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Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson I always new that the book of Lark Rise to Candleford was completely different to the Sunday night TV series, but other than that I didn’t know what to expect… What you get is memoir…
Continue readingIn Search of Rex Whistler: His Life and His Work by Mirabel Cecil, Hugh Cecil The artist, illustrator, and muralist that was Rex Whistler is one of my favourite artists having discovered him 23 years ago now whilst visiting Plas…
Continue readingPrecious Bane by Mary Webb I had never heard of this book until Lucy suggested it as a read for the inaugural meeting of the Bicester Booklings, and so I had little idea of what to expect from it. It’s…
Continue readingWhat I Was by Meg Rosoff When I picked up this book to read something about it seemed vaguely reminiscent of I Captured The Castle and not just for its rural, Suffolk setting. The cover (of my addition at least)…
Continue readingLast time I used Critique Circle was way back in 2007. The website tells me I only joined in November 2006 (although I have a memory of being part of it for much longer). I’m not sure why I have…
Continue readingMy Name Is Mina by David Almond I remember discovering David Almond shortly after he first published Skellig, although think it must have been a little late to the party as I think the follow up of Kit’s Wilderness was…
Continue readingHow I Live Now by Meg Rosoff This book has been on my TBR shelf for too long, and I really don’t know why. It’s not a long book but even so I don’t often race through a book like…
Continue readingBoneland by Alan Garner When I discovered that Alan Garner had written a new Alderley book I was both excited and nervous. His later books have a tendency to be weird, or, in the case of Thursbitch, down right incomprehensible……
Continue readingBoneland by Alan Garner When I discovered that Alan Garner had written a new Alderley book I was both excited and nervous. His later books have a tendency to be weird, or, in the case of Thursbitch, down right incomprehensible……
Continue readingEmma’s mum and dad saw Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty when it was on in London and loved it so much that decided too take us to see it when can’t on your to High Wycombe. Now to be fair I don’t much…
Continue readingThe Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner Like with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen that came before it, The Moon of Gomrath is packed with strong imagery and years of research into old mythology and legend. It also has a strong…
Continue readingThe Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner Like with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen that came before it, The Moon of Gomrath is packed with strong imagery and years of research into old mythology and legend. It also has a strong…
Continue readingThe Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner I first read this book around the age of 10, and I remember being blown away by it, and for a story written in the 1960s I remember it having a timeless quality…
Continue readingRunemarks by Joanne Harris As soon as I found out that this book existed I wanted to read it, but I didn't have any idea of what to expect. If you are familiar with Joanne Harris' more famous Chocolat then…
Continue readingReflections: on the magic of writing by Diana Wynne Jones This is a must-read book for anyone who has a love of stories and of making thing up. It’s also the book to read if you’ve read even just one…
Continue readingSo, in the last week I have entered the world of the tablet computers with the reasonably priced Kindle Fire HD. Basically I love it. I do have two slight gripes with it. One, the battery life. It’s advertised as…
Continue readingIt’s not an easy read; a portrait of a land, and a people, and a person – Bjartur of Summerhouses. It’s definitely easier to read this if you have visited Iceland; seen, and felt, the landscape. If you have you…
Continue readingThe 17 June is Þjóðhátíðardagurinn (Icelandic National Day) and celebrates the day in 1944 that The Republic of Iceland (Lýðveldið Ísland) was formed. The date of 17 June was chosen because it is the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, a major…
Continue readingTechnically, today’s review was the third review, but the first two, however balanced they were (and I think they were), were done by friends and family. Today I received my first review from a complete stranger. It wasn’t unsolicited though…
Continue readingThere were moments of dark, fairy terror in Michelle Harrison’s 13 Treasures trilogy, but nothing so dark and genuinely scary as Unrest. Really, truly, don’t read some of the early chapters just before bed – not unless you enjoy inducing…
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