Bewilderment – Richard Powers This was this month’s book group read. It is written from the point of view of Theo, an astrobiologist, recently widowed and coping with the difficult behaviour of his nine-year-old son Robin. It covers a lot of themes: the possibility of alien life, the climate crisis, politics, scientific research, parenting, mental … More Book Reviews: May

The Heart Goes Last – Margaret Atwood I picked up this book at Heathrow Airport, on my way to Gothenburg. I had a lot of time to kill before my flight, so I had a poke around the bookshop, not particularly intending to buy anything because I’d stocked up on a few options on my … More Book Reviews: April

I got a bit bogged down in other stuff this month (lots of work!) – but I did manage to do a bit of reading… Two Women in Rome – Elizabeth Buchan This was this month’s book group read. Tellingly, I started reading the physical book and was rather uninspired, so I got the audiobook … More Book Reviews: March

The Whalebone Theatre – Joanna Quinn This was an e-reader daily deal I picked up. The blurb appealed to me: Cristabel Seagrave has always wanted her life to be a story, but there are no girls in the books in her dusty family library. For an unwanted orphan who grows into an unmarriageable young woman, … More Book Reviews: February

When I was thirteen, we read Holes by Louis Sachar at school. The teacher set us the task of mapping out on a piece of paper all the connections between characters, events, places, objects and themes. I thoroughly enjoyed this task – especially as Holes is so full of connections. (The teacher commented that I … More Book Reviews: January

Painter of Silence – Georgina Harding This was December’s book group read. Book group was early this month, with Christmas coming. I tried to get a wriggle on and finish this promptly, but two days before we were due to meet I realised I was fighting a losing battle; there was a lot going on … More Book Reviews: December

Why Did You Stay?: A Memoir About Self-Worth – Rebecca Humphries This was an e-reader daily deal I picked up, knowing extremely little about it! The book began with a statement which I was surprised to realise I had read before. Rebecca Humphries is an actress whose partner had been competing on Strictly Come Dancing. … More Book Reviews: November

Tidelands – Philippa Gregory When I was 17 and applying to universities to do a history degree, I had to write a personal statement. In that personal statement, I wrote that my particular interest in the Tudors, initially lit in primary school, had been fanned in later years by reading Philippa Gregory’s Tudor court novels. … More Book Reviews: October