Raising Demons is the sequel to Life Among the Savages, which I read last year. Both are memoirs of Shirley Jackson’s experiences as a mother to four boisterous and rowdy children. In this book the kids are a bit older, but other than that, it’s a lot like the first. It’s a series of READ MORE
BOOK TAG | NON-FICTION ON BOOKTUBE
I’m really enjoying participating in Non-Fiction November (hosted by Olive, featured in the video above), and watching the videos posted by some of my favourite BookTubers about their TBRs, favourite NF books – and this tag! I don’t have a YouTube channel because I’m terrible in front of a camera, but I really wanted READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | FAVOURITE BOOKMARKS
I have to admit that, despite a large collection of beautiful made-to-purpose bookmarks, I often use whatever I have to hand as a bookmark. I have been known to use bus passes, random scraps of paper, flowers and leaves (hence today’s image), ticket stubs, granola bar wrappers and, on one memorable and short-lived occasion, READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BREAKING & MENDING – JOANNA CANNON
Most of you probably know Joanna Cannon’s name from her works of fiction, The Trouble With Goats and Sheep and Three Things About Elsie (longlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction). What you might not know about Cannon is that she is also a doctor – specifically a psychiatrist. That insight is part READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS THAT HAVE THAT AUTUMN FEEL
I love autumn. I love everything about it. I love the cold bite in the air, I love the colours of the leaves, I love the satisfaction of a warm mug of tea and the unbeatable cosiness of anything warm and fuzzy. So it stands to reason that I enjoy books that give off READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GREENWOOD – MICHAEL CHRISTIE
Michael Christie’s first novel, If I Fall, If I Die, was one of my favourite books of the past five years. It was a surprise to me, but one I will be forever grateful to have discovered. Since closing the cover of that book, I’ve been waiting for Christie to publish another one. So when READ MORE
NON-FICTION NOVEMBER 2019 | TBR AND RECOMMENDATIONS
I’m very excited because tomorrow marks the beginning of one of my favourite themed reading months of the year – Non-Fiction November hosted by Olive from ABookOlive. The behind the monthly event is simple: read more non-fiction than you usually do. If you never read it, read one non-fiction book. If you normally READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | SCARY BOOKS I’D READ IF I WEREN’T A SCAREDY CAT
I can’t do horror. I can handle violence, but if there’s even a hint of creepy, I’m out. So there are definitely books I’d love to read if I had the constitution for them! There aren’t that many though, because since I can’t handle scary stories, I don’t tend to file them away in READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE TIME OF GREEN MAGIC – HILARY MCKAY
When we first meet Abi, her life has just been turned upside down. Her father has re-married a woman named Polly, who comes with two sons – one grumpy, the other always inexplicably sticky. To make matters worse, she is forced to move into their house, a place where despite having her own room READ MORE
READATHON | DEWEY’S 24-HOUR READATHON OCTOBER 26-27, 2019
It’s that time again! Today is my favourite event – Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon. For the uninitiated, the readathon takes place from midnight on Saturday, October 26th until midnight Sunday, October 27th, EST. (You can find out what time it starts in your time zone here.) Where I am, that means it runs from 5AM READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOK TITLES I’D CHANGE
This week’s prompt is a tricky one. I don’t really keep track of titles I don’t like, though I know there have been lots over the years. Here are a few I might have given a different title if it had been up to me, but I know there are ones I liked less READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | NATIVES – AKALA
About once every five years I pick up a non-fiction book that leaves me speechless in wonder. I’ve been lucky this year, because I’ve had a few of these – some memoir, some topical. This book, however, is arguably the most deeply impactful book I have read or expect to read for a decade READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | EXTRAORDINARY BOOK TITLES
I think titles are so important. Not only do they tell you something about the book – its topic, tone and genre – but they also grab attention. I can’t count the number of times I’ve picked up a book just because I liked the sound of the title and ended up discovering something READ MORE
QUARTERLY WRAP-UP | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2019 (& BOOKER WINNER PREDICTIONS)
Somehow another three months have gone by! I didn’t have as much time to read as I did in the first and second quarter of the year, so I only managed 8 books. But there were a couple of really great ones in there, so let’s take a look! July Ask READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE BOOKSHOP OF THE BROKEN HEARTED – ROBERT HILLMAN
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
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