I skipped last week’s Monday post because I was busy, but I didn’t have a lot to report anyway! It’s been busy here – trying to fit in some last bits of summer fun, a visit from family, and just generally pootling about the garden and the house and spending some quality time with the READ MORE
Month: August 2025
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE TWAT FILES – DAWN FRENCH
Dawn French has been responsible for many laughs from me in her time – my favourite of her work being The Vicar of Dibbley, which I still re-watch when I’m at a low ebb. But I also enjoy her podcast, Titting About, which she has recorded for six years with Jennifer Saunders, her friend and READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | HOW READING IS TAUGHT
Prompt: Do you believe the education system needs to change its approach to teaching reading and literature to students? This is a tricky one. I don’t remember being taught to read, really, because it was an unspecified amount of (a lot of) time ago. I do feel like reading was always a chore, always something READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | BOOKS ABOUT TOUGH STUFF
There are so many books that could be on this list. So many wonderful, amazing, brilliant books about very tough things, all of which I’d heartily recommend. Even some funny books that deal with tragedy and pain and suffering, or books that have a lot of wonderful moments or lead somewhere much better than they READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | NON-BOOKISH FREEBIE
Apparently I get to make a list of…. well, anything I want! As decisions are not my strong suit, I’m starting this well in advance (it’s early July now) so I’ve got lots of time to figure something out! I think I’m going to go with a list of my favourite things to do other READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | RAISING HARE – CHLOE DALTON
I knew nothing about hares when I began this book, not even that their young are called leverets. But I quickly learned that, and so much more as I read Chloe Dalton’s fascinating account of finding a stranded leveret and bringing it home with her. It turns out this was no simple matter – starting READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | BOOKS I READ IN SCHOOL & LIKED
I don’t remember reading all that many books as part of the elementary or high school curriculum that had much of an impact on me. I read The Old Man and the Sea, I think, and some Shakespeare – probably Julius Caesar. Other than that…. I couldn’t really tell you. I was so busy doing READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | LOOOOOONG BOOKS
I have to admit that I do tend to be put off by long books. It’s not fair – I have read some that were absolutely fantastic and earned their page count. I think it just comes down to that reticence to commit to something that will take that much time and effort from me. READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
Another busy week, but I have managed to do some reading! I also got a lot of work done in the garden. It was time to start cutting back some of the straggly plants, re-plant the front beds by the front door that were looking a bit sad and start clearing out the dying borage READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GABRIEL’S MOON – WILLIAM BOYD
I was excited about this one when it came up on my BookTube Prize Quarterfinals judging pool. I love stories of intrigue and espionage ( MI-5, or Spooks, is one of my all-time favourite shows), and I liked the twist that this one features a writer who kind of accidentally becomes entangled in the world READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES
I love little free libraries. I really want to get one myself, now that I live in a home that has a street-facing driveway I could put it at the end of! I am dropping hints and hoping that someone handy in my life might help me put one together at some point, but we READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | WHAT I READ WHEN I’M NOT FEELING WELL
If I’m being totally honest, I am probably quite unlikely to read anything when I’m feeling ill. Usually that’s when I’m too tired and feeling too yucky to expend the energy needed to actually engage with the printed word. So instead of books, I turn to TV and movies, and I tend to re-watch ones READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS TO END A SLUMP
The prompt for this week was “books guaranteed to end your book slump,” and while I’m tempted by that thought, I really don’t know if those books exist. Partly because there is so much variation between readers – what one person finds gripping, another will want to take a nap while reading. But also because, READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
The weeks are just zooming by, and don’t seem to have that much reading time, unfortunately! I’m starting on my BookTube Prize reading, and I started with the long book, so it’s slow going. I’m not able to say what I’m thinking of it so far, but I’m hoping to finish it this week. Other READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LONG ISLAND – COLM TÓIBÍN
I’ve only read one other Colm Tóibín book, The Magician, which I also read for The BookTube Prize in 2022. I admired the writing style, even if the story was a little dense for my liking. This one is a sequel to one of Tóibín’s most famous books, Brooklyn. I’ve not read Brooklyn, so I READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | NATIONAL BOOK LOVER’S DAY
To be perfectly honest, until I saw this prompt I had no idea it was National Book Lover’s Day tomorrow. Not being in the nation that celebrates it might have something to do with it. But now that I know, I suppose I’ll just try to find a little bit of time around family commitments READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | BOOKS I READ IN SCHOOL & DIDN’T LIKE
I don’t remember most of the books I read in school. I vaguely remember reading Animal Farm, which I didn’t hate, but also didn’t love. I think I liked the discussion after the book more than actually reading the book itself. I did French Immersion up to grade 8 or 9, so I also read READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | GENRE FREEBIE
This week’s prompt is a genre freebie. At the moment, being summer and high time for plants and gardening, I’m obsessed with gardening and nature books. But I already did a post about the nature and gardening books I’ve read, am reading and want to read this summer, and I don’t want to get too READ MORE