Bookcase detective

Judging people on a specific behaviour or habit of theirs is obviously fairly limiting; I for one would not come off well if judged on the speed with which I reply to WhatsApp messages. I would be found wanting. But we all have our methods, our metrics for ascertaining whether a new acquaintance will become…

Dragging hidden things into the light

Sometimes in the comments below an online feature about, say, a new crime drama, you see people complain about the amount of sex and violence on TV. “Why can’t they make programmes about something nice? Where the characters are pleasant to each other and no one gets killed?!” moans Gladys from Hampshire, and you find…

Latest good stuff, April 2019

Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid Oh, this was a riot. Sheer joy that took me less than 48 hours to devour. It’s essentially a fictionalised version of how Fleetwood Mac made Rumours – 1970s’ California, a wildly successful rock band, all the drink, drugs and drama you’d expect, and at the heart…

The problem with Joe

I am thoroughly enjoying the amount of commotion being generated by Netflix series You. Mostly because, in insufferable hipster fashion, I read the book when it came out in 2014 and was obsessed with it for a full summer. At the time, I hadn’t read anything like it – a novel about a creepy, obsessive, murderous loner…

Is it over yet?

It’s tempting to say that this year has been a write-off, a total horror-show, my own annus horribilis. And honestly, the last few months have been patchy at best. But if nothing else, I’ve at least gained some wisdom this year. Whether I’ll put it to good use is another matter entirely – but ANYWAY,…

On delight

I love writers who can articulate the magic and wonder of everyday joys. If you can capture in prose the beauty of a pale blue sky on a frosty December morning, the happiness of being licked on the face by a puppy, the sense of relief of waking up early on a Saturday and knowing…

Latest good stuff, November 2018

It took me two months to read At Home In The World – partly because I’ve had rather a lot on, and partly because, well, it doesn’t so much get under your skin as work its way into your blood vessels and scratch at you from the inside. Joyce Maynard was trained to write like…

Latest good stuff, 27th August

Gather The Daughters, Jennie Melamed With hindsight, it was not a good idea to read this book while watching The Handmaid’s Tale (that season finale; Jesus Christ). A dystopian tale set on a remote island where women are first the property of their fathers and then their husbands, it does not make for a joyful,…

Words and music, July 2018

I still have no idea what to call this round-up of things I’m currently reading, watching, listening to and generally amusing myself with. If you have any snappy suggestions, do please share then with me. Puns appreciated. Waxahatchee I was lucky enough to see indie project Waxahatchee (led by Kate Crutchfield) in Brighton a couple…

For your eyes and ears

You’ll be pleased to know I’m down off my political soapbox for moment. Here’s what I’ve been reading and listening to over the last week or so… The books Conversations With Friends, Sally Rooney This has been on my to-read list for months, as it was widely praised upon its release last year, and most of…