beautiful town. 2010 My mother had a book she liked to read to me as a child. She must have discovered somewhere that it's good to educate your child. She must have encountered that fact amongst a haze of other facts at the time. She might have once seen a mother and daughter on a … Continue reading Nothing Special | Nicole Flattery
George March had written another book. Virginia Feito was raised in Madrid and Paris, and studied English and drama at Queen Mary University of London. Mrs March is her debut novel. She lives in Madrid. A movie starring Elizabeth Moss is on the cards. These are the things one quickly learns, when you Duck, Duck, … Continue reading Mrs March: A Novel | Virginia Feito
If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me? I owe it so much. My TBR pile is out of control and this year I endeavour to make a dint on it. I've been going gang-busters so far. The year long #LesMisReadalong counts as one book (although I acquired a … Continue reading 84 Charing Cross Road & The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street | Helene Hanff
So many various and varied roads led me to read What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt this week. Firstly, she is one of my dear friend's favourite writers (along with Paul Auster). I have resisted for several years now for no particular reason. However, Hustvedt's books are always there, lurking in the back of my … Continue reading What I Loved | Siri Hustvedt
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 | Colm Tóibin
January is Wharton Review month where we can come together to celebrate and enjoy the writings of and about Edith Wharton. Edith Wharton was born on the 24th January 1862 in New York City. She was the first women to win a Pulitzer prize for Literature in 1921 for Age of Innocence. She was also … Continue reading Wharton Review
A Little Life will be my only Man Booker long-listed book to be completed before/around/during the announcement of the shortlist on Tuesday. However, I have been avidly following the (wo)man booker shadow reading group here. It was thanks to their reviews that I made A Little Life my priority read out of the list. There … Continue reading A Little Life | Hanya Yanagihara
Welcome to the second Wharton Review! During the month of May, I take a break from my regular reading schedule to fit in a Wharton or two. In 1921, Edith Wharton was the third person & the first woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction with The Age of Innocence. The Pulitzer is … Continue reading The Wharton Review 2015
I haven't read The Great Gatsby for 15 years or more. Last week I saw a preview for the Baz Luhrman movie with Leonardo Dicaprio as Gatsby. It looked extremely sumptious, extravagant and dramatic. I also felt that liberties were being taken with the story! When I got home I pulled my copy off the shelf … Continue reading The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald
My good friend The Girl Booker brought Triburbia to my attention last year. I've been saving it as one of my summer holiday reads ever since. And I wasn't disappointed.Triburbia follows the lives of a group of creative types. They're all 30-somethings, pushing 40, married, divorced, with kids, without, gay and straight. Mr Books read … Continue reading Triburbia | Karl Taro Greenfeld
Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering. The History of Love turned out to be an epic read. It took me nearly half a year to finish the book and almost as long to work out why I had so … Continue reading The History of Love | Nicole Krauss
I do like Paul Auster's stories. There is something about the solitude and the unquiet inner life of his characters that I connect to. Even when his characters lead lives far removed from anything I could ever imagine, I still understand them. I get their motivations, their anxieties and their black view of the world. I … Continue reading The Brooklyn Follies | Paul Auster
Australian author/illustrator Gus Gordon has presented us with another quirky, heart-warming tale in Herman and Rosie. There are, however, no chickens in sight. Herman is an oboe playing, wild boysenberry yoghurt loving crocodile. Rosie is a jazz singing, toffee loving deer. They live in opposite apartments in New York but have never met. They are … Continue reading Herman and Rosie | Gus Gordon
For some reason I was confused about Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick at the start. I thought it was chick lit and for the first couple of chapters I thought the protagonist was a chick too. Maybe it was the yellow cover, the silhouette of the chick or the set-up...talking school, friends, family life, … Continue reading Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick | Joe Schreiber
I really did enjoy When You Reach Me. It was well-written and the characters were drawn sympathetically. The ending was satisfying and resolved all the the time-slip stuff in a way that made you go "uh-ha - of course - now I get it!" But despite all the things it had going for it (including … Continue reading When You Reach Me | Rebecca Stead
This Reading Life 