Sometimes the title and premise of a book is so intriguing that, even before you’ve read any other reviews, you know it’s a must read. For me The Life and Death of Sophie Stark was one of those books. Anna North’s debut novel has impressed critics…
The Woman Who Fed The Dogs
1 July 2015 by Leave a Comment
There are some crimes which are so hideous that they attract world-wide attention, names of (mostly) men who have committed acts so wicked that they spread beyond the borders of their own countries. One of these men is Marc Dutroux, a Belgian paedophile and child murderer…
The Little Paris Bookshop
15 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
There’s something wonderful about books – they take us into a different world. It can be a world of romance or danger. It can be a past world or a completely alien world. Books can make us happy, or sad, or help to heal pain. The central character of Nina George’s novel The Little Paris Bookshop…
The Versions of Us
12 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
I’ve often wondered what would have happened with my life if I had attended the girls’ school that my mum wanted me to go to rather than the local comprehensive that I did. Would I have gone to college and met my best friend? Would I have studied law or medicine…
Jakob’s Colours
20 April 2015 by Leave a Comment
Regular readers will know that I have an especial interest in the Holocaust and genocide. I’ve been lucky enough to work in Holocaust remembrance and with Holocaust and genocide survivors. I’m not an expert by any means but even though I’ve moved on from that job I’m still fascinated by stories of the Holocaust…
Hausfrau
30 March 2015 by Leave a Comment
It’s not easy moving to another country, I only moved from Glasgow to Weymouth when I left home after university and it was a huge culture shock. It took me a while to get used to my new home. Even now, 15 years on, England is still a bit of a foreign country…
The Greenhouse
1 December 2011 by Leave a Comment
Last year, along with my husband and a couple of friends, I embarked on a challenge we called EuroFifty. We intended to visit all 50 countries in Europe within one year. Unfortunately we didn’t quite manage to visit the entire continent…
Man Booker longlist announced
3 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
The longlist for the 2011 Man Booker Prize has been announced. Early bookies’ favourite is former winner Alan Hollinghurst with The Stranger’s Child but I’m really pleased to see four first-time novelists included on the list and they certainly can’t be ruled out at this stage. I tend to dislike Booker winners finding them self-indulgent and rather dull, but each year I read the list and pick up the winner. I hope this year’s will be one that I love, maybe 2011 is my year?