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

A look back at the past three months to see how I’m getting on with all the various challenges I set myself. Stats plus brief summaries of books reviewed for each challenge – the Classi…

Privilege, especially combined with wealth, can give the illusion of invulnerability. People in that position may even be oblivious to any danger around them – they feel safe. The fact is, though, …

I don’t quite know what it is about September, but it always seems to whizz past; maybe because I’m always back to work after the summer break and so things are frantic, with a lot of c…

As you might have surmised from my previous post, I’ve been enjoying life a little too much (when I haven’t been working) in September, and my reading reflects that. I only read seven b…

YouTube video by Stanford University Press

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 BY LIBRARY JOURNAL AND REACTOR "Anderson writes a curmudgeonly immortal protagonist and a (literally) haunting story full of heart; a delightful novel." --Library Journal sta...

Protest censorship by participating in a Banned Books Week read-in at independent bookstores and libraries from October 4-10, 2026.

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 …

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.

Hedgehogs Need More Than Public Love — They Need Legal Protection

Premee Mohamed reads post 25, "Petty Expectations," from June 4, 2011. You can read the original blog post here: Premee's website is

So September draws to a close. Luckily, this is always an easy month for me to do the Puzzly round-up as September, being the first month of term for me, is so busy, I tend not to read that many bo…

Back in January I shared my thoughts about a wonderful book which I’d received as a Christmas gift from lovely Jacqui – “Souvenir” by Michael Bracewell. The book was basical…

MY VERDICT: Witty prose, moody noir atmosphere, but too convoluted and sleazy for my taste.

“SHE’S LOOKING FOR THE TRUTH, BUT SOMETHING ELSE IS STARING BACK. Newly trained child psychologist Mina has little experience. In a field full of experts, she’s been unable to fin…

What's On at the Portico Library - https://t.co/dSXjl5Ouy5

The star presented That's Life! for two decades and set up two national helplines, including Childline.