years to write this book, after the huge success of his second book, Jasper Jones back in 2009. “I put everything I have into writing Honeybee. It tore me up, but it filled me with joy. I’m enormously … Continue reading Honeybee | Craig Silvey #AUSfiction
My first illness was that one most common to the children of the poor...a bad education and, like the bite of a goanna, it was incurable and ran for years. Ethel Jane (Eve) Langley was born in Forbes on the 1st September 1904. After her father, Arthur died in 1915, her mother, Myra moved her … Continue reading The Pea-Pickers | Eve Langley #AWW
I suspect, like me, many of you have heard about the basic premise of this story. The book seems to be everywhere (which is partly why it was selected as our October book club book). It features a fictional town inhabited by African Americans who have light skin, 'lightness, like anything inherited at great … Continue reading The Vanishing Half | Brit Bennett #USAfiction
After thoroughly enjoying my time with Charlie, and his new boyfriend Nick in Heartstopper Vol 1, I knew I had to complete the trilogy to see how things turned out for them. Heartstopper Vols 2 & 3 shows that being in love is pretty easy for these two sweet guys. The hard part is coming out … Continue reading Heartstopper Vol 2 & 3 | Alice Oseman #GraphicNovel
Teen romance, The Gravity of Us never quite reached the stars it was aiming for. It took me ages to finish this cute story about budding online journalist Cal and 'astrokid', Leon. The romance was sweet, tender and funny and the stuff about NASA's astronaut program that both families were caught up in, was fascinating too, but … Continue reading The Gravity of Us | Phil Stamper #TeenFiction
How can someone so young be so successful already? Alice Oseman has been a YA publishing sensation for 6 years now. She was only 19 when her debut YA novel, Solitaire first appeared. Solitaire is narrated by Tori Spring 'a pessimistic...teenage speed skater with a penchant for solving mysteries'. The story is all about her, … Continue reading Heartstopper Vol 1 | Alice Oseman #GraphicNovel
I've been dragging my feet about writing (or finishing) off several reviews for books read a month ago. Part of the problem has been a recent return to work which has left me wondering how on earth I used to fit everything in before Covid-19 came along and slowed things down for a while. But … Continue reading Cherry Beach | Laura McPhee-Browne #AWW
I'm struggling, at the moment, to find the right words to describe my reading experiences, yet at the same time, I'm going through an amazing reading phase, with three back to back stunners. Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, Girl, Woman Other by Bernardine Evaristo and now Red at the Bone.My journey with Red at the Bone began about … Continue reading Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson #USfiction
I have spent a ridiculous amount of time wondering how best to write the title of this book - FRAN KISS STEIN like the cover, FRANKISSSTEIN like the title page of the book or Frankissstein like Goodreads.FranKissStein appealed to me, but it's not a version I've spotted anywhere else.Whatever you call it, though, Frankissstein: A Love … Continue reading FranKissStein by Jeanette Winterson
In recent times I have been mostly writing quick reviews for the kids books I read on Goodreads, but every now and again I read one that I feel is worthy of a bigger post here. A book that I want to spend more time with, thinking about it - it's impact on me, the … Continue reading How It Feels To Float by Helena Fox
I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to get my thoughts together about The Song of Achilles, but sitting down to write about my response to this amazing story is probably a story in itself!It was during my early high school days that my love of history developed. My first history class … Continue reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
I've loved Japanese literature for many years now, but since visiting Japan earlier this year, my fascination and interest has exploded! Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto popped up on several lists as a great contemporary example of Japanese literature.Kitchen is a slim book containing two stories - Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow - both deal with death, grief, … Continue reading Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
White Houses was my latest book club pick, chosen by me. I felt a weird sense of pressure to enjoy the book on that account. But the best I could summon up in the end was a mild kind of appreciation. It took me a while to pinpoint my disconnect. The first person narrative was a … Continue reading White Houses by Amy Bloom
Things a Bright Girl Can Do is a YA story that grabs its title from a much older book called Three Hundred and One Things a Girl Can Do. Published in 1911, it included things like how to decorate a church, make coloured fires, the rules of croquet, how to pitch a tent, do magic … Continue reading Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls
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