Before we start, I published December’s reading round up and then promptly finished reading another book that I hadn’t included. So in the interests of completion, here is one further book I read last year: A Winter Away – Elizabeth Fair This is a reissue of a book published originally in the 1950s and one… Continue reading January reading round up
Tag: novel
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
October reading round up
I got a good bit of reading in this month and tried to limit book buying, a mostly unsuccessful enterprise. A week’s holiday gave me a little bit more time to read though the times when I took 6 or 7 books away for a week and got through them are in the past. All… Continue reading October reading round up
June reading round up
As I type, I’m still wearing jumpers and feeling a bit nippy. Where did the sun go? This month I did get to sit in the garden reading for, ooh, a couple of days? But it is still pretty grey out there at the moment – fingers crossed for next month. Reading this month has… Continue reading June reading round up
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
The never decreasing TBR pile
For the last two years I’ve been tracking my reading and book buying habits. Why?Well, really in response to a tweet from someone (I forget who) in publishing, an idle enquiry that got me thinking. Could I really justify buying as many books as I did? How did my reading ambitions fit with reality? I… Continue reading The never decreasing TBR pile
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
Susan E Barsby 