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The Summer of the Bear is one of those family-centred stories that will appeal to most people who enjoy making jam and going for walks along the blustery Scottish coast. Although I have yet to do that latter, I still thoroughly engaged with this book and the tight family unit that the story orbits around. Split between Bonn, Germany and the Outer Hebrides of Scotland,...

This was one of the most talked about books on The TV Book Club list and I can vouch for it being one of the most refreshing summer reads. Don't get me wrong, this book isn't for everyone, but I munched through it so quickly that by the time I had stopped to think if it was for me I was finishing the...

An independent young woman A mysterious young man An unlimited supply of black and white material An array of cats, candles, twigs and/or branches A complicated pre-destined agreement A house that both welcomes and confuses A circus train A brave young boy Courageous flame-haired twins A whole load of make-believe An assortment of jars of various sizes And one man who can make...

I read Night Road before going on holiday and I have to say I wasn't expecting much from it. I hadn't come across Kristin Hannah before and I hadn't really seen any publicity for this novel. I was really surprised to find that a day later I had finished the book and was ready to read it all over again. Kristin admits to...

Strewth Bruce, what a month August has been! A holiday in (very sunny I'll have you know) Cornwall, a joining of the wonderful SYP committee, and a brother moving to Japan - all very exciting and all distracting my blog entries. I've also been making a very snazzy WordPress site and once I am ready I shall link you all and you shall...

Sounds gross right? Well it pretty much is - it is also marvellous and stuffed full with villainy. This story is told by 5 different people, aristocrats Marcella and Minguillo Fasan, medical assistant doctor Santo, Peruvian nun Lor Soreto and manservant Gianni. Michelle Lovric stitches her book together with these five strands and by doing so she sculptures a 3D story that can...

The Man in the Moon by William Joyce looks to be one of the most exciting children's books I have seen in a while. It has yet to be released in Canada (and I presume America) so it might take a while to get over here but as soon as it does I will definitely be snapping it up! Publishers Simon & Schuster released a...

Being an unusually hot week in London, I decided it was too hot to carry a book, so leapt back into the cooling Kindle lagoon. Not only was I pleasantly surprised that after reading three of her books, I still enjoyed Trisha's 'chick lit' but I also found it a slight relief, as the other books I am reading recently seem to be...

Yesterday I ventured into a brilliant independent bookshop in Wimbledon called Copperfield's Second Hand Bookshop. I won't bore you with all the details as I was in there for ages and looked slightly suspicious as I cruised around the shelves gawping at the vast range of books stacked so neatly in such an efficient way. The important thing is that I found a...

Book three for me out of the TV Book Club list and so far it has been my favourite. At times the subject matter is hard to digest as the institutionalisation of children and adults is such a delicate topic. There is no skirting around the edges when it comes to discussing child abuse, humiliation and degradation. Grace Williams is just eleven when she is sent to...

Reviewing a book by Terry Pratchett is like walking into a garden centre and telling the head gardener that roses are really quite wonderful. It doesn't really need to be done. Everything he writes is literally (and I use this word in the most literal sense) magical. So for that reason this review is purely self-indulgent as it gives me a chance to...

This book is both creepy and disturbing and that's exactly what it is intended to be. Through a swift and light-hearted narrative the novel captures the reader by drawing you in to the mind of a seemingly friendly and fun girl. However, the water does not remain calm, so to speak, as soon you are dragged under by a strong current which takes...

Last Thursday I was treated to a night at the theatre. We went to see Chicken Soup with Barley the rejuvenated 1950's play by Arnold Wesker. Focusing on a Jewish family and spanning 20 years from 1936 to 1956, this extraordinary play blurs the lines between realism and idealism. Sarah Kahn is an East End Jewish mother, fighting to protect her family from...

Well this was the second book I read from the TV Book Club list and I have to say I was more than a tad disappointed. Bear in mind that I am a ginormous fan of Gothic literature and vampires pretty much float my boat. But recently I feel there's been a smidgen more than overkill (excuse the pun) on this genre.  The Radleys is great if...

Just to be clear the 1/8 means it is the first of the 8 books that I have read out of the pile sent by the lovely people at the TV Book Club, I don't think it's the first they have discussed. I am so glad I started with this book, it's that lovely chunky size which means you can really chew on...

This week I have had a bit of a teen-fiction splurge, starting with Alan Gibbons' An Act of Love and finishing today with Ally Carter's Only the Good Spy Young. Call me fickle but I did enjoy Only the Good Spy Young a fraction more. I was in the sort of mood where I could quite easily get lost in a fictional boarding school for...

