We’re now half-way through the year and time to have a look back at some of the great books I’ve read this year. I’ve been very lucky – so far the lowest rating I’ve given a book is 3/5 so it’s definitely been a success. About half of the books I’ve read have been 2015 releases…
Archives for June 2015
Little Black Lies
29 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
Can you imagine taking the life of another person? Would you have the ability to deliberately kill someone? That’s the question that Catrin Quinn, one of the three main characters of Sharon Bolton’s Little Black Lies, asks herself on the very first page…
The Rosie Project
26 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
Since starting this website, I’ve been lucky enough to receive a number of proofs and review copies of books from publishers and there’s something a little bit exciting about seeing lists of the best recent releases and knowing that I’ve either read them or (more normally) have a copy just waiting to be read…
The Temporary Bride
25 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
I learned a new word today – sonder. It’s the realisation that each random passer-by is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. It’s a lovely word and feeling. We walk past people on the street and we know nothing about their lives, they don’t exist in full form to us the way that our friends and families do…
Top Ten: 1997 Films
24 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
A couple of years ago I listed my Top Ten films from 2001, a post that was inspired by a Facebook discussion. As I’ve not been making it to the cinema as often as I’d life recently, I’ve decided to repeat the exercise for a few different years – it might even come to be a series as I approach my 40th birthday…
After the Crash
23 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
Time for a confession – I’m terrified of flying, I hate it with a passion. There are so many strange noises and bumps and dangers that I don’t understand and can’t control. I have recurring dreams where I either witness a plane crash or am on a plane which is taking off in the middle of a city centre…
The Equalizer
22 June 2015 by 2 Comments
I’m just about old enough to remember the Edward Woodward television programme, The Equalizer, a drama about a former intelligence operative who acts as a private avenger saving downtrodden New Yorkers from various evil-doers. For the late 80s the show was remarkably violent…
How I Lost You
19 June 2015 by 2 Comments
Imagine being told by your husband, medical staff, police and the courts that you have killed your baby – despite having no memory of the event, would you believe what you were told? Susan Webster was convicted of the post-natal depression related manslaughter of her 12-week old son Dylan…
The Fault in our Stars
17 June 2015 by 2 Comments
I’m a crier. I cry at films and TV shows all the time, I’ve even been known to cry at TV commercials (and not just the annual John Lewis advert designed to tug at the heartstrings and send you to the High Street). When I sat down to watch The Fault in Our Stars, a film about teenagers with cancer…
The Little Paris Bookshop
15 June 2015 by Leave a Comment
There’s something wonderful about books – they take us into a different world. It can be a world of romance or danger. It can be a past world or a completely alien world. Books can make us happy, or sad, or help to heal pain. The central character of Nina George’s novel The Little Paris Bookshop…