"Well, there’s so much to read, and I’m so far behind." Wallace Stegner
Katherine Mansfield was born a century ago and died in 1923, but there is still something tantalizing about the 'faint ghost with the steady eyes, the mocking lips and, at the end, the wreath set on her hair.'* *quote from The Diary of Virginia Woolf: 1925-30 (1980) I read, but did not particularly enjoy Claire … Continue reading Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life | Claire Tomalin
In the days when the spinning-wheels hummed busily in the farmhouses - and even great ladies, clothed in silk and thread lace, had their toy spinning wheels of polished oak - there might be seen in districts far away among the lanes, or deep in the bosom of the hills, certain palid undersized men, who, … Continue reading Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe | George Eliot
This week is Daphne Du Maurier Reading Week hosted by HeavenAli with Liz @Adventures in Reading assisting in the collation of links. In recent years I have worked my way through DDM's short story collections, often only 2-3 stories at a time. For the 2023 DDM Reading Week I have started on the stories in … Continue reading Don’t Look Now | Daphne Du Maurier #UKshortstories
The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperback I collected two reading copies from the Penguin Monarchs series towards the end of last year - in fact, before the Queen died on the 8th September. I forgot that I had them until I went looking for another … Continue reading Penguin Monarchs #BitesizedHistory
"We must be very nice to him," said Mrs Braithwaite, looking up at her daughter with large blue eyes. "Nice to him!" echoed Miss Braithwaite in surprise. "Well, of course we'll be nice to him. I mean, why shouldn't we?" On the 1st September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Two days later France and England declared … Continue reading The English Air | D. E. Stevenson #1940Club
Back in 2020 when I was given my very first proof copy of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club and devoured it one rainy long weekend, I knew he was on a winner. Writing in the genre I call #cosycrime, Osman had nailed the easy-to-read, funny, heart-warming murder mystery. No forensic jargon or gory details … Continue reading The New Thursday Murder Club Mysteries | Richard Osman
Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantlepiece, and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocca-case. The Sign of the Four was my latest lucky spin for the Classics Club and my second Sherlock Holmes story. There's not a lot to be said about another Sherlock Holmes story that hasn't already been … Continue reading The Sign of the Four | Arthur Conan Doyle #CCspin
I had planned on writing extended reviews for some of these books, but Covid. Assembly especially, which packed a punch much weightier than its mere 100 pages would suggest, deserves to be more widely considered and discussed. But for now, all I will say is READ IT. You have to stop this, she said. This … Continue reading June Mini Reviews [2]
Miriam left the gaslit hall and went slowly upstairs. In my very first spur-of-the-moment bookish decision of 2022, I decided to join in #PilgrimageTogether. It popped up on my Twitter radar at the end of last year. It's aim, to read all thirteen novels in the Pilgrimage series written by Dorothy M. Richardson. My aim … Continue reading Pointed Roofs | Dorothy Richardson #Readalong
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
Once the queen's head is severed, he walks away. Didn't Anne die in the previous book? And didn't we deal with the time immediately after her death already? Is this opening line a signal that a big recap is coming? Yes and no. As it turns out The Mirror and the Light is an overlong … Continue reading The Mirror and the Light | Hilary Mantel #Readalong
I once told you, Jeffers, about the time I met the devil on a train leaving Paris, and about how after that meeting the evil that usually lies undisturbed beneath the surface of things rose up and disgorged itself over every part of life. Second Place was my very first Rachel Cusk. Her work has … Continue reading Second Place | Rachel Cusk #GBRfiction
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
On the 2nd March 2021, Faber & Faber in the UK, Alfred A. Knopf in the US, Knopf in Canada and Allen & Unwin in Australia will publish Kazuo Ishiguro's latest novel, Klara and the Sun. This is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, … Continue reading Klara and the Sun | Kazuo Ishiguro #ReadtheNobels
I missed out on reading Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk a few years ago when it first came out to great acclaim. No good reason, just one of those things, so I was determined not to miss out on Vesper Flights. Especially since Macdonald was fortunate enough to get Chris Wormell to once again … Continue reading Vesper Flights | Helen Macdonald #GBRnonfiction
This Reading Life 