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
Tag: fiction
Woolf Works: my month of reading Virginia Woolf
My reading group’s choice for March was The Waves by Virginia Woolf. I have a lot of Woolf on my shelves but haven’t got round to reading very much so I was glad at the choice. Until I picked it up and tried to read it. It’s well known as her most challenging work and… Continue reading Woolf Works: my month of reading Virginia Woolf
Review of 2018
Woah! I read a LOT in 2018. 91 books so far and a week still to go. I’m not quite sure how I fitted all of this in, except that I’ve stopped cycling to work and now have tram time. To be fair, two were novellas in flash, one was a short story in a… Continue reading Review of 2018
#BookReviewGift The Goldblum Variations
Jeff Goldblum rocks. You know it. Helen McClory thinks so. So she wrote a bonkers pamphlet containing poems, flash fiction and bingo all about Jeff and alternate versions of him in other universes. You can buy it now with a yellow cover but mine is colour your own, adding more fun to the mix. It’s… Continue reading #BookReviewGift The Goldblum Variations
A childhood in books
As promised, I wanted to write about a childhood in books with a few featured. I have also decided to commit to blogging and reviewing every day in December and tagging authors to give them a boost about how much we appreciate them. (You can find out more about this here on Twitter – do… Continue reading A childhood in books
Review: How We Remember by JM Monaco
Today I’m hosting the blog tour for JM Monaco’s how We Remember, a debut novel of dark family secrets and their after effects. Jo O’Brien, Irish-American professor of Art History living and working in London, returns home after her mother’s death and, in the process of clearing out her mother’s diary and papers, is reminded… Continue reading Review: How We Remember by JM Monaco
Review: Your Second Life Begins When You Realise You Only Have One by Raphaelle Giordano
Phew! What a title! Your Second Life is a French phenomenon. Published three years ago, word spread and it’s now a bestseller, staying in the French top ten for over a year, despite its terrible title. Now it’s coming to England. It’s rather cute to look at, a small hardback with a Tiffany blue cover and… Continue reading Review: Your Second Life Begins When You Realise You Only Have One by Raphaelle Giordano
Twenty Four Stories
Five or six years ago I walked through Nottingham’s Old Market Square. It was near Christmas, dark overhead but the Christmas market was in full swing, including the annual ice rink. The scene gave me a ‘what if?’ moment and I turned it into a story. I wrote and edited and wrote and tinkered, made… Continue reading Twenty Four Stories
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: Secrets of the Italian Gardener by Andrew Crofts
Today I welcome Andrew Crofts onto the blog as part of the blog tour for his new paperback title: Secrets of the Italian Gardener. You may have read Andrew Crofts before, without knowing it. He’s a ghost writer. I’m always impressed by the idea of ghost writers, putting all that work in and not getting… Continue reading Review: Secrets of the Italian Gardener by Andrew Crofts
Susan E Barsby 