Reviews of Books
Posted in Fiction, Recommended on Feb 21st, 2012
I’ve been listening to The True Story of Butterfish while quilting – here is my quilt. I use the audible app on my ipod, which works well. I’ve read a few Nick Earls’ books; Zigzag Street, World of Chickens and Perfect Skin and I’ve enjoyed all of them. I’ve always described them as chick lit for [...]
Posted in Fiction on Feb 20th, 2012
I downloaded this using the google books app on my ipad, but I was very disappointed (in the app not the book). It always wanted to be portrait despite the fact that I always read in Landscape – I don’t think I could take notes like I can in the Kindle app and there was [...]
Posted in Fiction, Recommended on Feb 15th, 2012
I read They Came Like Swallows and so when I saw So Long, See You Tomorrow for $5 in my local book store I had to have it. I am amazed how much can be fitted into such a small space. Here is the blurb … ”This is one of the great books of our age. It [...]
Posted in Fiction, Recommended on Feb 14th, 2012
I’ve been on a bit of an Alice Munro fest. Here is the blurb … Ten superb new stories by one of our most beloved and admired writers – the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize. In the first story a young wife and mother receives release from the unbearable pain of losing [...]
Posted in Fiction, Recommended on Feb 13th, 2012
As you all know, I’m a bit of a Dorothy Whipple fan – see here, here, here and here. I’ve been meaning to read They Knew Mr Knight for ages and then, luckily, a friend had a copy. I liked it, not as much as Because of the Lockwoods , it is a bit too [...]
Posted in Fiction, Recommended on Feb 10th, 2012
I read about this novel here and was very keen to read it. I bought a copy for my Kindle, but in the end I read it on my Ipod (Kindle app) and was pleasantly surprised by the experience (the small screen wasn’t a problem at all). Here is the blurb … Dublin, Midsummer: While [...]
Posted in Memoir, Recommended on Feb 8th, 2012
I’ve read Mariana (the Persephone edition), which I enjoyed, so when a friend lent me this I was keen to try it. Here’s the blurb … What does a young, well-off English woman do with herself when she’s thrown out of acting school and is tired of being a debutante? Well, if you’re Monica Dickens, you [...]
Posted in Fiction, Recommended on Feb 7th, 2012
I’m still getting through my holiday reading – in case anyone thinks I’m reading books in one day! I really like Alice Munro’s short stories. I’ve read Too Much Happiness (check back later for a review of that one) and Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship and Marriage. I was keen to check Runaway out when I [...]
Posted in Fiction on Feb 6th, 2012
My Victorian Study Group have moved onto Thackerary. I read this years ago – about the same time as the BBC Adpatation (in fact I think that is why I read it). I didn’t particularly enjoy it and I remember thinking it was quite a slog. This time around, however, I really enjoyed reading and [...]
Posted in Fiction, Recommended on Feb 2nd, 2012
I read Middlesex and love it – in fact I lent it to someone and they never returned it (don’t you hate that?) Anyway, that mean I was keen to read The Marriage Plot doubly so because I’m also keen on 19th century literature. Here is the blurb … Madeleine Hanna was the dutiful English major [...]