Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

This week I look at books recently read and reflected upon, amble through some of the most compelling literary writing across the blogosphere, pause over earlier posts that merit another look, note…

I just can’t believe it’s October already! Where does the time go?! September ended up being a bit of a mixed month… I was able to read quite a lot, but I sadly had not one, but t…

This week I am sharing the first line of the book I have chosen for my book group to read. It’s A Far-Flung Life by EL Stedman. We are meeting next week so for once, I’m not rushing to …

The Weight of Angels by John Boyne is published by Doubleday and is out now. My thanks to the publishers for the proof copy. Can one rash decision prove the difference between a life well lived and…

Margaret H. Hamilton, a profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT’s Instrumentation Lab during NASA’s Apollo program, died at age 90.

It was always nighttime there. Or in his memory he had only ever been there at night, the cobblestone streets and the strangely empty sidewalks, the black vastness of the lake as seen from the back…

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to…

This week’s topic: Happy Books! This week’s topic is really books that bring happy memories but I’ve tweaked it a bit to be Happy Books! I’ve chosen ten books with the word …

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to…

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

When it comes to storytelling, fear is more than a feeling; it’s an underlying force that runs through multiple story elements, influencing plot, character arc, internal growth, and conflict. Fear mak...

History, travel, nostalgia and genealogy

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz Life… I’ve slid into a review s…

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

3 October 2026 and time for this month’s Six Degrees of Separation, one of my favourite memes to participate in. Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme hosted by Kate at Books are My Fav…

It’s time for the super monthly tag Six Degrees of Separation, which is hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation #6degrees picks a starting book for pa…

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Six on Saturday is a weekly meme originally hosted by The Propagator but now in the tender care of Jim at Garden Ruminations. We were promised rain overnight on Tuesday but unfortunately it bypasse…

The Life of M by Rachel Cusk is the starting book for this month’s Six Degrees chain. I chose the US cover for The Life of M purely because I preferred it to the UK/Australian one. As Kate sa…

It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for 6 Degrees of Separation. Here’s how it works: a book is chosen as a starting point by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best&nbs…

The first Saturday of the month is time for Six Degrees of Separation hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. Each month Kate gives us the first title and then we try and create a chain …

It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up.

From Life of M by Rachel Cusk to Hotel Portofino by J. P. O’Connell. This is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and…

In our first wind up of October, I look at books most recently read and reflected upon, roam through some of the most compelling literary writing around the blogosphere, pause over earlier posts th…

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Last weekend I went to the artificial hill called Teufelsberg (Devil’s Hill), set in a lush forest on the outskirts of Berlin. The hill was built from the rubble left after the Second World W…

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Our study shows that brain remains malleable and can learn new things well into older age.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.