I recently tweeted about this - apologies to any of my followers for the repetition here. It's just that I have often, in my life, thought about writing a book. I used to want to write a novel, and actually managed to write one in my late teens, though I fear it is just over-emotional… Continue reading Things I Think I Could Write a Book About
I’m Still Here
I realise it has been a bit quiet around here of late. As per my last post I am still reading The Amazons by Adrienne Mayor, which is taking me longer to read than I expected, and is the principle reason I haven't posted reviews since my late January round up. It's funny when you're… Continue reading I’m Still Here
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Things I’m reading that aren’t books
I read a lot of books, but I also read a lot of other stuff that doesn't require quite so much concentration and/or time. A lot of this is book reviews and blog posts, but it varies. Here is what I have been reading recently: Fern Riddell's article on History Today - Sanitising the Suffragettes:… Continue reading Things I’m reading that aren’t books
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Recent reads roundup! Miss Jane (2016), Mindhunter (1995), and The Butcher’s Hook (2016)
As I wrote about in my last post, I had a bit of a reading slump at the end of 2017 (after a very mixed bag of reading throughout the year), and didn't get to read much over the Christmas holidays as I had a cold, then the flu, then a chest infection. But now… Continue reading Recent reads roundup! Miss Jane (2016), Mindhunter (1995), and The Butcher’s Hook (2016)
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An Update
Hello dear readers - as you may have noticed, the blog has been rather quiet of late. I had a total reading slump leading up to Christmas, though I did manage to finish one book at the end of December (Miss Jane by Brad Watson) which I will review at some point. I'm currently reading… Continue reading An Update
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On Being Stuck
I am in a sort of reading quandry, and it's why I haven't posted in a while. If you've looked at my GoodReads recently (though honestly why would you) you'll see that I am 'currently reading' two books - something I never do. I started Simone de Beauvoir's Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter back at… Continue reading On Being Stuck
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Vintage Didion, by Joan Didion (2004)
This little book is one of the Vintage Readers that were released in the early 2000s. As pointed out on the back cover, this is a small collection of Joan Didion's essays that are a good introduction to her work. The essays cover politics, crime, the war in El Salvador, crime and corruption in Miami,… Continue reading Vintage Didion, by Joan Didion (2004)
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Men Explain Things to Me and Other Essays by Rebecca Solnit (2014)
Like most people, I am familiar with the term 'mansplaining'. I've also heard a fair bit of excitement about Rebecca Solnit as an interesting writer. Her essay Men Explain Things to Me is the origin of the term, something I only learned seeing the word in circulation - when it first became a thing there… Continue reading Men Explain Things to Me and Other Essays by Rebecca Solnit (2014)
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Re-reading: Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada (1947)
I first read Alone in Berlin in 2011 just after I'd left university. I'd read a lot of books about the Second World War for a course at university, and my further reading (and time on Twitter) led me to this novel. It was only translated into English in 2009, so in 2011 it was… Continue reading Re-reading: Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada (1947)
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The Women of the Castle by Jessica Shattuck (2017)
[A side note: in the US, the title is The Women in the Castle.] I’ve always been interested in the literature of the Second World War, ever since a course on the Literatures of Genocide at university. I’ve read history books, personal accounts, and novels such as Alone in Berlin and City of Women; so,… Continue reading The Women of the Castle by Jessica Shattuck (2017)
These Little Words 