Category Archives: Blog

Review: The Zanzibar Wife by Deborah Rodriguez

    There are times when travelling via book is about as close as I will get to a holiday, and so I was pretty excited to receive The Zanzibar Wife, the latest novel by Deborah Rodriguez of Little Coffee … Continue reading

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Review: P is For Pearl by Eliza Henry-Jones

From the talented author of the celebrated novels In the Quiet and Ache comes a poignant and moving book that explores the stories we tell ourselves about our families, and what it means to belong. A random but violent accident … Continue reading

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Review: The Lace Weaver by Lauren Chater

When is a shawl not a shawl? When it is knitted of fine Estonian wool, and each fine thread is stitched with story. When it passes to a new owner with a prayer of good fortune, and the hope in dark … Continue reading

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Review: Draft No. 4 by John McPhee

John McPhee wrote and refined the essays in this book while lecturing at Princeton University. He is a multiple award winner (including the Pulitzer), long time staff writer for the New Yorker and a literary legend. During his long career … Continue reading

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Review: My Cousin Rachael by Daphne Du Maurier

I first read this book as a teenager. Back then, with limited experience of the romantic variety and certainly no actual understanding of Cornwall and country life, it was Phillip’s story that drew me in. The mystery, the obsession, the … Continue reading

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Review: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

  It was a conversation George Saunders had with his wife’s cousin that inspired the award winning novel LINCOLN IN THE BARDO. Did he know that on the day Abraham Lincoln buried his son Willie, he returned to the crypt … Continue reading

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Review: The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

This utterly charming novel reminds me of everything I love about Japan. It has a pared back simplicity which belies depth of story, it has a thoughtful connection with nature that is both subtle and essential to the essence of … Continue reading

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Review: The Shape of Us by Lisa Ireland

This book is, on the surface, a book about four women (Jewels, Mezz, Ellie and Kat) who have joined a weight loss program (WON). Look a little deeper and it’s about much more than that. The program includes a compulsory … Continue reading

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Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

For a many people, I suspect this book will be a hard read, but not because of the writing itself. The main character Aza, suffers from mental illness, manifesting in extreme anxiety, germ phobia and thought spirals than run out … Continue reading

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Review: Bourke Street Bakery All Things Sweet by Paul Allam and David McGuinness

This very attractive hardcover book has quickly become a favourite go-to for something delicious in our kitchen. I’ve been cooking non-stop from it for the last few weeks, with every recipe working out pretty much exactly as it should, and … Continue reading

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