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And the next club will be…
Thanks so much for your contributions to the 1970 Club! There are so many books I now want to read (with The Woods in Winter by Stella Gibbons head of the pack) – and some I now know to avoid… There...
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All Men Are Liars by Alberto Manguel
I see quite a few people write about Alberto Manguel’s non-fiction, about reading and libraries, but not so often his novels. I picked up All Men Are Liars (2008, translated from Spanish by Miranda...
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#132: Interview: Edward Carey on Edith Holler
Edward Carey joins us to discuss his latest novel, Edith Holler. Welcome to episode 132! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/tea-or-books-132-Edward-Carey.mp3 Rachel and I both love...
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A Pint of Semi-Skimmed Down The Old Gullet: Peas in a Podcast #18!
Somehow it’s episode 18 of the podcast I do with my identical twin brother Colin! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/peas-18.mp3 In this episode of the usual nonsense, we cover...
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Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
I don’t hear much about the latest fiction, but there are some titles that break through my early-20th-century mindset. Everyone was talking about Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid five years ago,...
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Casualties by Lynne Reid Banks
Long-termers here will know how much I love The L-Shaped Room, and over the past couple of years I’ve been exploring more of Lynne Reid Banks’s considerable output – further prompted by her death...
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Norah Lofts – now in British Library Women Writers series!
I realise I haven’t yet said that Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts is out in the British Library Women Writers series – with another lovely cover: It’s another quick turnaround – I only read it for the...
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The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner
I bought The Children’s Bach (1984) by Helen Garner in Oxford’s newest bookshop, Caper, a while ago. I might have mentioned the shop before. From the outside, it looks like a children’s bookshop – all...
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The Man on the Pier by Julia Strachey
If you know the name ‘Julia Strachey’, it’s probably for Cheerful Weather for the Wedding – reprinted by Persephone Books, and later made into a very enjoyable film. Or perhaps you know her connection...
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Top Ten Tuesday: Destination Titles
I don’t often manage to join in with Top Ten Tuesday, but today I’m going to! This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is: “Destination Titles (titles with name of...
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The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Someone in my book group chose The Razor’s Edge (1944) by W. Somerset Maugham after hearing it recommended on a YouTube video – making it my second Maugham of the year, after reading Theatre for the...
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StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany
Hello hello – it’s been a while since I did a Weekend Miscellany, hasn’t it? And I am spending at least some of the weekend in a lovely airbnb in Malvern, as a little treat to myself. Sadly I also have...
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Books from Malvern and Tewkesbury
As mentioned, I spent a couple of nights in beautiful Malvern – sadly I felt pretty ropey with a cold, but it didn’t stop me popping into the excellent Malvern Bookshop, and Amnesty secondhand bookshop...
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Frederica by Georgette Heyer
Believe it or not, I’ve only read one Georgette Heyer before – I listened to April Lady and really enjoyed it. In the three years since, I’ve bought quite a few Heyer novels but haven’t actually got...
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A Woman’s Place 1910-1975 by Ruth Adam
I have well over a hundred Persephone Books, and the hit rate of successes is astonishingly high. There’s a reason that they have the devotion and respect of legions of readers. And so why had I left...
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Choose by M. de Momet
Last year, I decided to watch three films which dealt with oh-so-relatable problem of “Oops! I remarried and my first spouse is still alive!” The first was the execrable modern schlock One True Loves;...
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Why I chose these books in Hay-on-Wye
I’ve been away in Hay-on-Wye for a couple of nights, staying in a lovely airbnb cottage with some friends. I’ve stayed overnight in Hay once before, but I’ve never done two nights. It was lovely to...
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Another Century of Books Round-Up
As December continues apace, so does my need to catch up with A Century of Books posts. So here is a whole bunch of mini-reviews (more mini than review) of books I’ve read for ACOB that I don’t have a...
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#133: Do We Have Reading Rules? and Two Willa Cather Novels
Willa Cather and reading rules – welcome to episode 133 of ‘Tea or Books?’! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tea-or-books-133.mp3 In the first half, we discuss reading rules –...
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Revisiting an old favourite
When I had a cold a month ago, feeling sorry for myself and tired, the latest Slightly Foxed Edition arrived through my door. I was a bit surprised that it was the series’ first fictional offering,...
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Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera
I was quite a way into my choice for 1969 on A Century of Books – Margaret Drabble’s The Waterfall – when I decided I’d had enough. I’m sure I’ll go back and finish it and, in another mood, might even...
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Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark
When I ranked Muriel Spark’s novels recently, there were a couple I hadn’t yet read. A few people had good words to say about The Bachelor though nobody seemed very enthusiastic about Aiding and...
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Back by Henry Green
You know when Caustic Cover Critic used to those funny posts of appalling cheap reprints of classics? Here’s an example. Among those that are simply confusing were a few that clearly put the title into...
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Finishing A Century of Books with Alice Thomas Ellis
My final slot on A Century of Books turned out to be 1990, and I decided to read The Inn at the Edge of the World by Alice Thomas Ellis, which I bought last year in the Lake District. When I chose it,...
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My top books of 2024
One of my favourite bookish moments of the year is sitting down with my reading diary – a list of the books I’ve read since 2002 – and choosing my favourites of the year. Usually there are some that...
