SusanEBarsby

Finding focus

How are you doing? It’s March already and I don’t know about you but this year feels utterly odd. Not wasted exactly, but time has a very different meaning these days. My daughter has gone back to school today. She had that one day in January in school, but otherwise has been at home with… Continue reading Finding focus

February: a short month with many books

Somehow I’ve read 11 books this month. And while one of them was a re-read, the others were new. Three of them I read on the Kindle app which means I didn’t read them as thoroughly as I would have done on the page. Still quite pleased with it though. Home Cooking – Laurie Colvin… Continue reading February: a short month with many books

The Duchess of E 95th Street

Over on Twitter, I seem to have spent quite a bit of time recently discussing Helene Hanff with fellow book lovers. I guess it shouldn’t feel strange that book Twitter talks about famous book lovers but Hanff isn’t so well known that she would be mentioned as much as I’ve seen her name pop up… Continue reading The Duchess of E 95th Street

January: a round up of books and assorted nonsense

Is this it now? The passing of each month no longer feels like a mere date change but some kind of endurance test where we stand, licking our wounds and looking uncertainly at the future. How have you got on through this, the longest month? Well, I hope. What has got me through January? What’s… Continue reading January: a round up of books and assorted nonsense

Reading for Wellbeing: Comfort reads

I don’t know about you but this seems the perfect time for some comfort reads. I have a stack of old favourites that I re-read every so often for comfort and companionship but once in a while, it can be good to seek out new comforts too. Today I’m going to discuss two that you… Continue reading Reading for Wellbeing: Comfort reads

Reading for Wellbeing: Wintering by Katherine May

This year I’m going to spend some time looking at bibliotherapy: the practice of reading and writing for wellbeing. So once in a while I’ll be reviewing and discussing books that can help your sense of wellbeing. Today, I’m looking at Wintering by Katherine May. Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times… Continue reading Reading for Wellbeing: Wintering by Katherine May

Clearing out your books

Happy New Year! I’m not one for quantities of New Year Resolutions but I do tend to have a clearout around this time. A clean and clear out, once the decorations are down, makes it a little bit easier to face January. Lockdown, and especially working from home, has made me dissatisfied with the number… Continue reading Clearing out your books

2020: round up of the year

We made it! The end of this crazy mixed up anxiety inducing, stir crazy making, mess of a year is in sight. Well done to all of you who made it through – you’re allowed to feel like just getting here was an achievement. This year, we have needed books more than ever and yet… Continue reading 2020: round up of the year

Do we really need… Libraries

You may have seen the kerfuffle earlier this week when Leader of Walsall Council suggested that, as their libraries have been closed due to Covid this year, there was little need to reopen them. “I’m a firm believer that if we haven’t used something for the past four or five months, do we really need… Continue reading Do we really need… Libraries

Where are you writing?

Writing in the time of Covid has, for many, been hard enough but for those of us who have changed to doing our day job at home a new, unforeseen problem has arisen. Spending 9-10 hours a day working at the desk where I used to write, I now find I cannot write at my… Continue reading Where are you writing?