The Brontë Family: Passionate Literary Geniuses

Title: The Brontë Family: Passionate Literary Geniuses Writer: Karen Smith Kenyon Publishing House: Endeavour Media Date of Publication: July 1st 2018 Ratings:5 stars ‘’Must I from day to day sit chained to this chair, prisoner within these four bare walls, while these glorious summer suns are burning in heaven and the year is revolving in its richest glow…

Eight Stories: Tales of War and Loss

Title: Eight Stories: Tales of War and Loss Writer: Erich Maria Remarque Publishing House: New York University Press Date of Publication: May 29th 2018 Rating: 5 stars ‘’Only one cemetery for so many. Everywhere, in scores of places, lie the others. The white wooden crosses of the French, the black ones of the Germans.’’ With All Quiet on the Western…

The Ghosts (The Amazing Mr Blunden)

Title: The Ghosts (The Amazing Mr Blunden) Writer: Antonia Barber Publishing House: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Date of Publication: January 1st 1969 Rating: 5 stars ‘’Perhaps the strangest thing about the old gentleman was his upright walking, unbothered by the freezing raindrops.’’ Every summer, I revisit favourite books of my childhood. Most of them are children’s mysteries or…

Lincoln In The Bardo

Title: Lincoln In The Bardo Writer: George Saunders Publishing House: Bloomsbury Publishing Date of Publication: February 8th 2018 (first published February 14th 2017) Rating: 5 stars ‘’My mother, I said. My father. They will come shortly. To collect me’’ Death is a cruel, cynical visitor. Sometimes invited, others unexpected, many more anticipated. Death is blind to age, race, religion, kindness or…

Italian Folk Magic

Title: Italian Folk Magic Writer: Mary-Grace Fahrun Publishing House: Weiser Books Date of Publication: May 1st 2018 Rating: 5 stars ‘’A buon intenditore poche parole.’’ (‘’Few words are needed when speaking to a good listener.’’) This review is bound to be one of the most personal I’ve ever had the pleasure to write. You see, my late grandmother was…

The Keeper of Lost Things

Title:The Keeper of Lost Things Writer: Ruth Hogan Publishing House: Two Roads Date of Publication: January 26th 2017 Rating: 3 stars ‘’Found, sixth carriage from the front, 14:42 train from London Bridge to Brighton. Deceased unknown. God bless and rest in peace.’’ My relationship with this book has been a bit weird from the start. For almost a year,…

Miss Subways

Title:Miss Subways Writer: David Duchovny Publishing House: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Date of Publication: May 1st 2018 Rating: 5 stars ‘’Because ye old gods are not dead. They walk among us still, with their pagan ideas and habits, waiting for reanimation. They are lonely. They are bored. And very, very pissed off.’’ Well, this is a difficult task, writing…

Medea

Title: Medea Writer: Christa Wolf Publishing House: Nan A. Talese Date of Publication:  October 24th 2012 (first published 1996) Rating: 5 stars ‘’I am Medea, the sorceress, if you all will have it so. The wild woman, the foreigner. You shall not belittle me.’’ I’ve always declared-to the dismay of many- that if I ever had a daughter, I would…

Murder in Friday Street

Title: Murder in Friday Street Writer: Amy Myers Publishing House: Endeavour Media Date of Publication: June 3rd 2018 (first published December 20th 2005) Rating: 4 stars ‘’Friday Street likes to keep itself to itself.’’ I find that the beginning of summer is always an appropriate time to read a British Cozy Mystery. Now, my relationship with cozy mysteries has been stormier…

Alias Grace

Title: Alias Grace Writer: Margaret Atwood Publishing House: Virago Date of Publication: September 14th 2017 (first published September 1996) Rating: 5 stars ‘’…and the real curse of Eve was having to put up with the nonsense of Adam, who as soon as there was any trouble, blamed it all on her.’’ Grace is a murderess. She collaborated with her…

North Wales Folk Tales for Children

Title: North Wales Folk Tales For Children Writer: Fiona Collins Publishing House: The History Press Date of Publication: May 2nd 2016 Rating: 4 stars ”…under the stone, two dragons are curled up, fast asleep. All day, they sleep, but at night they wake, and then they fight. Their battle destroys your tower each night.” Wales, lovely, mysterious, mythical Wales… A…

This or That Book Tag

The lovely, magnificent, magical Marina from @Books Of Magic tagged me for an absolutely fabulous tag. Now, first things first. You MUST all visit her wonderful, exciting blog, read her amazing reviews. Go!! I said go!! ….I am not really dogmatic, am I? Okay, don’t you just love being absolutely lost when you have to make a…

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Title:Picnic at Hanging Rock Writer: Joan Lindsay Publishing House: Vintage Digital Date of Publication:April 30th 2011 (first published 1967) Rating: 3 stars ”He reminded himself that he was in Australia: Australia, where anything might happen. In England everything had been done before: quite often by one’s own ancestors, over and over again.” Two years ago, I…

The Language of Thorns

Title: The Language of Thorns Writer: Leigh Bardugo Publishing House: Imprint Date of Publication: September 26th 2017 Rating:5 stars ”You see, some people are born with a piece of night inside, and that hollow place can never be filled- not with all the good food or sunshine in the world.” Leigh Bardugo is a writer that doesn’t need introductions….

Hat

Title: Hat Writer: Renèe Paule & G.R.Hewitt Publishing House: RPG Publishing Date of Publication: May 2018 Rating: 5 stars One of the best moments of being a teacher is witnessing the various ways in which children develop their personalities, their own mechanisms of responding to problems and perplexing thoughts. However, there is always the dark side of following the trends….