Tag: Reviews
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Slugs: a Manifesto
By Abi Palmer Makina Books, Paperback, £14 I came to Slugs having loved On Trampolining (by Rebecca Perry), the previous publication by Makina Books, and with very little notion of what it was about. My initial feelings about slugs varied from indifference to disgust, and I had no plans of learning more about them. So…
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The Year we Learned to Fly
By Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López Paperback £7.99 This bright and beautiful picture book opens with kids who are stuck indoors during endless rain and can’t think of anything to do… this is the start of so many children’s books. But this one is different. Grandmother helps the children fly using their imaginations, which take…
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Bothy: In Search of Simple Shelter
Kat Hill Paperback, £10.99 Bothys are small basic shelters, of varying degrees of comfort, in remote spots in Scotland and beyond. They provide refuge for walkers, and are beloved of many. This book on bothy stories and culture, will make you want to get out into the wilds, right now. I heard Kat Hill lecture…
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Who is John Blanke?
By Michael I Ohajuru (editor) Hardback £35 John Blanke was a Black trumpeter at the Tudor court, present in archival documents including a letter asking for a pay rise, and in a striking image from a vellum roll showing the celebrations of the birth of a son to Henry VIII. I felt I had been…
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The Ministry of Time
by Kaliane Bradley, paperback, £9.99 Silly, romantic, and stuffed with ideas, this hugely entertaining novel made me laugh at the snappy dialogue and gasp at the twists. The narrator is a civil servant who is assigned to look after one of several people who have arrived from the past. Her assignment is Commander Graham Gore,…
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Dead Animals
by Phoebe Stuckes Paperback, £9.99 It can be nerve-wracking when a well-remembered former colleague writes a book. Will we be in it? Will it be good? Declaration of interest: Phoebe Stuckes is that colleague, our former bookseller extraordinaire. And having been wowed by Phoebe’s poems in Platinum Blonde, I knew that her novel would be…
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Counterattacks at Thirty
By Won-pyung Sohn Hardback £16.99 I started reading Counterattacks at Thirty a week after turning thirty myself, and it has been a while since I have felt a strong connection with the main character of a novel. Kim Jihye is at the early stages of her career (read: internship); she lives in a poorly lit…
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Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob
By Huw Aaron Paperback £7.99 This is a very funny and fresh take on the going-to-bed-now picture book for little children. The parent and child Disgusting Blobs who are settling in for the night are appealing and cuddly despite dripping slime. A cast of those we are used to thinking of as baddies and monsters…
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The Years
By Annie Erneaux Paperback £13.99 I have read The Years to prepare for the play adaptation playing in the West End at the Harold Pinter theatre. I always try to read the book before I see any adaptation (whether it is a play or a film) and I am so glad I got to experience…
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Clear
Carys Davies is once again showing her talent in crafting the perfect short novel that combines enough action and character building to satisfy the most demanding reader. If you loved West, published in 2019, you must read Clear. Davies has carefully chosen each word to perfectly describe the remote Shetland Island and its only inhabitant,…
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Wintering
By Katherine May Paperback £12.99 Part autobiography, part nature writing, Wintering in its entirety is a beautiful poetic mediation on the importance of feeling one’s feelings. Katherine May is forced to rest when a family member suffers an illness and it leads to a time of seclusion and isolation. For fans of The Outrun or…
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Death at the Sanatorium
Ragnar Jónasson Paperback Need a pleasing mystery-to-curl-up-with on an autumn evening? I’ve just had the pleasure of reading Death at the Sanatorium. It fulfils all my criteria for a book to read as the equinox passes, trees change colour, and squirrels become frantic. It’s 2012 and Helgi, a young Icelandic criminologist, is writing his dissertation…
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Slow Travel Britain
I make no apology for not having finished this book before reviewing it. It’s designed to be taken slowly and savoured. In my case reading has been interspersed with many breaks for travel-related daydreaming and lazy planning. Have a look inside, to see what I mean. The subtitle, 22 mindful journeys across England, Scotland and…
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Black Artists Shaping the World
by Sharna Jackson Beautifully illustrated by Marilyn Esther Chi, this children’s guide to the work and lives of 14 inspirational artists is an absolute treat. Featuring images of key artworks, this is a book to read again and again. Black Artists Shaping the World includes some of my all-time favourites, including Lubaina Himid and Kehinde…
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The Man in Black and Other Stories
Elly Griffiths Paperback This is an excellent collection of short stories from the author of the Ruth Galloway mystery series. It was my ideal holiday read. I’ve read all of the Galloway books and was chuffed to get some further news of my favourite characters (including Flint the cat). Fans will recognise folks from other…
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Tales of London Town
by Joan Aiken Tales of London Town is a beautifully presented set of linked short novellas for children by Joan Aiken, one of my all-time favourite authors. She’s probably best known for her epic fantasy adventure series, the Wolves Chronicles, featuring The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. She also wrote a wide range of hugely entertaining…
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Saving Time – Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock
By Jenny Odell £10.99 paperback This looks like a classic self-help book, one designed to help the reader prioritise, or perhaps to be more mindful. I did find it helpful, and it was much more radical in argument and approach than I was expecting. Odell explores the invention of time as much of the world…
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Cairn
By Kathleen Jamie Paperback, £10.99 Cairn is a collection of micro essays, poems and thoughts from the Scottish writer. As ever her focus on nature is acute, and her writing is beautiful. Lovely minimalist illustrations complement the text. More present here than in previous works, perhaps, is the climate emergency. Jamie captures the grief of…
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