Ramblings of a Bookworm
Posted in Book Reviews, Fiction on Mar 18th, 2010
I’ve resisted reading Alexander McCall Smith’s books up to now partly because I couldn’t quite believe they would live up to my expectations and partly because I don’t like the style of the book covers. This one is quite off-putting because of its colours, which is really a trivial reason not to read a book. I am so [...]
Posted in Books, Fiction, Orange Prize for Fiction on Mar 17th, 2010
The Orange Prize for Fiction is awarded annually for the best fiction novel written by a woman. Here is this year’s longlist:
Rosie Alison The Very Thought of You
Eleanor Catton The Rehearsal
Clare Clark Savage Lands
Amanda Craig Hearts and Minds
Roopa Farooki The Way Things Look to Me
Rebecca Gowers The Twisted Heart
M.J. Hyland This is How
Sadie Jones Small Wars
Barbara [...]
Posted in Book Reviews, Teaser Tuesdays on Mar 16th, 2010
My teaser today is from Heartland by John MacKay, which I have just finished reading.
John MacKay is a Scottish broadcast journalist, television presenter and producer, who is currently the chief anchor for the Central Scotland edition of STV News at Six. This is his second book.
Heartland is about Iain Martin who returns to his home on [...]
Posted in Barbara Vine, Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Crime Fiction Alphabet on Mar 15th, 2010
Kerrie’s Crime Fiction Alphabet series moves towards the end of the alphabet and has now reached the letter ‘V’.
A Fatal Inversion was first published in 1987 and was reissued in 2009 by Penguin Books.
Although about a group of not very likeable characters I was drawn into the world of this mystery. In 1976 Adam, a university [...]
Posted in Books, Crime Fiction, Fiction, Sunday Salon on Mar 14th, 2010
Today is Mother’s Day and I’ll be spending some time reading my present from my son – Amos, Amas, Amat … And All That by Harry Mount. It’s been on my wishlist for some time now! And a nice change it will make from all the crime fiction I’ve been reading recently. From the back cover:
In this delightful [...]
Posted in Booking through Thursday, Books on Mar 11th, 2010
How do you feel about illustrations in your books? Graphs? Photos? Sketches?
I think illustrations are essential in some books and not in others. Non-fiction cries out for them. They enhance biographies for example. Cookery books without photos are just not as explanatory, they demonstrate how the cooked dish should look. Imagine travel books without photos or drawings [...]
Posted in Biography, Book Reviews, Daphne Du Maurier, Non-fiction on Mar 10th, 2010
Why do writers write? How do they go about it? What inspires them? The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories gives a glimpse into the mind of Daphne Du Maurier.
Du Maurier began to write Rebecca in 1937 when she was thirty years old, living in Alexandria and feeling homesick for Cornwall. She jotted down chapter summaries [...]
Posted in Books, Crime Fiction Alphabet, Fiction on Mar 8th, 2010
This week’s letter in Kerrie’s Crime Fiction Alphabet series is ‘U’.
I’ve chosen Umberto Eco, an Italian writer of post-modern fiction, full of allusions and references, using puzzles, playing with language, words and symbols.
I’ve read The Name of the Rose twice, some years ago now.It is a fantastic historical crime mystery novel set in a Franciscan monastery in 14th [...]
Posted in Books, Sunday Salon on Mar 7th, 2010
Could you give up reading for a week? That’s what Bibi van der Zee did. She wrote about it in yesterday’s Guardian. She was beginning to wonder if books were eating her up and whether they were some kind of drug.
I just can’t imagine not reading for that length of time. If I go for one [...]
Posted in Books, Cookery, Food, Non-fiction, Weekend Cooking on Mar 6th, 2010
Last week for my Weekend Cooking post I wrote about Italian cookbooks, so this week I thought I’d stay on the Continent and write about my French cookbooks. I only have four – two over 20 years old and two more recent. Three are by British food writers and one by a French woman writer.
The [...]
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Ramblings of a Bookworm
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