image: goodreads.com This is a book about many things. Ostensibly you could say that East West Street is about a lawyer and historian, Phillippe Sands, exploring the lives of his maternal grandparents (and his mother) before and during the Second World War. It starts as that, catalysed by Sands being invited to give a lecture… Continue reading East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity by Phillippe Sands (2016)
Tag: 2016
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin (2016)
I first read Shirley Jackson a few years ago, and saw this biography advertised shortly after - and immediately wanted to read it. Even before I'd read Jackson's work I was intrigued by her and her life, and of course a biography is the perfect way to explore that. If you've ever read any of… Continue reading Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin (2016)
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Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography by Jean Rhys (1979)
I first read Jean Rhys at university when her novel Good Morning, Midnight was on the reading list for a course about the 20th century novel. Since then she has been on my radar and I have kept most of her books on my long term TBR. I read Wide Sargasso Sea a few years… Continue reading Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography by Jean Rhys (1979)
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Live Fast, Die Hot by Jenny Mollen (2016)
It's a funny thing, how I came to read this book. I love Instagram - I follow people I know, bloggers, and a handful of celebrities (ok, quite a lot). One of these is the actor Busy Philipps, who I have always liked, but after following her on Instagram for over a year, I love… Continue reading Live Fast, Die Hot by Jenny Mollen (2016)
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The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor (2016)
I saw this book at a conference last year, and it sat on my reading list for months until I received it for my birthday in January. I was a bit apprehensive about reading it as I knew it wouldn't exactly be a light read, and the paperback is 429 pages (not counting the appendix,… Continue reading The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor (2016)
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The Ice Child by Camilla Lackberg
I have to admit this book was an impulse purchase. In Waitrose. But I just really felt like some slightly generic crime, and The Ice Child fulfilled that wish. It is part of a series of books about Detective Patrik Hedström and his wife Erica, who is a writer, who both just happen to get… Continue reading The Ice Child by Camilla Lackberg
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Looking back on the books of 2016
This is another overdue blog post, but one that I've really been looking forward to writing. I read 31 books in 2016, of varying quality, but overall it was a good reading year. I tried to branch out, accepting a total of eight review copies from publishers - which is a lot for me these… Continue reading Looking back on the books of 2016
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A little update!
Hello dear readers! My apologies for my absence. Life has been a wee bit crazy in the last month or so, but we have finally moved into our new house and things are evening out... I actually have the time to sit down and write a blog post! Yay! I'm sitting at the dining table… Continue reading A little update!
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Blog tour: The Dark Circle by Linda Grant
I don't often agree to review brand new books anymore, or take part in blog tours - but The Dark Circle intrigued me. I had heard lots of good things about Linda Grant but never actually read her books, and the premise of this novel appealed to me. In 1949, twins Lenny and Miriam are both… Continue reading Blog tour: The Dark Circle by Linda Grant
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If This is a Woman by Sarah Helm: A Reading Experience
More than one of my fellow reviewers on GoodReads wrote that reading this book is more than that - you 'live it' as well. It is an experience I will never forget. If This is a Woman took me ten days to read, which for me is a long time - but then it is… Continue reading If This is a Woman by Sarah Helm: A Reading Experience
These Little Words 