April feels like it was a long month. Looking at what I read at the beginning of the month, these seem a good while ago. So here’s what I got through in April. Joe Country – Mick Herron I started this month as I finished the last, with Mick Herron’s dodgy spies at Slough House.… Continue reading April reading round up
Tag: book review
March round up
This has felt like a long grey month. You’ll spot a theme in the reading – unintended to start with but which has been quietly absorbing. Lila – Marilynne Robinson Lila is the third book in Robinson’s Gilead series, which began with Gilead, the story an old man, John Ames, writes for his son about… Continue reading March round up
February reading round up
I have left publishing this so late that I already have a review to write for the next round up. But in normal month terms, this is the 31st so it’s not that late. February has been a grey dull month but I got to celebrate my fifth engagement anniversary on the extra day. Ruskin… Continue reading February reading round up
January reading round up
Ah 2024. War. Elections. Change or destruction? I’m not optimistic so this is why I thought I really should start to make a serious dent in the to be read pile before the apocalypse. I’ve created a spreadsheet and there are around 100 unread books in my house that I need to tackle. It’s a… Continue reading January reading round up
Review: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
In a yoga class once (stay with me) the instructor talked of yogis who sat on the banks of the Ganges and allowed their thoughts, worries, stories to drift away on the water. If there was ever a book that described this, Diane Setterfield’s Once Upon a River is it. It’s a book about water,… Continue reading Review: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
The Maid’s Room by Fiona Mitchell – Q&A session
Today I’m really pleased to be joined by Fiona Mitchell, whose novel The Maid’s Room, has just come out in paperback. The story of two sisters, Dolly and Tala, Filipino maids to the privileged community in Singapore, The Maid’s Room is a sometimes shocking, sometimes funny account of the hidden lives of others and how… Continue reading The Maid’s Room by Fiona Mitchell – Q&A session
Review: The End We Start From – Megan Hunter
Novellas still seem rare but are often intriguing. There is much in the 170 pages of The End We Start From that could have been fleshed out and given more detail but I’m not sure the end result would have been as powerful. All you need to know is that an enormous flood has wiped… Continue reading Review: The End We Start From – Megan Hunter
April reading round up
I feel perhaps I should change the target for my reading challenge this year, I’m well over halfway towards it already. I didn’t expect to get through so many books this year and still manage to keep up with writing every day but it turns out a healthier eating and exercise regime can have unexpected… Continue reading April reading round up
The Comfort of Others: Q&A with Kay Langdale
I’m so pleased to welcome Kay Langdale to the blog today, to answer questions about her most recent book, The Comfort of Others. Minnie and her sister Clara are two elderly spinsters living in an old house in the middle of a housing estate. They have an ordered lifestyle, trying where they can to stop… Continue reading The Comfort of Others: Q&A with Kay Langdale
Review: A Life Between Us by Louise Walters
I came to the second novel by Louise Walters with some anticipation, having enjoyed her debut Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase very much. This second book is being self-published by Walters, an act of independence to be admired. A Life Between Us is set in the present day and features Tina, a lonely housewife, avid reader, compulsive… Continue reading Review: A Life Between Us by Louise Walters
Susan E Barsby 