I’ve been a fan of Amanda Craig’s writing since reading Hearts and Minds (though The Lie of the Land is probably my favourite so far). This was, I believe, her first novel. It received mixed reviews upon its release, but has been re-issued because it features crossover characters with Craig’s later novels. And I’m READ MORE
Category: Sunday Review
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | ARE WE HAVING FUN YET? – LUCY MANGAN
Motherhood is hard. And that’s coming from a mother who has a supportive partner, doesn’t have to work and parent, and who has a secure home and food on the table. I’m incredibly privileged, something that I am highly aware of. I’ve got a lot of health issues – chronic medical conditions, ADHD that I’m READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF TANNER AND LOUISE
This was one of the books recommended to me (by Pam at Read! Bake! Create! – thank you!) when I discussed how much I enjoy intergenerational friendships. But this book has the refreshing twist of not just being about an intergenerational friendship, but being between two people who need each other and being quite the READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | HOW TO BE CHAMPION – SARAH MILLICAN
For those of you who aren’t familiar, Sarah Millican is a British comedian who I know, mostly, from her many appearances on the show QI. Being one of my all-time favourite shows, I’ve seen most of the episodes, so I’ve gotten the pleasure of seeing Millican in action many times as well. She has a READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER – FERN BRADY
I wish I could remember where I came across this book, because I owe the person who mentioned it to me a huge thank you. I’d never heard of Fern Brady before reading this book, but apparently she’s a well known Scottish comedian. This book, however, isn’t all fun and giggles, because it’s not READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE QUEEN AND I – SUE TOWNSEND
Sue Townsend is one of those authors I grew up with. Her Adrian Mole books were introduced to me by one of my cousins, Chris (I still have the copy of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 with his inscription in it), and were some of the first I couldn’t get enough READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BUCKET LIST – RUSSELL JONES
Let me be up front – I loved this book. It was recommended to me by Joanne over at Portobello Book Blog as a great book about intergenerational friendship, and boy was she ever on the mark! It’s the story of two people who, for different reasons, are having a hard time in thier READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | NOTHING TO DECLARE – MARY MORRIS
I first read this book when I was a teenager. I think it was shortly after I had discovered the travel memoir genre thanks to Frances Mayes’ Under the Tuscan Sun, Bill Bryson’s In A Sunburned Country and Peter Mayle’s A Year In Provence. I loved the armchair exploration of places and cultures I READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | KNIFE – SALMAN RUSHDIE
Salman Rushdie had been living under threat of assassination for more than three decades when he was finally attacked on stage in the summer of 2022. A man with a knife ran up to the stage and stabbed him multiple times before he began speaking. He survived the attack, but was left with some READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON – GILLIAN MACALLISTER
I decided to read this book because I loved Wrong Place Wrong Time by McAllister that I read before this one. It was such an exciting thriller with great pacing and interesting twists and turns – not to mention the unique premise! I wanted to see if there were other books by her that READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | SCATTER BRAIN – SHAPARAK KHORSANDI
Ever since my own diagnosis, I’ve been on the hunt for books by and about other women who also have ADHD – especially those who, like me, went most of their lives with absolutely no idea they had it. It’s a special type of trauma to spend your life feeling like all the things READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | I AM, I AM, I AM – MAGGIE O’FARRELL
Maggie O’Farrell is quickly becoming an author who I just know, before I even read the blurb, will deliver. I’ve only read three of her books so far, and each has been completely different (first was Hamnet which is a fictional novel about Shakespeare’s family, then Instructions for a Heatwave which is about a READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | SPLINTERS – LESLIE JAMISON
I was intrigued by the blurb of this book, because I’ve really been enjoying memoirs written by women who are around my age who are writing about what it means to be a mother, and further to that, what particular challenges are thrown down for mothers in this day and age. Jamison dives head-first READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME – GILLIAN MCALLISTER
Wow. That’s the one word version of this review. I can’t believe it took me this long to finally read this blockbuster book, or that I went into it with zero idea what I was getting into. Honestly, I think that’s probably the best way to experience it, so if you want to go READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | IS THIS ANYTHING? – JERRY SEINFELD
Thanks to the 90s TV show, it feels as if Seinfeld has been part of the backdrop of popular culture for most of my life. I wasn’t an early devotee to Seinfeld – I saw the odd episode here and there, I knew who Kramer and George Costanza were, but I didn’t go out READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | I’LL SHOW MYSELF OUT – JESSI KLEIN
I love this new genre of books written by mothers – often middle-aged ones – that tell the nitty gritty truth of what it’s actually like to make, birth, and raise tiny humans in today’s world. Spoiler alert: not easy. In this collection of essays, Jessi Klein explodes the cult of silence that has READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BOMB SHELTER – MARY LAURA PHILPOTT
In Bomb Shelter Mary Laura Philpott introduces herself while lying upside down on her living room floor, rendered immobile at the age of forty-four by two herniated discs. While she’s down there, she ruminates on memories of her family, Christmases past, the house they share, and thinks about how she ended up there. But READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE MESSY LIVES OF BOOK PEOPLE – PHAEDRA PATRICK
When we meet Liv, she is in a situation many of us have faced in our lives. Her life is spent on jobs that are necessary but not enjoyable – her work life is spent cleaning offices and homes for people who see through her and don’t notice or care much about the work READ MORE