Best of 2012: Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt – Guest Post by Sarah Chapman

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This post has been kindly written by blogger Sarah Chapman, who also happens to be part of the amazing Mslexia team. Sarah's blog The Bibliomouse is always a joy to read and I love her frank and witty reviews. She was an obvious choice to include in this series. Here she talks about her pick… Continue reading Best of 2012: Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt – Guest Post by Sarah Chapman

Goodbye Watford Waterstones…

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I have just learned via a retweet on Twitter that my local Waterstones in Watford, Hertfordshire has closed. It had been there for so long I don't remember it opening, and I visited it for years. Three floors - yes, THREE - of books. A lower ground floor for children's, fiction on the ground floor,… Continue reading Goodbye Watford Waterstones…

Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford

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My only experience of reading Nancy Mitford is the unnamed trilogy made up of The Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate, and Don't Tell Alfred, all of which I loved - the first one in particular. There are devotees of Nancy and her family, but I am not really one of them, though… Continue reading Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford

Best of 2012: The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams

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The Pleasures of Men was one of the few books this year I actually bought of my own volition, having been too late for the review copies. It appealed to me so much that I wanted to read and review it regardless of its publication date and press campaign. The cover was what struck me… Continue reading Best of 2012: The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams

Best of 2012: The Glass Delusion by Abi Curtis – Guest Post by Kristina Wilde

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This post has been written by blogger Kristina Wilde of Fictavia. Fictavia is a relatively new blog to me, but I always enjoy reading Kristina's posts and she is rather charming on Twitter as well. Here she talks about her pick for the best of 2012, poetry collection The Glass Delusion by Abi Curtis. *… Continue reading Best of 2012: The Glass Delusion by Abi Curtis – Guest Post by Kristina Wilde

Best of 2012: Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel – Guest Post by Peggy Riley

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This post has kindly been written by author and playwright Peggy Riley. Peggy's debut novel Amity and Sorrow will be published in March 2013 by Tinder Press, a new imprint of Headline. Here Peggy talks about her pick for 2012, Booker Prize winning Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel. * My book of the… Continue reading Best of 2012: Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel – Guest Post by Peggy Riley

Best of 2012: Rook, Swimming Home, Hawthorn & Child, and Object Lessons – Guest Post by Alan Bowden

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This guest post has been written by blogger and philosophy PhD student Alan Bowden. Alan's blog Words of Mercury is an intelligent and well-written book blog with a variety of texts as well as Alan's own fiction and poetry. Here he talks about his favourite books of 2012 (he couldn't choose just one!), Rook by… Continue reading Best of 2012: Rook, Swimming Home, Hawthorn & Child, and Object Lessons – Guest Post by Alan Bowden

Best of 2012: Illegal Liaisons by Grazyna Plebanek

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Grazyna Plebanek is already a highly successful author in her native Poland, and Illegal Liaisons is the first of her novels to be published in English. The publisher, Stork Press, aim to give a new voice to writers from Central and Eastern Europe. I discovered them by chance earlier this year, and am so glad… Continue reading Best of 2012: Illegal Liaisons by Grazyna Plebanek

Amity & Sorrow by Peggy Riley

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From the outset, everything about this novel is mysterious. The tagline on the cover reads, 'Not everyone wants to be saved'. The inside cover reads, One father; two daughters; fifty wives. They're waiting for Salvation. Pray it never comes. In the wake of a suspicious fire, Amaranth gathers her children and flees from the rural… Continue reading Amity & Sorrow by Peggy Riley

Best of 2012: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey – Guest Post by Lucy Rock

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This post is written by blogger Lucy Rock. Her blog, Literary Relish, features a pleasingly varied selection of books, as well as updates about The Manchester Book Club, which Lucy attends, and which has its own blog here. I always enjoy Lucy's writing and she was an obvious choice to contribute to this series. Here… Continue reading Best of 2012: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey – Guest Post by Lucy Rock