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#134: Our Top 10 Books of 2024
Happy new year! In episode 134, Rachel and I share our favourite books reads in 2024 – counting down from ten to one. And we each pick one of the other’s top 10 to read for our next episode!...
View Article2024: Some Reading Stats
Happy new year, everyone. As has become an annual tradition for so many of us in the book blogging world, let’s take a look back at 2024 in reading stats! (Hopefully you’ve already spotted my favourite...
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I Think You’re Doing Toothpaste Wrong: Peas in a Podcast #19!
https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/peas-19.mp3 Hello, podcast fans! It’s the 19th episode of the podcast I do with my twin brother Colin. In this episode, we cover vital topics...
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A final haul before Project 24
Have I said on here that I’m doing Project 24 again in 2025? I think I’ll do it ever two or three years, to try and stem the flow of books into my house – and to read more books from my shelves. For...
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Letters to Gwen John by Celia Paul
I first came across Letters to Gwen John by Celia Paul simply by browsing in Waterstones Piccadilly. It was on one of those display tables, and I was struck by how beautiful it was. Jonathan Cape have...
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Project 24: Books 1 and 2
Project 24 is in full swing! If you missed it, it’s a year where I only buy 24 books for myself. This must be the fourth time I’ve done Project 24, at least, and it’s always a fun experiment in (a)...
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O is for Oyeyemi
This is part of an ongoing series where I write about a different author for each letter of the alphabet. You can see them all here. How has it been 2.5 years since I last added to this series? Time –...
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Unnecessary Rankings! Daphne du Maurier
While trying to think whom to cover for another Unnecessary Rankings! post, I was looking around my bookcases and alighted on Daphne du Maurier. She was prolific, and I’ve read quite a few of her...
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StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany
Well, thank GOODNESS January is finally over. I can’t believe it was only a month. I feel like I’ve lived lifetimes in January, and none of them very good. Some of that I will share in due course, and...
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#135: Can Literary Fiction Be A Comfort Read? and Enter Ghost vs Lady Living...
Isabella Hammad, Norah Lofts, comfort reads – welcome to episode 135! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/tea-or-books-135.mp3 In the first half, we discuss whether or not...
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Project 24: Book Three
We’re halfway through February, and that means I’m due another book under Project 24, right? I was in London for a couple of days, and remembered about a lovely little bookshop called Walden Books, in...
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Overpriced Walnuts: Peas in a Podcast #20!
Who’d have thought we’d get to episode 20? In the latest ep, my brother Colin and I cover all the usual important topics: shredded lettuce, the Suez canal, and Kaitlyn Dever. Not in conjunction....
View ArticleA whole bunch of non-reviews
It’s that time again, where I blitz through a whole bunch of books I’ve read or listened to in the past few months. Think of it like that viral guy on Instagram who rates outfits at awards events in...
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Pipers and a Dancer by Stella Benson
February is drawing to an end, but I’ve managed to get in with a Read Indies post – #ReadIndies being an annual event run by Karen and Lizzy, encouraging us all to read books from independent...
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Flickerbook by Leila Berg
My second (and final?) contribution to this year’s #ReadIndies is an autobiography that was sent to me by CB Editions – Flickerbook (1997) by Leila Berg. It was a very canny choice of reiew book to...
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StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany
Happy March! Here in the UK we seem to be alternating bright sunshine and torrential rain. As I write this, it’s one of the sunny days – cold, sunny weather is my favourite, and hopefully it’ll...
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Project 24: Book Four
I’m on track with Project 24 – buying just 24 books in 2025 – with my restrained rate of two-per-month. It was while reading Pipers and a Dancer by Stella Benson that I decided I should probably make...
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StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany
Spring seems to have sprung. I went out without a coat! It’s all happening. And, since it’s International Women’s Day, I thought I’d mention the blog post I posted last year – ranking the British...
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#136: Does Reading Make Us Better People? and And Then There Were None vs The...
Agatha Christie, Gwen Bristow, Bruce Manning and reading morality – welcome to episode 136 of Tea or Books?! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tea-or-books-136.mp3 In the first...
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Dew on the Grass by Eiluned Lewis – #ReadingWales25
I don’t think I’ve managed to join in Reading Wales before – an annual project led by Karen at Booker Talk. To be honest, that’s largely because I have no idea which authors on my shelves are Welsh. I...
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Project 24: Book #5
It is very surprising to me how many of my Project 24 books so far have been IN PRINT. It’s quite unusual for me at the best of times, but particularly when I’m narrowing my gaze to limited buying....
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StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany
Is it spring? Is it still winter? We’re being kept on our toes here. By the time you read this, I’ll be doing a treasure hunt around Oxford (no real idea what it entails) and it’s meant to RAIN, so...
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Unnecessary Rankings! Virginia Woolf
Did you know (and why on earth should you) that yesterday was the second anniversary of my Unnecessary Rankings? How did we ever survive for so long without it, I’m sure you’re asking. Well, today I’m...
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The Spiral Staircase by Ethel Lina White – #ReadingWales25
I have Karen to thank for highlighting the fact that Ethel Lina White was Welsh – Karen contributed a review of Fear Stalks The Village to Reading Wales Month, which is run by a different blogging...
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StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany
Happy weekend! I will be celebrating two of my lovely godchildren this weekend – the 1st birthday of one and the Christening of another. (Wish me luck getting a cake on the train and the tube!) Very...
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