Week beginning 27 April 2022

This week is an indulgence of Indian Pacific travel, and little else. Although I have read while travelling, I’ve been too busy to review those books. Instead, I include one from my NetGalley list. This is Judy Haydock’s The Lives of Diamond Bessie published by Spark Press, 2022 The Lives of Diamond Bessie is aContinue reading “Week beginning 27 April 2022”

Week beginning 20 April 2022

This week is going to have an Australian theme, beginning with my review of an Australian author’s book, set in the Australian town of Ballarat. The uncorrected proof was provided to me by NetGalley. Robbi Neal The Secret World of Connie Starr Harlequin Australia HQ, June 2022. Robbi Neal has written this book in partContinue reading “Week beginning 20 April 2022”

Week beginning 13 April 2022

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review. Matthew Green Shadowlands A Journey Through Lost Britain  Faber and Faber Ltd 2022 Shadowlands is a beautiful blend of poignancy, social commentary, journeys in landscapes that tell a range of stories of secrecy, joy and sorrow, and a historyContinue reading “Week beginning 13 April 2022”

Week beginning 6 April 2022

This week, the review of a book about spinsterhood in which it is claimed that there are few positive images of spinsters in fiction, moved me to write about the spinsters that are an important part of Barbara Pym’s fiction. Pym gave a positive, often comic, and sometimes trenchant, voice to the spinsters in herContinue reading “Week beginning 6 April 2022”

Week beginning March 30 2022

I am catching up on some reviews written a while ago, and not posted to this blog. They have been posted on Good Reads, Twitter and Linked In as part of the process of reviewing for NetGalley. Donna Leon Give unto Others  Grove Atlantic Atlantic Monthly Press, 2022. Reading a Donna Leon is always delightful.Continue reading “Week beginning March 30 2022”

Week beginning 23 March 2022

Two non-fiction books are reviewed this week. One, Alison Ripley Cubitt’s Misadventures in the Screen Trade was an easy read. The other, When Hope and History Rhyme Natural Law and Human Rights from Ancient Greece to Modern America by Douglas Burgess was not so easy, but introduced such a wealth of ideas and engrossing analysisContinue reading “Week beginning 23 March 2022”

Week beginning 16 March 2022

The books reviewed this week are both fiction. They were sent to me by NetGalley for review. Lisa Unger’s Last Girl Ghosted and the inspiring story of the women’s march to Washington by thousands of women after the election of former President Trump have feminist themes. On the March by Trudy Krisher is a particularlyContinue reading “Week beginning 16 March 2022”

Week beginning 9th March 2022

NetGalley provided me with the uncorrected proof of Lisa Z. Lindahl’s Unleash the Girls The Untold Story of the Invention of the Sports Bra and How It Changed the World (And Me) in exchange for an honest review. Lisa Z. Lindahl Unleash the Girls The Untold Story of the Invention of the Sports Bra andContinue reading “Week beginning 9th March 2022”

Week beginning 2 March 2022

Reviewing Tom Stoppard A Life was an interesting process – looming large was the question ‘How did I enjoy the plays of this conservative person who, in my opinion, dined too many times with Margaret Thatcher? The closest I could come to recalling any sense of political unease was at the end of seeing NightContinue reading “Week beginning 2 March 2022”

Week beginning 23 February 2022

Clare Chambers The Editor’s Wife Arrow Books, Penguin Random House 2021. The Editor’s Wife is a complex novel, with some seemingly simple elements that add to the storyline so successfully that it is not until later that their wider impact becomes clear. Contrary to the title, which foreshadows one woman as the focal point, anotherContinue reading “Week beginning 23 February 2022”