In fantastical tales, where normal expectations are upended, writers get a chance to offer strange and unsettling ideas and let the reader make their own interpretations. Sometimes it’s difficult to know who to have empathy for; the main protagonist, the titular character or someone else entirely? One example of this is in the Strange Case ofContinue reading “EMBRACE THE STRANGE!”
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Catching The Last Train – Vanishing Ladies to the Third Reich
I like trains! There is always something exciting, romantic and mysterious about them (unless you’ve been moved onto a replacement bus service which isn’t usually that romantic). But assuming your trip goes well, there’s so much to see from where you sit. What’s out of the window and, of course, the other people in yourContinue reading “Catching The Last Train – Vanishing Ladies to the Third Reich”
The Queen of Crime’s Notebooks
Friends and family know I am addicted to both stationery and Agatha Christie novels. So imagine my excitement at discovering a book about Christie’s notebooks! Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks by John Curran (published by Harper Collins, 2010). This isn’t a recent book, it’s from 2010, but once I discovered it existed, I had to get it! TheContinue reading “The Queen of Crime’s Notebooks”
It’s a wonderful Christmas carol life!
As we approach Christmas, I’m thinking about my favourite Christmas stories and films. For me, these are A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life. A Christmas Carol is a book by Charles Dickens. It was written in six weeks after Dickens had visited the Ragged School, an establishment for street children in London and he published the titleContinue reading “It’s a wonderful Christmas carol life!”
Leave it to Wodehouse!
Like so many things you learn as a child, the writers you read as you grow up will affect you for life. I admit that’s just my opinion, I don’t have absolute scientific proof, but it’s definitely been true for me. Despite Wodehouse being born in 1881, and me in 1972, I still found hisContinue reading “Leave it to Wodehouse!”
Katherine Mansfield: Brief Life Long Legacy
For my birthday, a kind friend gave me a voucher for any book from Persephone Books. This is a brilliant book shop/publisher which, and I’m quoting now from their website, “reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women writers and mostly mid-twentieth century. All of our 143 books are intelligent, thought-provoking and beautifully written andContinue reading “Katherine Mansfield: Brief Life Long Legacy”
Yorkshire Tales
Two weeks ago I was very fortunate to visit Yorkshire with my printer partner and go to a Wayzgoose. For a long definition of that word click here: Wayzgoose but a short answer is that a wayzgoose is a meeting/fair of printers showing, selling and discussing/demonstrating printing methods. It’s very popular in the US andContinue reading “Yorkshire Tales”
Read the book or watch the film?
It is ‘murder’ of a book by watching its film adaptation first? As an Agatha Christie fan, I’m a sucker for any new adaptations of her books. So when I heard the much delayed (by Covid) film release of ‘Death on the Nile’ was due out I was very excited. But, before heading to theContinue reading “Read the book or watch the film?”
BOOKS MAKE A ROOM LOOK MORE BEAUTIFUL
Alice Walker wrote a book called ‘Horses make the landscape look more beautiful’ And I agree, but would further say that if you don’t have access to a horse, books make a room look more beautiful. Books and everything that they represent: information, entertainment, anger, love and joy, are portable receptacles of our deepest feelings,Continue reading “BOOKS MAKE A ROOM LOOK MORE BEAUTIFUL”
NaNoWriMo or not? And was Jack Kerouac doing a similar thing…
Jack Kerouac became famous for writing his iconic novel, On the Road, while living on Benzedrine, coffee and pea soup (made by his wife Joan) on a road trip over thirty days. He wrote on one long sheet of paper, using tracing paper he’d cut to size for his typewriter and then taped together so he wouldn’t haveContinue reading “NaNoWriMo or not? And was Jack Kerouac doing a similar thing…”
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