Is it just that ‘events’ seem to be happening so fast or did September just fly by? We’re into autumn proper now and the season change is my favourite time of year. It helps being a September baby, I guess. Anyway, here’s my reading round up for the month – a bumper crop. A Thousand… Continue reading September reading round up
Tag: authors
Review: Small Miracles by Anne Booth
There are usually two types of stories about nuns: cheerful tales of wimpled women, slightly clueless and out of touch, trying to deal with the modern world; or harsh Magdalene laundry types, burying babies in the back garden and berating terrified teenage mothers. Small Miracles is the former of these. And thank goodness for that.… Continue reading Review: Small Miracles by Anne Booth
January’s reading
I remembered last month how much I like blogging. My time has dropped right off so the occasional review is all I’ve managed but I thought I could at least do a monthly round up of books. Let’s see how it goes! These are the books I’ve read this month: The Trick to Time –… Continue reading January’s reading
2019 reading round up
Another year, another round up of my reading. Every year I don’t think I will be able to read as much as the year before because I’m so busy and yet the books are quite probably the thing that keeps me sane and give me some needed down time. I’ve read 104 books so far… Continue reading 2019 reading round up
Christmas books
I love a Christmas book. The solace of a familiar read for the shortest days of the year, stories that, when done well, can be as comforting as a warm mince pie and a glass of mulled wine. Here’s my current collection: Elizabeth David and Nigel Slater You have to have a cookbook in a… Continue reading Christmas books
Review: Beyond Kidding by Lynda Clark
A disclaimer to start the review with – Lynda Clark is a friend of mine, we used to work together at a branch of a well-known bookselling chain. Aha! You say, you may have some exciting author insights? Well, not really no. My overriding impression of Lynda was how well she wore wide legged trousers,… Continue reading Review: Beyond Kidding by Lynda Clark
Review:The Woman in the Photograph – Stephanie Butland
I thought the opening to this book was as engrossing as anything I’ve read in a while, with an intriguing set up, historical notes and a heroine off to do her own thing in the face of her father’s and fiance’s disapproval. Veronica Moon is a photographer, one who rose to fame in the heady… Continue reading Review:The Woman in the Photograph – Stephanie Butland
Review: Expectation by Anna Hope
2019 seems to be the year for novels about modern womanhood. Following Hannah Beckerman’s If Only I Could Tell You and Katy Mahood’s Entanglement comes Expectation from Anna Hope. You may know Hope from her historical novels, The Ballroom and Wake, but this is a departure from those to modern day London. We meet three… Continue reading Review: Expectation by Anna Hope
Review: Somewhere Close to Happy by Lia Louis
How exciting to review a book by someone I know. (To clarify, I do not actually know Lia but we chat on Twitter – she posts about food, parenting, exhaustion and Bon Jovi, and who am I to diss any of that?) Somewhere Close to Happy is Lia’s debut novel and has the loveliest cover… Continue reading Review: Somewhere Close to Happy by Lia Louis
Review: The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Oh, this is a simple and lovely book. And a timely book, also. It is told by Nuri Ibrahim, the titular beekeeper of Aleppo who has had to flee Syria with his wife Afra. Nuri and Afra are in a bed and breakfast in Brighton with several other refugees, all waiting to see if their… Continue reading Review: The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Susan E Barsby 