Category Archives: Books
March 20, 2013 · 11:54 am
I don’t want to come over all Gwyneth Paltrow at the Oscars (never a good idea when sitting in a library as I currently am or in any other circumstances really) but I do want to acknowledge that my blog is officially one year old today. This is a fairly momentous occasion considering I didn’t think I would end up being very committed to it. Like most people, I started my blog on a total whim and never imagined that it would take off in the way that it has. So thanks for visiting, thanks for your comments and hooray for blogging.
March 19, 2013 · 8:28 pm
‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft’ by Stephen King is part-autobiography, part advice manual for aspiring authors. The first part of ‘On Writing’ is a personal and often very witty memoir as King recalls his journey towards becoming a published author. The second part explores what King calls the ‘writer’s toolbox’, including tips on vocabulary, grammar, elements of style and editing. The final part is where King describes the car accident in 1999 which nearly killed him halfway through writing this very book and the long recovery process afterwards. There is also a very interesting reading list at the end (along with a second one if you read the 10th anniversary edition as I did). It sounds like a slightly haphazard structure but it works because the subject of writing is always at the heart of it. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Autobiography, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Creative Writing, Literature, Non fiction, Novels, Publishing, Reading, Reviews, Stephen King, Writing
March 14, 2013 · 4:32 pm
Another day sees another literary award announced…this time, it’s the launch of the Folio Prize, a new £40,000 literary award sponsored by the Folio Society for the best work of fiction published in the English language. This particular prize was created after several literary bigwigs complained about the supposed dumbing down of the Booker Prize in 2011, a year when books were chosen for their ‘readability’. Heaven forbid that somebody who wasn’t on the judging panel might actually understand or even enjoy something on the shortlist…
Continue reading →
March 6, 2013 · 3:42 pm
I tried. I really did. But I just couldn’t finish ‘Cloud Atlas’ by David Mitchell. The whole concept/plot was just too damn weird.
I’m quite proud of the fact that there are very few books which I have never finished but this one definitely defeated me. ‘Cloud Atlas’ interweaves six different stories which include the 19th century Pacific journal of Adam Ewing, the letters of Robert Frobisher living in Belgium in the 1930s, a thriller set in the 1970s, a comic story about someone who gets trapped in a nursing home, a futuristic dystopian world… and this is the point where I gave up after nearly 200 pages. Each of the first five stories are interrupted half-way through and are then resolved in reverse chronological order (although I didn’t get far enough to read these conclusions). Continue reading →
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Tagged as Abandoned, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell, Dystopia, Fiction, Historical, Literature, Reading, Reviews, Science Fiction, Unfinished
March 4, 2013 · 2:52 pm
Set in Scotland in the 1860s, ‘The Observations’ by Jane Harris tells the story of Bessy Buckley, a feisty Irish girl who is taken on as a maid at Castle Haivers by Arabella Reid. Bessy has a number of secrets and is keen that her shady past doesn’t catch up with her. But it turns out that Arabella herself also has a dark history and her obsession with her former maid, Nora, who died in tragic circumstances, proves to be a catalyst for even more mystery. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Fiction, Historical, Jane Harris, Literature, Novels, Reading, Reviews, Scotland, The Observations, Victorian
February 26, 2013 · 6:35 pm
I have finally got round to reading another one of the novels specifically sent to me with a request for a review – I promise I will try and read the other two currently sitting in my inbox in the next couple of months! ‘The Tragedy of Fidel Castro’ by Joao Cerqueira has a very interesting opening scenario: God receives a request from Fátima to help stop a war between Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy. Needless to say, I was intrigued. Continue reading →
February 22, 2013 · 8:30 pm
‘The Devil in the Flesh’ by Raymond Radiguet tells the semi-autobiographical story of an unnamed narrator who begins a tumultuous love affair at the age of 16 with Marthe, a 19 year old married woman whose husband is away fighting at the front during the First World War. The affair is soon discovered by their families and friends. Naturally, tragedy ensues. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Classic Literature, Fiction, France, French Literature, Literature, Novels, Raymond Radiguet, Reading, Reviews, The Devil in the Flesh, World War One
February 20, 2013 · 6:45 pm
Some of you may remember that one of the few books I never finished was ‘Everything is Illuminated’ by Jonathan Safran Foer. I gave up after about 60 pages when I realised that I could neither appreciate nor even understand what on earth was going on. Happily, ‘Eating Animals’, a non-fiction work by the same author about, well, eating animals, is infinitely more readable despite its rather gruesome content. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Animals, Book Review, Book Reviews, Eating Animals, Farming, Fishing, Food, Jonathan Safran Foer, Meat, Non fiction, Reading, Reviews, Vegetarian
February 13, 2013 · 7:37 pm
I read an interesting article in The Guardian today in which Terry Deary, author of the Horrible Histories series, claims that libraries ‘have had their day’ and that the concept behind them, namely offering the impoverished access to books, no longer applies in an era of compulsory education. I have a feeling his views are only shared by a tiny minority of people. Continue reading →
February 11, 2013 · 5:07 pm
In spite of the difficulties facing the publishing industry, there are still a lot of bookshops in London which are managing to survive. Here are five I deem to be among the Most Awesome.