Hurrah! The postman delivered two very large parcels for me today. Ok, yes I wasn't in and the lovely postman waited all of 20 seconds for my doting partner to stumble down the stairs and skid through the hallway. Luckily said partner is quite the intrepid explorer, and not satisfied with the little red card shoved through the letterbox, he rather heroically legged...

I found this novel incredibly moving and at times challenging. Alan Gibbons' explores the relationships of two young boys as they grow up in a community torn by the war on terror. Tracing the paths as they grown into young men, Gibbons' challenges the often judgemental eye of society and highlights the dangers of assumptions.Fantastically written and gripping from the first page, this...

If you get time this month I would strongly suggest you put on the kettle and read this novel.  I will warn you that you should choose your spot wisely as you will not be getting up anytime in the near future. This is one of those 'down it in one' books.  Published by Legend Press (a bloody good publishing house between you...

When Grandma recommends a book to me, 9 times out of 10 it is one of those rare books that I will end up reading time and time again.  Ferney is no exception.    Set in rural Somerset this novel follows the entwining paths of two soulmates, Ferney and Gally, as the surrounding hills remain the constant landmark in their ever changing lives. What...

This book was a bit of an odd choice for me - I grabbed it based on front cover alone and took a risk ignoring the blurb. And it paid off! The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W. Durrow is to be quite frank one of the most depressing books I have ever voluntarily read but is also strangely liberating and...

Knowing little about the colonial war in Algeria I dived into this novel blindly searching for a history I had yet to learn. Set in 1961 and spanning 50 years, Suzanne Ruta's To Algeria, With Love is a tragically composed account of both political and romantic affairs. The retrospective tone to the novel sheds a regretful light on the protagonist Louise as she slowly...

Hurrah! Forward Poetry is releasing an anthology of poems associated with service men and women past and present and That Dark Suit  has been chosen to be in the collection. This has made me quite giddy and ever so slightly gob-smacked. The Colour of War  is being published 30th June 2011 and will be sent to libraries and museums across the UK as...

After a recommendation I decided to try out South Africa's best-selling crime writer Deon Meyer. 13 Hours has the reader clock-watching from the start, hurtling you forwards into the aftermath of a gory murder of a young American tourist. Meyer's main character Detective Inspector Benny Griessel is a recovering alcoholic, bouncing on the pulse of Cape Town and with everything to prove. Allocated as mentor to the...

Wowzer what a month April has been! The London Book Fair kicked off with a buzzing start for its fortieth year  and Earls Court was heaving. I went along on the Sunday to set up our stand and  to be honest I was doubting that it would all be ready for the Monday morning opening. It felt like one of those horrific Changing...

From the author that gave us the award winning The Cutting Room comes Naming the Bones a mysterious novel set in a dark and meloncholy Scotland. The protagonist, Murray Watson is a university lecturer who has dabbled in a love affair that could ruin his career. Taking a sabbatical, he decides to dedicate his time to  researching the poet who has inspired his academic studies and...

Last Saturday I took a rather early train from London Paddington to the sunny if a tad windy city of Oxford for the Sunday Times Literary Festival. OK, so admittedly the Children's Laureate Launch was aimed at children and their dedicated parents but I figured I could subtly hand my ticket in and join the mass of Jacqueline Wilson, Anne Fine, Michael Rosen...

I've recently read alot of novels set either in Britain or America and decided enough was enough. I wanted to read about a country I have never been to before and have little knowledge of. So I chose The Deer Wedding by Penny Simpson an English author who has set her beautiful novel in the heart of Croatia. Through working on a production...

On a mild March evening members of The Society of Young Publishers met at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Square to drink a glass of wine and to discuss the accelerated development the Russian publishing market. It was fascinating and one of those times where you are alerted to the fact that you know nothing about much, including Russian literature and the incredible path it...

Did I tell you, I dreamt of you the other night?Your were standing on a creaky old sailing boat-Like the picture we have of you at home,You had on a dark silk scarf wrapped around your hair,And a dragonfly brooch pinned to your lapel. I walked along the sun-bleached planks,And stood before you,No longer a three-year old but a full grown woman,You took my hand...

As it is St. Patrick's Day I thought I would add a topical post to the blog. One of my favorite plays has to be Translations by Brian Friel written in 1980. I studied it for A levels and haven't forgotten it since. The play is about a rural village in Donegal and its inhabitants who are experiencing a brash intrusion from English...

One of the many perks of my job is that I sometimes get sneak peaks of books that are newly released, and Love You More was one of them. I read it in two days - and considering I work full-time that meant I spent all my free time reading this book, I just couldn't put it down. It's a crime thriller based around...