Reviews of Books
Posted in Fiction - Light, Recommended on Jan 13th, 2011
This novel is set during World War Two and it follows the adventures of a ‘lady’ trying to do the house work herself. She tries to maintain the same standard (to please her husband) as when she had two maids – there is many a comic mishap. Like when she is trying to set the [...]
Posted in Fiction - Light, Recommended on Dec 28th, 2010
Above is an image of the end paper in the Persephone edition This is a novel very much of it’s time – 1930s England. It’s about women and education and the role of women of a particular class at a particular time. None of the women have been educated for anything but marriage and if [...]
Posted in Fiction - Light, Recommended on Dec 15th, 2010
I bought this based on a recommendation by Cornflower and I bought it from here (I love the free-shipping). I did struggle a bit to get it finished and I wasn’t that taken with the romance thread of this story. I did like the idea of moving to France and starting a needlework business. Here’s [...]
Posted in Recommended, Serious on Nov 29th, 2010
My book club has had this novel in our sights for a while. We read Rhubarb and all enjoyed it. Craig Silvey not only tells a good story, but he puts words together in an interesting manner. Here’s the blurb … Late on a hot summer night in the tail end of 1965, Charlie Bucktin, [...]
Posted in Fiction - Light, Recommended on Nov 10th, 2010
I seem to be hearing quite a bit about this book and when it was described as ‘chick lit’ for boys I thought I had to read it. Here’s the blurb … You can live your whole life not realising that what you’re looking for is right in front of you. 15th July 1988 Emma [...]
Posted in Fiction - Light, Recommended on Oct 27th, 2010
This was just a light, easy read. Here is the blurb … Zeb Spaw is the contemporary artist of the year, even more so after his latest work Prostheseus Bound recently sold for £20 million, but will he be able to keep the masterpieces coming, or is it all downhill from there? Alice loves working [...]
Posted in Fiction - Light, Recommended on Oct 10th, 2010
I’ve written before about being a Katie Fforde fan – I was disappointed with the last two novels. They just seemed a bit formulaic and I didn’t like the heroines. However, this one is a return to the Katie Fforde of old. Here’s the blurb … Sophie Apperly’s family has never taken her seriously. Fiercely [...]
Posted in Recommended, Serious on Oct 5th, 2010
I was intrigued by the title of this novel and simply had to read it. I’m not religious but I am fascinated by religion. This was simply written and a very quick read. Here’s the blurb … In this genius spellbinding retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman revisits the most influential story ever [...]
Posted in Fiction - Light, Recommended on Oct 4th, 2010
My mother picked this book – based on the cover and truth be told I would have picked it too. It’s been sitting in my pile for a while and I’ve overlooked it several times. However, once I started I was hooked. It’s a gentle story about loss, grief, guilt and redemption. Here’s the blurb [...]
Posted in Non-Fiction, Recommended on Sep 30th, 2010
I chose to read this book because I read about the necessity of 10 000 hours of practice to master something; music, computer programming etc, and I was intrigued. Gladwell has a very accessible and entertaining style. Here is the blurb … Why do some people achieve so much more than others? Can they lie [...]