Unless by Carol Shields Book number 19 in the challenge has to be a book with a one-word title. At first I could only think of a couple that I’d actually read, but with a bit of effort I came up with several more. My list started with books read in childhood up to the… Continue reading 26 Books in 2017 Book 19: A Book With a One-Word Title
Charming but realistic, moving but full of hope. The standard of the writing and storytelling in this book is so high, it’s hard to believe this is Kit de Waal’s first novel. And telling the story from the point of view of a nine-year-old child isn’t the easiest of things for an adult novelist to… Continue reading Book Review: My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal @KitdeWaal @PenguinRHUK #bookreview #MondayBlogs
Lady Chatterley’s Lover – Prohibition did it no harm Book number 18 in the challenge has to be a book that was previously banned. Originally published privately in 1928, DH Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover wasn’t widely available until it was picked up for publication by Penguin at the end of the 1950s. But before it… Continue reading 26 Books in 2017 Book 18: A Previously Banned Book
Simply Superb Storytelling If I was about to be exiled to a desert island and I could take only three books with me MacLaverty’s 1998 novel, Grace Notes, would be one of them. It was my introduction to this author’s work and I’ve been a fan ever since. But being a fan of MacLaverty’s novels… Continue reading Book Review: Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty @maclavertyB @JonathanCape #bookreview #MondayBlogs
Quality versus Quantity (2) Book 17 in the 26-Books-in-52-Weeks Challenge has to be a book that can be read in a day. So a category in complete contrast to book 16 which had to be over 500 pages long. I don’t think I’ve ever read a whole novel in a 24 hour period. This is… Continue reading 26 Books in 2017 Book 17: Book You Can Read in a Day
Original, warm and poignant. I loved this book. I loved the excellent writing and I loved Eleanor. Eleanor, who narrated her own story, describes herself as a survivor. She’s right. She has survived a terrible childhood trauma, and, as she sees it, now’s she’s in her thirties with a job and a flat, she’s completely… Continue reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine @GailHoneyman @HarperFiction #bookreview #Monday Blogs
Big Books Quality versus Quantity Book 16 in the 26-Books-in-52-Weeks Challenge has to be a book that is over 500 pages long. Now, in the world of books size shouldn’t matter. Quality isn’t necessarily linked to quantity. If it’s a big book but it’s also a page-turner, I’ll read it more quickly and with more… Continue reading 26 Books in 2017 Book 16: Books over 500 Pages Long
My name is Anne and I’m a procrastinator. I’m also a writer and procrastination is in the job description. It’s the supreme avoidance tactic that many of us – writers or not – use when we really don’t want to tackle something. But writers seem to take the P word to professional levels. Procrastination feeds… Continue reading Procrastinating to Perfection
Book 15 in the 26-Books-in-52-Weeks Challenge has to be a book that someone else recommended to me. As with many of the other categories in this challenge the list of potential choices was quite a long one. This is because I base most of my book choices on someone else’s recommendations. I sometimes go… Continue reading 26 Books in 2017 Book 15: Finding Alison by Deirdre Eustace @bwpublishing #bookreview #MondayBlogs
Telling Imaginative Histories I prefer to read and write character driven fiction. Don’t get me wrong both plot and setting are important to me, but they don’t excite me, either as an author or reader in the same way that characters do. Characters bring stories to life. The novelist, Dame Hilary Mantel, gave the… Continue reading Writing the Story: It’s all about the Characters
