Archive for 'Book Review' Category
Review: ‘My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time’ by Liz Jensen
After two distinctly disappointing reads I needed something that was sure to be good fun and not to take itself too seriously. Thankfully my mammoth TBR pile is able to rise to any challenge, and after a quick flick through my library I settled on the wonderfully titled by Liz Jensen. This book was first [...]
Review: ‘The Sack of Bath’ by Adam Fergusson
I really enjoy being a member of the various online book communities that I’m a part of, much as they are largely responsible for my enormous TBR pile and wishlist. I know I can find opinions on everything from the latest popular bestseller to obscure novels which I’d never have discovered on my own on [...]
Review: ‘The House in Dormer Forest’ by Mary Webb
When by Mary Webb came up as May’s TBR Lucky Dip book, I was pleased for two main reasons. Firstly, it’s a Virago Modern Classic, which meant I could add another one to the ‘Read’ shelf on LibraryThing and not feel quite so bad about the large number still sitting glumly on the ‘To Read’ [...]
Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen
Back in January, I reread Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, and mentioned that I planned to reread all of Austen’s novels at some point this year. Despite my great love for these books, it took me until May to get to the second book on the schedule which was , perhaps Austen’s best known work and [...]
Review: ‘Drina’s Dancing Year’ by Jean Estoril
This year I’ve been reading more sweet, warm, comforting books than I usually do. This has resulted in revisiting some childhood favourites, amongst which, as you may remember, are the Drina books by Jean Estoril. is the second installment in this eleven book series and I enjoyed rereading the gentle story as just as much as [...]
Review: ‘Water for Elephants’ by Sara Gruen
When I started to see posters appear on the Underground advertising the upcoming film of Sara Gruen’s , I decided that it was probably time to get the book down from my shelves and read it. Although this review has been so long in the writing that the film has now been and gone from [...]
Review: ‘Song of Sorcery’ by Elizabeth Scarborough
One of the many benefits of having such a large pool of books from which to choose my reading is that it’s easy to find something that fits my mood or requirements. A while ago I needed to pick a book to read before bed and so it needed to be light in every sense [...]
Review: ‘Human Croquet’ by Kate Atkinson
The Oxfam shop in my old university town used to sell bundles of three books tied up with string for £1.99. I acquired Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson at some point in my final year as part of just such a bundle, along with Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty and A. S. Byatt’s Possession [...]
Review: ‘Elizabeth and her German Garden’ by Elizabeth von Arnim
I very rarely plan what I’m going to read ahead of time, preferring to pick books from my shelves as the mood takes me, so it’s even more surprising when literary serendipity strikes. I really enjoy suddenly discovering that the book I’m reading is set in a place that I’ve just visited, references a book [...]
Review: ‘Ballet for Drina’ by Jean Estoril
Like a great many little girls, I took ballet lessons when I was younger. I was never particularly good at it and I stopped taking exams when they required that I start pointe work, but I really enjoyed it. As an adult, I still really enjoy ballet but, though I do take the occasional class [...]