A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings

Title: A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings Writer: Charles Dickens Publishing House: Penguin Classics Date of Publication:November 25th 2010 (first published December 19th 1843) Rating: 5 stars ‘’He told me, coming home, that he hopes the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon…

A Classic Christmas: A Collection of Timeless Stories and Poems

Title: A Classic Christmas: A Collection of Timeless Stories and Poems Writer:Various Publishing House:Thomas Nelson Date of Publication:October 1st 2019 Rating:5 stars ”Some say that ever ‘gainst that reason comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrate,  The bird of dawning singeth all night long. And then, they say, no evil spirit walks; The nights are wholesome;…

Christmas Ghost Stories

Title: Christmas Ghost Stories Writer: Various Publishing House:The Folio Society Date of Publication: 2005 ”This ae nighte, this ae nighte, Every nighte and alle, Fire and fleet and candle-lighte, And Christe receive thy saule.” Lyke Wake Drige Lament Christmas is arguably the jolliest time of the year. Lights everywhere, bright ornaments, laughing children singing beautiful carols. Ages-old traditions…

Human Acts

Title: Human Acts (original title: 소년이 온다) Writer: Han Kang translated by Deborah Smith Publishing House: Hogarth Press Date of Publication: January 17th 2017  (first published May 19th 2014) Rating:5 stars ”It’s the middle of the day, but the dim interior is more like evening’s dusky half-light. The coffins that have already been through the memorial service have…

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Title: The Twelve Days of Christmas Writer: Traditional illustrated by Jan Brett Publishing House: G. B. Putnam’s Sons Date of Publication: October 15th 2019  (first published January 1st 1986) Rating: 5 stars ‘’And a partridge in a pear tree.’’ Because, obviously. When I start humming the tune of this most classic of songs, I know that I have…

Russian Short Stories (1918 – 1941)

Τitle: Ανθολογία ρωσικού διηγήματος του μεσοπολέμου Writer: Various (selected and translated by Tania Rahmatoulina Publishing House: Πλέθρον Date of Publication: December 2005 Rating: 5 stars *All extracts translated by me, taken from the original edition translated by Tania Rahmatoulina* ‘’All beauty in this world was born out of the love for a woman.’’ During the turbulent years in the…

After Me Comes The Flood

Title: After Me Comes The Flood Writer: Sarah Perry Publishing House: Custom House Date of Publication:March 17th 2020 (first published June 26th 2014) Rating: 5 stars ”What surprises me isn’t that we sin, but that we manage a single good action in all of our lives.” A strange array of people has gathered in a cottage in the marshlands….

Highland Folk Tales

Title: Highland Folk Tales (Folk Tales from the British Isles series) Writer: Bob Pegg Publishing House: The History Press Date of Publication: June 1st 2012 (first published November 30th 2011) Rating: 5 stars ”And these are tales not just written down in books, but known by communities and passed down through families: stories of fairies, ghosts, giants, waterhorses,…

Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters

Title: Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters Writer: Nikita Gill Publishing House: Ebury Press Date of Publication: September 5th 2019 Rating:5 stars ”They murmur, in the beginning of everything; from the bones of Chaos, rose a girl who built the universe, the stars, the planets, all because she was looking  for a place to dance.” What if…

Ice

Title: Ice Writer: Anna Kavan Publishing House: Penguin Classics Date of Publication:November 14th 2017 (first published 1967 Rating: 5 stars ”Carrying my suitcase, I walked into the town. Silence obtruded itself. Nothing moved. The devastation was even greater than it had seemed from the boat. Not a building intact. Wreckage heaped in blank spaces where houses had been.”…

Tales Of Old Prague Houses

Title: Tales of Old Prague Houses Writer: Magdalena Wagnerová (translated by Lucie Mikolajková) Publishing House:  Nakladatelství PLOT Date of Publication:2017 Rating:5 stars ‘’Every house has a story to tell and a history behind it. The old houses of Prague, once the home of plain townsmen and burghers, now seem to us like small palaces, enchanted and full of…

The Eighth Day

Title:The Eighth Day (original title: 八日目の蝉) Writer:Mitsuyo Kakuta Publishing House:Kodansha Date of Publication:May 1st 2010 (first published March 2007) Rating: 3 stars ”I left the house and turned to the alley. No shops insight. This was a strange corner of the city, a row of uninhabited houses. Shutters closed, a rusty bike lying next to a…

The Vegetarian

Title: The Vegetarian (original title: 채식주의자) Writer: Han Kang (translated by Deborah Smith) Publishing House: Hogarth Press Date of Publication: February 2nd 2016 (first published October 30th 2007) Rating: 5 stars ”Dark woods. No people. The sharp-pointed leaves in the trees, my torn feet. This place, almost remembered, but I’m lost now. Frightened. Cold. Across the frozen ravine,…