I went into this expecting a somewhat entertaining and charming story with a bit of depth, but not too much, with decent characters, but not too deeply affecting, and some minor emotional tweaks but nothing heart shattering. I got a little bit more than I bargained for. This book starts with Tom’s wife leaving READ MORE
Category: Features
TOP TEN TUESDAY | CHARACTER TRAITS I LOVE
I don’t think there will be anything that original in this list – I feel like most of us readers tend to gravitate towards similar character traits. But still, it is lovely to think back over some of my favourite characters and try to tease out just what, exactly, made me love them so READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL – ABBI WAXMAN
This book was a breath of fresh air when I really needed one. It’s a quiet book, full of small interactions and introspection. It’s the story of a young woman called Nina HIll. Nina works in a bookstore and, quite frankly, prefers life spent between the covers of a good book. She suffers from READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS WITH NUMBERS IN THE TITLE
This week’s prompt is books that have a number in the title. I tried to include numbers 1-10 in particular, but I’ve also included a few other numbers just for the heck of it! Here they are: READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BRAIN ON FIRE – SUSANNAH CAHALAN
I have had this book on my TBR for so many years it’s ridiculous. The worst part is that it’s been one that I’ve really wanted to read the entire time it’s been there. I finally got around to it thanks to being on a bit of a medical memoir kick at the moment, READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS ON MY AUTUMN 2019 TBR
We’re finally heading into autumn, and I can’t tell you how relieved I am. I do not fare well in hot weather. I begin to wilt, and if it goes above 30°C I actually melt. It’s not pleasant. So autumn is always a hugely exciting season for me, even if it does bring a READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | ASK AGAIN, YES – MARY BETH KEANE
I don’t normally do family sagas. They’re just so detailed and finicky and full of petty drama and these complicated strands of storyline you have to keep a constant eye on. I find them wearing and exhausting and not generally worth the effort. But something about this one made me want to give it READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER – BERNARDINE EVARISTO
I was intimidated going into this book. It’s long, and it’s written in an experimental style of verse that doesn’t include periods or capitals. I was nervous I’d be unable to find my feet and that it would prove too difficult for me to get into. Not so. It took about 50 pages, but READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS I’M PUTTING OFF READING
There are definitely a fair few books on my shelves I look at on the regular and walk on by. Some I’ve tried, some I’ve re-tried, others I’m too scared to even attempt. And yet, they have been on my shelves, some for years, because despite my fears I think they deserve to be READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | HOME IS BURNING – DAN MARSHALL
Continuing on my current kick of memoirs related to mental and physical illness, I finally got around to picking up Dan Marshall’s book that has been sitting on my shelves for years and years. This is the memoir of a man whose mother has cancer (has done most of his life) and whose father READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS I LOVED THAT AREN’T MY USUAL STYLE
I love it when a book pleasantly surprises me. I tend to feel like I have a good handle on what I’m going to like, but every once in a while I hear so much about a particular book that I decide to give it a try, even though on the surface it doesn’t READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE WALL – JOHN LANCHESTER
I went into this with no expectations at all. I had been mildly interested in it before its nomination for the Booker Prize, and that made me pick it up sooner. But I don’t much care for dystopian books, and though the concept behind this is timely and brings up a few important issues, READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS AND EDITIONS I WANT
I’m very lucky because I’m at a point in my life where if I really want a book, I can just get it. There are exceptions to this, though. Some are out of print, others I can only find in damaged editions or at prices I’m not willing to pay. I don’t know if READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | VINTAGE 1954 – ANTOINE LAURAIN
I’ve only read one Antoine Laurain novel, the delightfully charming The Red Notebook. It was the closest I’ve come to finding a book that felt like watching the film Amélie, one of my favourites of all time. Laurain is a master at capturing details of character and setting that bring the story to life READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | FAVOURITE TROPES
I feel like, particularly among adult readers of YA books, the word “trope” tends to conjur negative associations. The word is usually applied to played-out plot devices and relationships that we are all so, so tired of reading. So to come up with a list of ten (seriously, ten??!!) that I like feels like READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | FIVE FEET APART – RACHAEL LIPPINCOTT
I’ve had this book on my radar for a while. In my current quest to find books about illness, it drifted up to the top of my TBR – it helped that I also wanted to watch the movie and felt like the book had to come first. I’m going to be up front READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | CHARACTERS I CONSIDER FRIENDS
The best books are ones that feel real, like you’ve actually stepped into them and live, for a time, in their world. Because of this, the characters we find there often feel just as real to us as the people we bump into in real life. There are characters I have loved, hated, learned READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LANNY – MAX PORTER
I’ve heard wonderful things about Max Porter’s last novel, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers. It wasn’t a story that appealed to me, but I was curious about Porter’s writing because all the rave reviews talked about his linguistic ability. Lanny has started to generate similar praise, bolstered now by the book’s inclusion on READ MORE