literary hoohah
I don't often do multiple reviews in one post, but, as I mentioned here, I am a bit behind with reviews, including a couple of books I read several months ago, so this time around it's easier to put a few together in one post. Let me know what you think! Little by Edward Carey… Continue reading Catching up on reviews…
Hello dear readers! As I mentioned in my first post of the year, I'm pregnant and this is taking up pretty much all of my time and energy at the moment, so I've haven't posted since March... but I am going on maternity leave at the end of May so I will have some time… Continue reading An update – May 2019
I came across Bookish Beck's review of No Place to Lay One's Head last month and knew I just had to read it. It is the memoir of Françoise Frenkel, a Jewish woman from Poland who opened the first French-language bookshop in Berlin, in 1921. She had studied in France, and when on a visit… Continue reading No Place to Lay One’s Head by Françoise Frenkel (1945), trans. Stephanie Smee
She-Wolves was one of those books that I had heard about for ages, and kept meaning to read, but for some reason never got around to - laziness, too many other books to read, a million reasons. So I decided to put it on my wish list for Christmas and birthday books last year, and… Continue reading She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor (2011)
I had not heard of this book when it was shortlisted for the Young Writer of the Year Award, and I was pleased to have the opportunity to read it - I have always liked travel writing, and I love to read about places and things I know nothing about, but still find interesting. Kings… Continue reading Kings of the Yukon by Adam Weymouth (2018) – shortlisted for The Sunday Times / Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer Of The Year Award, in association with The University of Warwick
I'd had The Reading Cure on my GoodReads TBR for a while, so I was pleased to see that it was shortlisted for The Young Writer Of The Year Award, and I would have a reason to actually hurry up and read it. It is a memoir that blends together the personal and the literary,… Continue reading The Reading Cure by Laura Freeman (2018) – shortlisted for The Sunday Times / Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer Of The Year Award, in association with The University of Warwick
Like many people, I was aware of, and liked, Busy Philipps from her various TV shows and movies, and my liking of her only grew when I followed her on Instagram and witnessed the joy and brilliance of her Stories on the app. I love that she is honest and frank on Instagram, and shows… Continue reading This Will Only Hurt A Little by Busy Philipps (2018)
As I ~may~ have mentioned, I am on the shadow panel for this year's Young Writer of the Year Award - and today the shortlist has been announced! Here they are: Kings of the Yukon: An Alaskan River Journey by Adam Weymouth (Particular Books) Kings of the Yukon is about Adam Weymouth's journey in a… Continue reading The Peters Fraser And Dunlop/Sunday Times Young Writer Of The Year Award – Shortlist Reveal!
I was particularly excited to read this biography of Agrippina the Younger for a couple of reasons: I had only vaguely heard of her and was keen to know more about a real Roman woman, and I also pledged to support this book on its publisher's website. As you may know, Unbound is a crowd-funding… Continue reading Agrippina: Empress, Exile, Hustler, Whore by Emma Southon (2018)
I came across The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial in my GoodReads recommendations, and thought it seemed almost like the perfect book for me - a memoir about family history, women, and crime. The crime element particularly appealed to me as the book details Maggie Nelson's experience of the trial of the man of may… Continue reading The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial by Maggie Nelson (2007)
