review

The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

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I was so excited when The Night Circus dropped through my letterbox. This review at Top Floor Corner was the first of many that intrigued me. This is the fifth book that I read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge.

I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but there’s something about this simple yet elegant front cover that made me want to start The Night Circus immediately. And it turned out to be the perfect book to read as autumn approached.

The Night Circus is everything that I had been promised. It’s enchanting, bewitching and all sorts of other magical words. The book is long and detailed enough for the reader to fully lose themselves in the world of  the circus and the main characters. In fact, I could quite happily have carried on reading forever… or even better, ran off and joined the circus!  Continue reading →

The Harbour Bookshop – St. Ives

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This is the second bookshop I visited in St. Ives. It’s not exactly a big town, and with the St. Ives Bookseller just around the corner, you might think there’s no need for another bookshop. But I say that you can never have too many bookshops!

(Sorry for the terrible picture!) Continue reading →

The Magus – John Fowles

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Phew! It’s taken me a long time to write this post. I haven’t been too sure what to say about The Magus. It’s one of those books that has left me speechless. This is the fourth book that I’ve read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge. After reading this intriguing post by The Book Whisper, I couldn’t wait to get hold of a copy to see what all the fuss was about!

I was pretty daunted before reading the book, and even downloaded a dictionary app, so that I wouldn’t have to pester whoever happened to be around while I was reading to tell me what words such as ‘acroterion’, ‘kylix’,  ‘ormolu’, ‘detumescence’ and ‘algesonic’ meant. I could go on, but would prefer not to show off just how limited my vocabulary is. So, there are quite a few difficult words in the book, but was I, as The Book Whisperer promised, ‘blown away’ by it? Well, not really. Continue reading →

Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman

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I borrowed this book from a rat loving friend, who first picked it up because of the front cover. She had nothing but good things to say about it (probably because in the story, rats are treated like royalty!), and told me that it felt a bit like an adult version of Harry Potter.  It seems to me that readers are always trying to fill the Harry Potter shaped hole in their bookshelves. One of the things I most loved about Harry Potter was the fact that it was set in a school, so I’ve always found it a bit hard to imagine an adult version. But still, my interest was piqued!

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Bonjour Tristesse – Françoise Sagan

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Bonjour TristesseI first heard of Bonjour Tristesse through a review at Literary Relish (which I highly suggest you read!) and after that, reviews started popping up on other blogs all over the Internet. The plot sounded intriguing and so when I saw it on the shelf at Oxfam, I took it as a sign.

It’s a very small book and reminds me a bit of another skinny, French novel by Colette. Written ten years after Gigi, Bonjour Tristesse also revolves around a rebellious girl, living an odd – and in those times shocking – lifestyle. In Cécile’s case however, the lifestyle is a luxury of endless lazy days and late night parties. Since her mother’s death a couple of years earlier, she’s been living with her libertine father, Raymond. Together they are happy taking life as it comes and enjoying every moment. Continue reading →

The Story of Art – E.H. Gombrich

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There are many different editions of The Story of Art, but I’m happy with my slightly scruffy twelfth-edition, which my mum received for Christmas in 1975. She passed it on to me about eight years ago, when I expressed an interest in art history. It’s taken awhile, but I’ve finally managed to read the whole book.

I can’t say that I’m now an expert, but this book has given me a well-rounded introduction to the history of art, starting with the cave paintings of the prehistoric and primitive peoples. From there we learn about Ancient Egyptian art, then travel to more adventurous art in Greece. We learn about how art was born, how it changed, when it was stifled and when it thrived. Gombrich takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through the different ages, explaining how art adapted for different purposes, how artists experimented and how other nations and generations influenced the next stage in the history of art. Continue reading →

Blackberry Wine – Joanne Harris

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Now this is truly a scrumptious treat of a book. I picked it off the shelf when we were having a long awaited summer heat-wave in July. It’s just the right sort of book for a lazy summer’s day. It’s not too deep, not too troubling and has whiffs of magic. I do like a bit of magic in my books sometimes.

The story and it’s main characters are introduced by a bottle of wine – a Fleurie 1962, to be exact. I do like wine, but am not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to grape varieties. Luckily, this book isn’t all about wine, although there is something magical about the ‘Specials, 1975’.

The ‘Specials’ are six dusty bottles in Jay Mackintosh’s basement. They contain a strong, home-brewed wine made by a long lost friend, and are filled with memories and magic. Continue reading →

Antiquariaat POLK – Amsterdam

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I’ve already spoken about the amazing Singel Canal in Amsterdam that has THREE bookshops in a row. The first one my boyfriend and I visited had wooden floors, high ceilings and a peaceful, airy atmosphere. The second bookshop we came to was quite the opposite. But no windows and cold, artificial lighting can’t put me off, especially when there are brightly coloured bargain boxes outside to lure me in!
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The House on the Strand – Daphne du Maurier

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At the beginning of July, I went on a not-so-summery holiday to Cornwall. We were a lovely half-hour coastal walk from St. Ives, where I found plenty of delightful tea shops and brilliant bookshops to keep me more than happy on the rainy and windy days when others braved the beach. It was in a very friendly Oxfam Bookshop that I found The House on the Strand. I was about half way through the week, struggling with a book that I wasn’t really in the mood for, and had a sudden craving for Daphne du Maurier. Is there a better place to read her books than Cornwall?

When I tried to explain the plot, I was simply laughed at: The narrator, Richard Young is going through a bit of a mid-life crisis and after quitting his job as a publisher, escapes to his old university friend Magnus’ house in Cornwall. He has one week until his wife and step children turn up and his dear friend has asked a rather odd favour. Magnus, a biophysicist, has created a secret drug that can take you back in time by 600 years (that’s the bit where people start laughing) and asks Richard to be his guinea pig. My biggest problem with this book is that it’s just too unrealistic. But however silly the storyline sounds, Daphne du Maurier manages to make it a chillingly serious tale.  Continue reading →

Alias Grace – Margaret Atwood

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When I saw this in the Oxfam bookshop at only £2.49, I simply had to grab it before someone else did! I was told by a fellow volunteer that Alias Grace was ‘the most accessible Atwood book’. Not that I was worried – I’ve never had a problem getting stuck into one of her books before, in fact it’s always been the opposite. So, I was quite confused with how long it took me to start enjoying this book. Was it me? Alias Grace has all the ingredients for an unputdownable, thrilling read – a real life, infamous Canadian murder, a woman incarcerated for years, while her supposed paramour is hanged – so why was I finding it so hard to get into? Continue reading →