Reading Diary: February – May 2022

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

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

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

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

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

The Montessori Toddler: A Parent’s Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being by Simone Davies (2018)

I realise that this book is a bit of a departure from the sort of thing reviewed in my last few posts (which I realise were months ago, hello 2021), but this is the first book I have read all the way through since I think October - so I'm reviewing it. Honestly having a… Continue reading The Montessori Toddler: A Parent’s Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being by Simone Davies (2018)

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)

East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity by Phillippe Sands (2016)

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)

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (2006)

I honestly don't know why it's taken me so long to read any of Nora Ephron's books. I adore her movies, particularly When Harry Met Sally, and I'd always heard her books were just as good. Perhaps I was afraid they wouldn't be and my reverence of her script writing would be ruined. But then… Continue reading I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (2006)

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)