Tag
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman This is the second book in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materialstrilogy and has such it does exist in that slightly awkward middle-book-between-the-beginning-and-the-end way. It starts though, in scenes that is as vivid a beginning as it’s predecessor, Northern…
Continue reading
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce Everyone knows the power of music to transform lives don’t they? It’s why music is so important. It’s why it’s so sad that when governments through the ages look for things to cut they cut the…
Continue reading
The Explorer by Katherine Rundell After Rooftoppers any book by Katherine Rundell was going to face a tall order. Where here last book, The Wolf Wilder, delved into the dark and mysterious world of the Russian forest and a history…
Continue reading
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman With the publication of book one of the long-awaited The Book of Dust in October, and 22 years after I first read, and was blown away by, this book, I decided it was time for…
Continue reading
Imaginary Friends by Philip Pullman This is a short volume, published both in celebration of Independent booksellers, and also as a teaser of the Dæmon Voices that is to follow later this year. A collection of essays about writing, this…
Continue reading
The Forever Ship by Francesca Haig What is there more to say about to this book other than it is the explosive finale to the Fire Sermon trilogy of books. For a world where everyone is born with a fatal…
Continue reading
The Gifts of Reading by Robert Macfarlane The woodcut cover of this short essay on gifting the pleasure through books hints too at the other theme of the book, that of journeys trodden on foot – a subject that Robert…
Continue reading
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling It is scarcely credible to think that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is 20 years old this year. It is just as incredible to realise that in all that time…
Continue readingOur Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas This is at its heart the book about a writer, Meg, who is (unsuccessfully) writing her novel. She’s a successful ghostwriter for an author who doesn’t exist, and occasional journalist, but she is her…
Continue readingCoot Club by Arthur Ransome If Swallows and Amazons is the childhood classic to remember, Coot Club is its equal. We first encounter Dick and Dot in the book that comes before it when they are with the Swallows and…
Continue readingBest Murder in Show (Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries Book 1) by Debbie Young Debbie Young’s debut novel (she is the author already of various anthologies of short stories and non-fiction) is billed as a cosy-mystery – I would suggest the…
Continue readingSilent Voices: A Selection of Poems Written by Those Not Always Heard by Jo Allmond (Editor), Joy Thomas (Editor) This is quite simply an outstanding anthology of poetry however you look at it. Every poem had me gripping the page…
Continue readingSpring: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons by Melissa Harrison (Editor) The calendar year may start in January in the depths of winter but for most, the year begins with Spring. This is the first in Melissa Harrison’s stand-out series…
Continue readingGrief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter I confess that when I first found out about this book – struck by the cover in a bookshop window – thought it was a beautiful tale of nature writing. That,…
Continue readingThe Old Ways: A Journey On Foot by Robert Macfarlane This book is not quite what I expected. Not that I really knew much of what I did expect. I imagined that it might be travel writing by a man…
Continue readingThe Book by Jessica Bell Wow! Just wow! This is fast-paced, powerful story that grabs you at the first page and carries you to the very last page. Half pages of a journal (The Book) written by Bonnie’s mother and…
Continue readingSelected Poetry of John Clare by John Clare, edited by Jonathan Bate It’s been a perrennial ambition of mine to read more poetry. Unlike last year when I fulfilled an aim to read Tolstoy’s War & Peace, poetry is much…
Continue readingDear Reflection: I Never Meant to be a Rebel (A Memoir) by Jessica Bell Author, illustrator, singer, and songwriter, Jessica Bell is an inspiration to everyone who knows her. There is seemingly nothing she can’t do, and nothing she can’t…
Continue readingBoom! by Mark Haddon This was a rollercoaster of read involving school teachers and aliens, a road trip and wise-cracking dialogue. It was fast and funny but it also lackd none of Mark Haddon’s trademark portrayal of family relationships, some…
Continue readingWinter: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons by Melissa Harrison (Editor) Like it’s sister book, Autumn, this is not just a collection of poetry, prose, and non-fiction but a narrative of the darkest season. It takes us through the cold…
Continue reading
