I hope this festive period is treating you well. This post is always an odd one to send out after the annual reading round up, and especially odd this year as I’ve really struggled getting through books this month. But here we are: A Town Called Solace – Mary Lawson A Town Called Solace! Ooh-ooh-ooh-yeah!… Continue reading December reading round up
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October reading round up
This has seemed a long month – looking at the books I read at the beginning of October feels like I read them sooooo long ago. And perhaps it was a different time, a different Prime Minister and all sorts. Anyway, it’s been a good reading month on the whole, though I did have a… Continue reading October reading round up
July reading round up
Late posting this month due to actually going places! I was away this weekend so am catching up. So, to July! *insert inane comment about the weather* It’s got to the point where the sheer number of books sitting about the house has become an annoyance. There a fine line for me where the book… Continue reading July reading round up
March reading round up
How’s your March been? I have given up buying books for Lent which I hoped would start to make a dent in my shelves (it hasn’t) but there are still lots to get through. Here’s what I read this month: Women and Love – Miriam Burke A collection of short stories by indie publisher Renard… Continue reading March reading round up
Review: The Marsh House by Zoe Somerville
Zoe Somerville’s historical debut The Night of the Flood was an atmospheric exploration of a secret Cold War base in Norfolk and a tangled love story. Her follow up, The Marsh House, is also set in an atmospheric historical Norfolk and has spooky ghostly elements. It is 1962. Malorie has fled London and her marriage… Continue reading Review: The Marsh House by Zoe Somerville
Review: The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs
When I was little my Mum had a huge volume of Mrs Beeton’s Guide to Household Management. She may still have it, I suppose. I can’t remember what we used it for – some of her recipe books fell open to the most frequently used page – but it was always there, this massive tome,… Continue reading Review: The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs
Bibliotherapy: Persuasion by Jane Austen
It was such a joy to see bibliotherapy in mainstream action recently. Philippa Perry, the psychotherapist who also does The Observer’s Agony Aunt column recommended a dose of Persuasion to one of her correspondents. Persuasion is Jane Austen writing for grown ups. Pride and Prejudice and Emma etc are all very well but have an… Continue reading Bibliotherapy: Persuasion by Jane Austen
Grist to the Writing Mill
I’ve been going to an online writing group for the last four months. It’s been run by Vanessa Gebbie, writer and teacher extraordinaire, and is called Grist to the Writing Mill. Essentially, for one evening each month we sat on Zoom and wrote all sorts of exercises for two and a half hours, using a… Continue reading Grist to the Writing Mill
December reading round up
I have read very little this month. I never do manage to get through much in December – the week between Christmas and New Year is not for reading as we’re always visiting people and the rest of the month is hectic. So this will be a short round up: A Thousand Tiny Disappointments –… Continue reading December reading round up
Review: The Winter Guest by WC Ryan
A cold night. You, curled by the fire, glass or mug of something warming by your side and in need of a good read to match the atmosphere as winds howl around your house. May I recommend The Winter Guest by WC Ryan? Funnily enough, it wasn’t that long ago that I was ranting about… Continue reading Review: The Winter Guest by WC Ryan
Susan E Barsby 