It has been a while since I posted here, or was able to write anything. I was ill on and off from December through to the start of April, but finally managed to get myself sorted out with a visit to the doctor and a sort-of diagnosis in the form of the fact that my… Continue reading Reading Diary: February – May 2022
Category: Fiction
Reading Diary: January 2022
Recently I’ve been exploring the role and function of book blogging and how I want to fit into it. For a while I’ve just reviewed each book I read individually, and I think for me that format was getting a little stale, and I wasn’t sure how appealing it actually was to readers - especially… Continue reading Reading Diary: January 2022
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Five books that changed the way I read
Some books you read, and then you just sort of forget; they don't make any difference in your life. Some you think about for a while after, but then they fade from your memory and you move on to the next thing. But there are some books that just get their hooks into you and… Continue reading Five books that changed the way I read
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Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) by Sally Rooney
As I talked about in my previous post, I missed the Sally Rooney hype the first time around in 2017, and it was the release of this novel that got me a little more interested in her. I started with Conversations with Friends, but then decided to dive right into Beautiful World, Where Are You… Continue reading Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) by Sally Rooney
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Conversations with Friends (2017) by Sally Rooney
I’m probably the last book blogger (at least in the UK, who likes this sort of thing, etc…) to read this book. The hype around Sally Rooney has been quite something, and I often have mixed feelings about hype. Often with “popular” novelists, especially female ones, I find that the novels that get the most… Continue reading Conversations with Friends (2017) by Sally Rooney
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The Island (1959) by Ana María Matute
Getting ready to write this post, I realised it's been three months since I posted on here. I honestly didn't realise that much time had passed. That is this pandemic life - time has completely changed. Living in this weird in-between state of anxiety and hesitancy with little pockets of “normal life”, with hardly any… Continue reading The Island (1959) by Ana María Matute
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Cardiff, by the Sea by Joyce Carol Oates (2020)
This book of four novellas is about women, about what it is like to be a woman, though sometimes through extreme examples. It is not always a pleasant book. Cardiff, by the Sea shows us the worst, most devastating things about being a woman - as well as the exquisite moments of joy that can… Continue reading Cardiff, by the Sea by Joyce Carol Oates (2020)
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My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (1951)
2003 Virago paperback I first read this in 2014, which seems like a lifetime ago, and decided to re-read it earlier this year when I was fed up with everything I had on my bookshelves. At some point I put it aside, and I left it for so long, I'm not sure why, that I… Continue reading My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (1951)
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The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski, tr. Danusia Stok (1993, 2007)
I have not written a book review in quite a while. My last one was Stet by Diana Athill in July 2019. A month later I had my baby and though I tried to read during feeds or when he was asleep, it just never really happened - I started a couple of books but… Continue reading The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski, tr. Danusia Stok (1993, 2007)
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Tangerine by Christine Mangan (2018)
Tangerine is one of those novels that got quite a lot of hype when it first came out, and again when it was released in paperback. This usually means that I would avoid it for fear of disappointment/conventionality, but the premise of this one really intrigued me. Ostensibly it's a story about two friends, separated… Continue reading Tangerine by Christine Mangan (2018)
These Little Words 