As part of my coverage of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee I reviewed Sue Townsend’s The Queen and I. I wasn’t entirely sold on it, it was fine but not brilliant. I was a huge fan of Adrian Mole when I was younger though so when my mum passed me her copy of The Woman who Went to Bed for a Year…
Top Ten: Christmas Present Books
14 December 2015 by Leave a Comment
A few days ago I published my top ten books of 2015, these are the books that appealed to me most during the year. I am aware though that these aren’t ten books that will appeal to everyone else. Here are ten books that I think would make brilliant Christmas presents for various family and friends…
We’re No Angels
18 November 2015 by Leave a Comment
For the past two years we have had a dreadful, dreadful internet connection. Our estate didn’t have fibre and the connection speed was worse than in the bad old dial-up days. No Netflix, no Amazon Prime, no Spotify. It was the very epitome of a first world problem…
The 12 Dates of Christmas
16 November 2015 by Leave a Comment
I’ve been getting lots of proofs of Christmas books recently and they all look great fun. This is shaping up to be a fabulous November and December for fans of fun and frothy romance stories. My latest Christmas read is Lisa Dickenson’s The 12 Dates of Christmas…
A Proper Family Adventure
24 August 2015 by Leave a Comment
I have a wonderful friend who works in the cruise industry who has occasionally invited me to join him on the ocean waves. For one reason or another I’ve not yet been able to take him up on the offer, even though I’ve always wanted to experience a cruise holiday…
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
19 August 2015 by Leave a Comment
One of the films I’ve enjoyed most in the past few years is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The story of a group of old people who go to live in India was genuinely heart-warming and blessed with a fabulous cast of the best of British acting talent including Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith…
Top Ten: 2015 Reads (So far…)
30 June 2015 by 2 Comments
We’re now half-way through the year and time to have a look back at some of the great books I’ve read this year. I’ve been very lucky – so far the lowest rating I’ve given a book is 3/5 so it’s definitely been a success. About half of the books I’ve read have been 2015 releases…
It’s Not Me It’s You
2 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
I try not to judge a book on its first few pages, I like to get into the narrative before I make any judgments. Of course there are some books where this doesn’t work – I couldn’t read more than the first four or five pages of Anne Enright’s The Gathering…
The Grand Budapest Hotel
13 April 2014 by Leave a Comment
Normally I like to go and see films the week that they are released. It’s good for getting reviews up while the film is fresh in everyone’s minds and it means that I don’t have to actively avoid spoilers. It’s not always possible and the past month or so has been a bit of a nightmare in terms of getting to the cinema so I’m only now catching up with some recent releases…
Little Beach Street Bakery
12 March 2014 by 4 Comments
If you like romantic novels with wonderful settings, likeable characters and evocative descriptions of food this is the perfect book for you. Jenny Colgan is an author at the very top of her game and an undoubted master of her genre…