It’s that time again, number crunching and weighing up the good, the bad and the just ok. Stats first: 104 books says Goodreads, 99 says my notebook. I don’t know why I bother. Every year there’s a discrepancy and this year it seems to be worse. Let’s say around 100, give or take somewhere. The… Continue reading 2023 Books of the year reading round up
Author: SusanEBarsby
November reading round up
I finished October feeling rather disillusioned with reading. It hadn’t been a vintage month of books. And as this year was going to be my year of re-reads, I started off by going back to a couple of books I’d read before, to try and rediscover a joy in reading. The Secret History – Donna… Continue reading November reading round up
October reading round up
Oh what a month. My daughter was admitted into hospital for a burst appendix and as such, I’ve spent much of the time being with her for recovery and feeling guilty for not going into the office – turns out the flexible hybrid working still comes with a side helping of guilt – and reading… Continue reading October reading round up
September reading round up
September gets a bad rap – too many people waiting for October so they do Halloween and lord knows it’s spider month. But it’s my birthday month and I always get a burst of energy at this time. This year the energy is less for reading and more for a range of other creative pastimes.… Continue reading September reading round up
August reading round up
Summer is such a con isn’t it? All that promise of joy and relaxation and holidays and it never quite works out like that does it? August has been good actually, but my sister and I have decided that all parents need a week’s holiday at the end of the summer for us to get… Continue reading August reading round up
Review: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Oh, this is a book of quiet wonder. It’s about a brush with fame and seeing through it. It is a story of contentment, and how to find it after a youthful adventure. Regular readers of this blog will know of my love for Ann Patchett’s writing and her mastery of quiet situations, her characterisation… Continue reading Review: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
July reading round up
Hello! You’d think with the chilly wet weather, it would have been a good reading month but I found it hard to get going this month, only really picking up momentum near the end. Passing – Nella Larsen This is a slim book, packed with interesting insight. Larsen wrote only two books in her life… Continue reading July reading round up
June reading round up
Hola! We started the month on a city break in Madrid which was lovely. The food was good, the people are so nice to children (which helped as my daughter is the best Spanish speaker of all of us – I kept lapsing into the 3 Italian words I know) and they put a bit… Continue reading June reading round up
May reading round up
May has been a busy month – SATs, my daughter’s birthday and a holiday to plan for (we are currently away as you read this so I am typing with habitual airport anxiety.) But here’s my reading for the month: Letter From New York – Helene Hanff A long time ago, I was a teenage… Continue reading May reading round up
Review: Mrs Porter Calling – AJ Pearce
Mrs Porter Calling is the third book in AJ Pearce’s glorious series The Emmy Lake Chronicles. Readers of this blog may know of my regard for this series, which is set in the Second World War and features Emmy Lake and her friend Bunty, young girls trying to make their way through the war. Dear… Continue reading Review: Mrs Porter Calling – AJ Pearce
Susan E Barsby 