(1) Foyles
The flagship store on Charing Cross Road is a haven for book-lovers everywhere. It is vast yet not at all intimidating. Its specialisms include the Grant & Cutler foreign language department and the sheet music section on the top floor. Ray’s Jazz Cafe is also very cool. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Book, Bookshops, Camden Lock Books, Daunt Books, Fiction, Foyles, Literature, London, Novels, Oxfam, Reading, Waterstone's
February 5, 2013 · 6:27 pm
‘Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything’ by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner explores some of the everyday mysteries of life through the prism of economics, understood in the broadest sense as the study of incentives. Economics as a subject generally doesn’t inspire much enthusiasm but here is where you might be surprised. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Crime, Economics, Freakonomics, Non fiction, Popular Science, Reading, Sociology, Stephen Dubner, Steven Levitt
February 1, 2013 · 2:20 pm
I know I am preaching to the converted here but I still need to say it: libraries are important.
I have been a member of the library since I was three years old. My nearest local library closed down nearly two years ago despite being the third most used in the borough. It has been replaced by a mobile library service which now visits the town just once a week for an hour and a half on a Friday afternoon. Further cuts are being made to opening hours and the number of trained staff as well as a reduction in the purchase of new books. This situation is being repeated up and down the country. Continue reading →
January 24, 2013 · 8:42 pm
Having read many positive reviews from other bloggers, I have been intrigued by ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’ by Susan Cain for a long time. In a world which largely values extroversion and outgoing, gregarious personalities, it is refreshing to find a book which completely rejects all this. Introverts of the world will rejoice. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Introverts, Life, Non fiction, Personality, Psychology, Quiet, Reading, Reviews, Susan Cain
January 19, 2013 · 6:55 pm
‘Spies’ by Michael Frayn tells the story of Stephen Wheatley, who returns to the quiet street where he lived as a young boy in England during the Second World War and looks back on a particular incident when his friend Keith announces that his mother is a German spy. The boys soon get caught up in solving this mystery only for new discoveries to be made instead. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Fiction, L P Hartley, Literature, Michael Frayn, Novels, Reading, Reviews, Spies, World War Two
January 12, 2013 · 4:49 pm
I wrote in my Best of 2012 review of the year that one of the books I was most looking forward to reading was ‘The Dinner’ by Herman Koch which tells the story of Paul Lohman who goes out to a fancy restaurant in Amsterdam with his wife, Claire, his brother Serge and his wife, Babette. During the course of the evening, it emerges that Paul and Claire’s son, Michel has been involved in a serious crime which also involves his cousin, Rick. I had read a number of positive reviews of this quirky-sounding book and so when it appeared on the Kindle Daily Deal page for 99p just after I had received an e-reader for Christmas, I had no excuse not to get it! Continue reading →
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Tagged as Amsterdam, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Fiction, Herman Koch, Literature, Novels, Reading, Restaurant, Reviews, The Dinner
January 8, 2013 · 8:29 pm
Frank W. Abagnale Jr was one of the most notorious con-men, forgers and imposters in American history. Posing as a Pan Am airline pilot, a doctor, a lawyer and a teaching assistant at Columbia University in the 1960s, he managed to defraud millions of dollars from banks, mostly by cashing fake cheques. This semi-autobiography outlines exactly how he did it and how he managed to evade capture for so long. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Autobiography, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Catch Me If You Can, Crime, Frank Abagnale Jr, Fraud, Non fiction, Prison, Reading, Reviews
January 2, 2013 · 5:00 pm
What a book to start the year. I loved it. I was particularly intrigued by the original concept of the novel – travelling back in time to try and stop John F. Kennedy being assassinated in Dallas on 22nd November 1963 – and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I would go as far as saying ‘11.22.63’ was probably the most enjoyable and imaginative book I’ve read for a very very long time. Continue reading →
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Tagged as 11.22.63, 1960s, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Fiction, JFK, Literature, Novels, Reading, Science Fiction, Stephen King, Thriller, Time Travel
December 26, 2012 · 2:26 pm
Welcome to my 100th post! I got a Kindle for Christmas this year. I wasn’t that bothered about HD, 3G, colour screens and lights and all the other fancy accessories so I just got the standard model with an E Ink screen and bought a leather cover for less than £2 from eBay this morning. I haven’t put any eBooks on it yet but will make sure I get it well stocked very soon…
Continue reading →
December 23, 2012 · 4:59 pm
BEST IN BOOKS 2012
1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want) Do I have to choose? Well, one of my favourites was Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami which I read not long before I started my blog. I’ve read a lot of good books this year though.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? I was a little bit disappointed by The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. I liked it but I didn’t love it.
3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012? The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. At least, I think it was surprising in a good way… I thought it would be too weird for my taste but I actually quite liked it. Continue reading →
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Tagged as 2012, Blog, Blogging, Blogs, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Fiction, Literature, Non fiction, Novels, Publishing, Reading, Reviews
December 19, 2012 · 6:08 pm
‘The Poisonwood Bible’ by Barbara Kingsolver tells the story of an American missionary family who move to what was then the Belgian Congo in the early 1960s. Their experiences are told from the point of view of Orleanna Price and her four daughters, Rachel, Adah, Leah and Ruth May while their father, Nathan, tries to bring salvation and enlightenment to the residents of a tiny Congolese village. Each character is strongly affected by their time in the Congo in very different ways. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Barbara Kingsolver, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Colonialism, Congo, Fiction, Literature, Novels, Reading, Reviews, The Poisonwood Bible
A Little Blog of Books 
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