I couldn’t wait to read Bring Me To Light , Ellie’s story of her journey with mental health and mental illness, and once I started I couldn’t put it down. Or at least I did in order to go to work, but I didn’t want to. Ellie’s story can be difficult to read at times, […]
Americanah – Chimimanda Ngozi Adiche (Nov 2019)
Initial Thoughts I’d been waiting to read Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adiche for months. A friend had recommended it as a ‘must – read’. So read it I did. I was unsure what to expect but the novel didn’t disappoint. At face value Americanah is another seemingly innocuous novel about two lovers, Ifemelu and Obinze. […]
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson (Oct 2019)
First Thoughts First things first. I adored this book (for more by the author click here). It took me a while to read it because it required a lot of focus. Despite that it was definitely worth the read. There’s a lot in a book of this kind so I felt I needed to take […]
Lady Audley’s Secret – Mary Elizabeth Braddon (Sept 2019)
Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s novel follows the story or Robert Audley as he seeks to unravel the mystery behind his friend George Talboy’s death. The novel is set in Audley, named for Lord Audley – Robert’s uncle – in Essex. However, the death at the center of the story is not the only mystery. The character’s […]
The Humans – Matt Haig (Sept 2019)
This has to be one of my favourite books I’ve read in the past few years. It was a new premise. It was refreshing. It was clever. It also had a dog called Newton in it and that’s always a plus for me. Despite how much I adored this book. And I really did adore […]
The Undertaking – Audrey Magee (August 2019)
I was really excited about this book when I read the blurb. It was another hidden gem I found on an infrequent visit to the local library. I couldn’t wait to read it. Once I’d started it I couldn’t wait to get to the end and find out what happened. I found the book incredibly […]
The Phantom Tree – Nicola Cornick (August 2019)
I first came across this book on a recommended list by Good Reads. I then happened to come across it in the library and seized the opportunity to read it. I was so excited. Good Reads had recommend it as being similar to the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon which I adore. I really enjoyed […]
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne (August 2019)
I admit to having picked this particular book off the shelf more out of curiosity, having heard so much about it, than a desire to immerse myself in the story. Having said that, whilst I found the novel hard going at times I genuinely enjoyed reading it and felt a sense of accomplishment for having […]
The Museum of Extraordinary Things – Alice Hoffman (August 2019)
I found this book a little slow to start with. It took me some time to get into it but I’m really glad I stuck with it. I found the jump between time spaces and characters a little jarring at first. It probably wasn’t helped by the fact that I read a chapter here and […]
Any Human Heart – William Boyd (July 2019)
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the inner look we got into Logan Mountstuart’s life via his diary. Whilst it was semi-frustrating where there was a gap in the diary entries I also felt that it was true to form. We often don’t write everyday or at times our narrative my laspe. The diary […]