Posts Tagged ‘book reviews’
Book Review: Queen Idia’s Africa – short stories
I enjoyed this collection of short stories. These connected stories all imagine a contemporary society in which Africa has developed as a wealthy continent, and is working to finance the development efforts in the lesser developed regions of Western Europe and America. This overseas development aid is largely intended to stop the flow of desperate…
Read MoreBook review: Cold Comfort Farm
I can’t believe I didn’t discover this brilliant comic novel by Stella Gibbons, first published in 1932, a bit earlier. A friend of mine was reading this and telling me about it, and I recalled the film version I’d seen and enjoyed quite a years ago – without having realized the film had been based…
Read MoreBook Review: Germinal, Émile Zola
I don’t know how I’ve managed to wait so long to read one of Zola’s most famous works – and the thirteenth novel in his Rougon-Macquart series. Published in 1885 and set in 1866, this is the story of Etienne Lantier, whose inability to find a job as a mechanic leads him to take on horrendous,…
Read MoreBook review: Fractured
I greatly enjoyed Fractured, a novel by Catherine McKenzie. I understand the author prefers to give one-word titles to her novels, but perhaps, if she would consider sub-titles, Ode to city living might be appropriate. Although the book was a psychological thriller, it was the fear of ever finding myself within such a meddling, invasive suburb…
Read MoreBook review: Julian Fellowes’ Belgravia
Unlike Dante’s warning at the entrance to hell, all hope is not lost to ‘ye who enters here. I am speaking, of course, to those of us who find ourselves adrift now that Downton Abbey has come to an end. For Downton creator/writer/producer Julian Fellowes has a new historical fiction novel out – Belgravia. Like…
Read MoreNew-to-me authors in 2016 I’ll want to read more from…
Since discovering the excellent Book Date site, I always get great ideas for reading or posts for book lovers, such as her post New-to-me authors in 2016 I’ll want to read more from. What a great idea – each year I discover new writers whose work I enjoy, and it leads me to look up their…
Read MoreIt’s (not quite) Monday. What are YOU reading?
Always love discovering new book blogging sites through other sites I enjoy. That’s why I was pleased that Emma from Once Upon a Littlefield pointed me towards The Book Date. I like this blog challenge – ‘It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?’ – for those of us who blog fully or partially about books as a prompt…
Read MoreAugust reads
In summer, my reading always picks up. And during holidays, I had the chance to read quite a few books, some of which I really enjoyed. Now that I am back to the daily grind, I decided to take a look back at my August reads and (hopefully) somehow feel as if I’m back on…
Read MoreBook Review: Fall of Poppies
This series of short stories set during World War I, Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War was bound to be right up my alley. I love short stories and I love historical fiction, and I have a particular weakness for stories set during this time period, an era of marked upheaval as…
Read MoreBook Review: After You
Like many readers, I had read and enjoyed Jojo Moyes Me Before You. I didn’t think a sequel was really necessary, as I generally like endings that leave things open for the readers’ imaginations. Nevertheless, I still picked this up when it came out and enjoyed this novel – although perhaps not as much as…
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