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…

Rome: Layers of Time -Trastevere A journey through Trastevere, where bridges, churches, poetry, legends, and everyday life reveal the people who have carried Rome’s stories across generations. Ther…

A one-year-old mural at Washington State University Libraries celebrates the sisterhood and partnership of writer Virginia Woolf and artist Vanessa Bell. And you can learn more about it — and…

A stunningly beautiful hardback edition of one of the most famous stories in the world. Book blurb After losing her parents, young Mary Lennox is sent from India to live in her uncle’s gloomy…

Maigret à Vichy by Georges Simenon (1968) Early September, we spent a weekend in Vichy and I read Maigret in Vichy by Simenon which, obviously, sees Maigret investigating a murder in this spa town.…

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…

Reading Over the Weekend: Tales From the Irish Garden: The Missing Pieces by Sally Cronin

Those who attended the Sept. 26 garden party at Talland House in St. Ives, Cornwall, got what was billed as a “last view” of Godrevy Lighthouse, along with speeches from Virginia Woolf …

In 2022, one hundred years after L. M. Montgomery began writing The Blue Castle, I received permission from the Confederation Centre Archives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to photograph h…

Later this month, Karen and Simon will be hosting another of their hugely enjoyable ‘Club’ weeks, focusing this time on 1949. Starting on Monday 12th October, the #1949Club is a week-long celebrati…

Happy National Poetry Day! My online creative writing course 'Poetry Writing: Starting to Write' is due to begin on 12th October, and I really enjoyed teaching this course last year.

Happy October! In L. M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, October arrives “with a gorgeous pageant of color around Mistawis, into which Valancy plunged her soul. Never had she imagined anything so sple…

J B Priestley (1894-1984) is perhaps better known as a playwright, novelist and broadcaster, but in this deeply personal book, he invites us to reappraise our understanding of time, and our relatio…

Where did Vlad Dracula live during his second and longest reign of Wallachia, besides Targoviste? Why? Join Vlad Tepes at Targsor, Rucar Pass near Bran, Targoviste, Dealu Monastery, Balteni and Govora...

Today marks the release of an important book for Carson McCullers fans and literary history enthusiasts. All the Love You Can Hold: The Letters of Carson McCullers, edited by Carlos Dews, is now avail...

A very simple act of reconciliation is reading and discussing books by (and, to some extent, about) First Nations and Indigenous and Metis and Inuit peoples; for bookworms, this is an action within reach every day... but particularly today, on Orange-Shirt Day, or Truth & Reconciliation Day. An official act of remembrance, on which we can

Today marks the release of an important book for Carson McCullers fans and literary history enthusiasts. All the Love You Can Hold: The Letters of Carson McCullers, edited by Carlos Dews, is now avail...

Earlier in this month of #SpinsterSeptember hosted by @pear-jelly, I read The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym. I wanted to try and squeeze in another Pym before the end, and I really enjoyed reading…

Faust: Unravelling the Great Enigma – Episode 12: The Scholar with the Lamp The Earth Spirit has vanished, leaving Faust shaken and alone. He has reached toward the infinite, only to discover that …

When I last wrote here, I could have posted one of Alistair MacLeod’s famous short story openings: “It is August now, towards the end, and the weather can no longer be trusted.” It’s from “The Closing Down of Summer” and I think of it every year about mid-way through August. But now I could turn to

My latest contribution to the Tove Trove library is a brief descent into Tove Jansson’s most disquieting apocalyptic vision, explored here in the concentrated form of a short story.

This week I look back at books read and the conversations they’ve sparked, plough through a crop of compelling literary pieces from across the blogosphere, bring a few earlier posts back into view,…

A Bridge Between Worlds A reflection on Ponte Sant’Angelo, the ancient Roman bridge that became a pilgrimage route, a place of memory, and a bridge between worlds. The river moved quietly beneath m…

Just a quick note, and a link to my short story Erasure, which is now featured at Spillwords Press. I was going to post the story here at some point, but we’ll settle for the link. The story …

Slowly but surely, I’m working my way through Anita Brooker’s exquisitely written novels in publication order – they really are jewel-like in construction. First published in 1996, Altered States i…

‘Edith Wharton and the Technologies of Movement’ FREE 1-day online conference on Microsoft Teams 26 April 2027 Organised by Isabelle Parsons and Shafquat Towheed Supported by the History of Books a…

This week I look back at books read and the conversations they’ve sparked, plough through a crop of compelling literary pieces from across the blogosphere, bring a few earlier posts back into view,…

Welcome to Reading Over the Weekend with The Moonshine Murders: The Jailer’s Daughter, a coming-of-age mystery where two determined cousins discover that seeking the truth can be far more dangerous th...

Virginia Woolf! Publishers! Welcome to episode 154. In the first half, we compare independent publishers and the big-name publishers – and in the second half, we pit two Virginia Woolf novels…

Each year MyGivingCircle gives away £300,000 in grants — every vote counts before the round closes.

It has been AGES and that wasn’t my intention. Life has been busy and tiring of late, with a real mix of good and not-so-good things. Accompanying me through it all have – of course &#8…

In another, hopefully useful, addition to my Tove Trove project, I bring you the latest insights, publication announcements and critical perspectives from the ever‑inspiring world of Tove Jansson&#…

Behind the Book – When One Story Becomes Four, a guest post for Gina Rae Mitchell’s incredible blog. Find out how, what begins as one story, does not always remain one story.

Following a little break, I turn this week to books newly read and discussed, wander through some of the most engaging literary writing to appear on the blogosphere, revisit earlier posts worth red…

Azami by Aki Shimazaki (2014) French title: Azami. Ajisai by Aki Shimazaki (2025) French title: Ajisai Aki Shimazaki was born in Japan in 1954 and emigrated to Canada in 1981. She first lived in Va…

Vincent van Gogh left us more than paintings. Through his letters, we encounter a thoughtful, passionate writer whose words reveal the creative spirit behind the canvas.

I’m excited to celebrate the 100th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery’s novel The Blue Castle with you next month. Today, I’d like to share with you some of the photos and quotations I’ve collected ove…

I dithered a bit about posting on Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey (1946) as although I enjoyed it, I wasn’t really sure if I could recommend it onwards. It’s an unusual novel written by an estab…