Bill Bryson is a fixture in the world of travel writing, and for good reason. His books have long been favourites of mine, and this one may very well be top of the pile. I read it a couple of decades ago, and have been wanting to re-read it pretty much ever since. Not READ MORE
Category: Book Review
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GROWING OLD – ELIZABETH MARSHALL THOMAS
If things go to plan, growing old is something we all expect to face at some point. When we are young – like, really young – we don’t feel as if this is the truth. Older people, even those our parents’ age, seem like a whole different species. Then we make it to adulthood, READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | HIDDEN NATURE – ALYS FOWLER
Anyone who has been familiar with Alys Fowler for any length of time knows her most as a gardener. She was a presenter on Gardener’s World, and had her own mini-series called The Edible Garden in which she used a combination of polyculture and foraging to grow and find most of the fruit and READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE FORTNIGHT IN SEPTEMBER – R.C. SHERRIFF
I love discovering quiet books that have completely escaped my notice for years, but that suddenly become reading experiences that irrevocably change my internal literary landscape. This is one such book. It was published in 1931, and written by a WWI survivor who had come to fame when he wrote a play, Journey’s End, READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BETWEEN THE STOPS – SANDI TOKSVIG
Sandi Toksvig is a legend. She has lived an amazingly interesting life, she is hilarious, smart, knowledgeable and has a voice I could listen to for days. (I have, actually.) She is not only a writer, but a comedian, a former presenter of The Great British Bake Off, and took over as host of READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | PAGEBOY – ELLIOT PAGE
I, like many people, have been following Elliot Page’s career for years. He has a wonderful ability as an actor to evoke emotion in the viewer. I’ve loved films from Juno to Whip It to Hard Candy, but I’ve always felt an edge to his work. Not quite cynicism, but definitely a feeling of READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE GREAT UNEXPECTED – DAN MOONEY
Why had I not heard of this book before? I wouldn’t have ever discovered it if it hadn’t been on sale through one of my audiobook sites, and I’m so grateful it was. This is the story of Joel, an elderly man who lives in a nursing home. He has lost his wife, his READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY – MATT HAIG
TW: depression, suicide, death, self-harm Man, this book is a trip. Literally. It’s the story of Nora, whose life is not going well. In 24 hours her cat has died, she has lost her job, her piano student’s mother has fired her, her neighbour has told her he doesn’t need her to help him READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BEYOND THE WAND – TOM FELTON
It’s impossible to be alive in the 21st century and not have experienced some part of Potter-mania, or at least to have been aware of it going on as a buzz in the air around you. The Harry Potter books and films have become probably the most influential and widely-read children’s books ever. The READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE LOST LETTERS OF EVELYN WRIGHT – CLARE SWATMAN
If I’m honest, I decided to read this book based on the fact that it has a bookcase on the cover and is about a woman who moves into an old cottage and finds letters. That’s all it took. I didn’t even know until I was about a third of the way into it READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | RACELESS – GEORGINA LAWTON
I’m always looking for books that offer new views on to social construct we call race. I like reading both North American and European accounts, because it’s important to understand not only the similarities, but the differences between the two. This book, however, offers a story I’ve never encountered before: The story of a READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | MEREDITH, ALONE – CLAIRE ALEXANDER
Meredith hasn’t left her house in 1,214 days when we first meet her. It’s easy to judge this, to think it’s sad and unhealthy and even to those lacking in sympathy, pathetic. It’s easy to think that she must be miserable. And yet, she isn’t. She’s not exactly happy with her situation, but READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES – SHELBY VAN PELT
Who would have thought that a book partially narrated by an octopus could be one of the most evocative, touching reads I’ve encountered in the past year? And further to that, who would have guessed that the octopus himself would not only be my favourite character in the book – but one of my READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THIS MUCH IS TRUE – MIRIAM MARGOLYES
If you have not encountered the incomparable Miriam Margolyes in the past, I don’t know how to describe her to you other than to say that she is a truly singular personality. She is a British dramatic legend who has spent most of her adult life on stage, in front of the camera or READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | HENCH – NATALIE ZINA WALSCHOTS
This book was a fascinating reversal of our usual superhero tale. This one is not only told from the perspective of the villains of the piece, but, even more interestingly, from the perspective of one of their henchwomen. In this story, henches are often contract employees. The story starts with Anna, a novice hench, READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE KNITTING CIRCLE – ANN HOOD
I love knitting, and I also love the idea of a craft – particularly one that is traditionally women’s domain – offering both solace in and of itself during difficult times, and also an opportunity to connect with other women while learning and practicing the craft. Ann Hood is the editor of a couple READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE AIR RAID BOOK CLUB – ANNIE LYONS
When this book starts, Gertie Bingham has just lost her beloved husband. She still has the bookstore that they ran together and her lovely dog, Hemingway, but she’s foundering. She’s lonely at home, adrift in her life, and can’t engage with the bookstore as she did when Harry was alive. When she’s there she’s haunted READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LEGENDS & LATTES – TRAVIS BALDREE
I doubt there’s a single one of you reading this who has not heard of this book. It has to be one of the most popular, widely discussed books on the bookish internet in the past year – not just in the circles who read fantasy books, but amongst everyone. I’m not one for READ MORE