Bookshelf

Tell Me A Tale – Various Authors

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tell_me_a_tale

Last year I helped Fluster Magazine organise a short story competition. Twenty winning stories were chosen to be published in an anthology by Armida Publications. For about two months, I watched whilst stories upon stories sped into my inbox, and spent countless sunny afternoons reading through them all. Judging the entries was a lot harder than I had anticipated. To me, there were a few very clear winners, but there were many stories that I simply could not choose between!

Helping with the Tell Us A Tale competition was such a privilege and seeing the finished anthology made me swell with pride. All of the hard work and almost impossible choices were worth it in the end!  Continue reading →

North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell

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I loved everything about the BBC adaptation of North and South (especially Richard Armitage as Mr. Thornton!) so I was very eager to read the book by Elizabeth Gaskell. Possibly watching the series first was a mistake, as it definitely made me biased towards certain characters. I believe that I would feel very differently about the book if I had read it first.

Margaret Hale, who has spent much of her life in London is returning to her family home in Helstone. When Gaskell describes the southern hamlet that Margaret loves so much, it sounds like heaven. Unfortunately for Margaret, her stay in Helstone is not to be permanent due to her father, the local pastor, refusing to renew his vows. The family leave behind their peaceful life in Helstone and move to the grimy, dirty and noisy industrial town of Milton, where Mr. Hale plans to become a tutor. Continue reading →

The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien

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The-Hobbit

About fourteen years ago, my dad took me to see a stage production of The Hobbit. I enjoyed it so much that we went out the very next day to buy the book. I distinctly remember browsing through all of the different copies trying to decide which one to get. Eventually I went with the most expensive copy. The front cover and beautiful illustrations throughout the story were too special to say no to! I have never regretted my choice and my book is only a little battered, but still just as bright and bold as when I first read it.

That night, I delved into Middle Earth and never looked back! I have read The Hobbit a number of times since and loved it just as much every time. It’s been a few years since I’ve read Bilbo’s tale though, and recently, in a bit of a book slump, I suddenly felt an urge to pick it up again.  Continue reading →

True Pleasures: A Memoir of Women in Paris – Lucinda Holdforth

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True Pleasures

I came across this review of True Pleasures: A Memoir of Women in Paris at Alex in Leeds’ blog and immediately thought it sounded like something I’d be interested in. Luckily for me, I then won a copy!

I spent a very lovely weekend curled up with this book, dreaming of Paris. I’ve been to Paris a couple of times, but simply haven’t spent enough time there to know my way around. Lots of people (including members of my family) fall passionately in love with Paris, but I have never had a chance to share that passion – Italy is my love! Lucinda Holdforth, however, is one of those people. Like many before her, she is attracted to the city and is full of admiration for the women that live there.

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The Casual Vacancy – J.K. Rowling

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I was not blown away by The Casual Vacancy and hadn’t expected to be, even though there’s (obviously) been a lot of interest surrounding J.K. Rowling’s first book since the Harry Potter series. The plot summary sounded dull and most of the reviews seemed a bit disappointing. I was still very happy to receive a copy for Christmas, because even if I wasn’t expecting great things, I was still curious.

The Casual Vacancy is a bit like a boring soap opera that is trying to be edgy. The book follows the lives of several residents of the small town of Pagford, with the central plot being the recent death of Barry Fairbrother and the space on the local parish council that has opened up because of it. I’m not interested in small town politics at the best of times, but add petty gossip into the mix and I can be quite put off.  Continue reading →

Kissing the Witch – Emma Donoghue

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Kissing the Witch

This review at Iris on Books caught my eye a few months ago and the book was added to my wish list straight away.

I read Kissing the Witch in two sittings because, although it’s a collection of short stories, I found it hard to put down. Reading this chain of stories is like opening a Russian doll. The further in you get, the more surprises you find. Each tale is connected to the one before, with the secondary character from the first telling her own story, and then passing on the pen to the next woman. The readers are kept interested because they want to learn more about the character and understand why they have become a witch, a fairy Godmother or how they came to live a secluded life in a cave. Continue reading →

Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

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Great ExpectationsI feel as though I have known the story of Pip for most of my life. I have vague memories of listening to audio books and watching adaptations. Maybe that is why I have never felt a real need to pick up the actual book and read it.

The beginning is pretty much exactly how I expected it to be. All the characters seemed to be just as I had seen them before; the scary convict, the kindly Joe Gargery, the nasty sister, stuck up Estella and timid little Pip. Even Miss Havisham didn’t seem any different to how she has been portrayed. It’s not until half way through that I began to feel as though I was coming to the story for the first time. Possibly I’ve not paid as much attention to that part of the story when watching adaptations? Continue reading →

A Feast for Crows – George R. R. Martin

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Try as I might, I find it hard to stay away from this series for long. It’s especially difficult not to move on to A Dance with Dragons after A Feast for Crows because many questions have been left unanswered! (NOTE: If you have not finished A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm if Swords Part 1: Steel and Snow or A Storm of Swords Part 2: Blood and Gold you will find some spoilers in this post).

I spent much of A Feast for Crows going between two feelings; frustration and excitement. With the huge cliffhanger at the end of the previous book; Littlefinger pushing his new wife out of the moon door, I was desperate to jump right back into Sansa’s storyline. Continue reading →

The Weird Sisters – Eleanor Brown

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The Weird Sisters

This is the tenth book I read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge. I was hesitant to read The Weird Sisters, but this review at Reading with Tea persuaded me to give it a go.

Ever since I studied it at school, Macbeth has been the only Shakespeare play that I’ve felt I can get on with, (not that I’ve given his others much of a chance) and the three weird sisters were immediately my favourite characters. That’s why I was slightly reluctant to read this book, I didn’t want my idea of them to be turned into something sappy. Continue reading →

Just Kids – Patti Smith

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Just-Kids-

I’m not too familiar with Patti Smith’s work, so I probably never would have thought about reading Just Kids if it weren’t for this short but intriguing review at bluntsbookblog. This is the ninth book I’ve read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge.

Just Kids is the fulfillment of a promise Patti Smith made to Robert Mapplethorpe in their last ever conversation before he died, “Will you write our story? … no one but you can write it”. When I sat down one lazy (and slightly hungover) Sunday morning to read it, I had no idea how much of an effect the book would have on me. I spent the rest of that day with my eyes glued to the pages and my mind in 1970’s New York. Continue reading →