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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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#137: Resolved or Unresolved Endings? and Perfection vs Catherine Carter
Resolved endings, Pamela Hansford Johnson, Vincenzo Latronico – welcome to episode 137 of Tea or Books?! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tea-or-books-137.mp3 In the first half...
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Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson
As you may know, if you’ve been here for a while, my doctoral thesis looked at fantastic novels – specifically those aimed at a middlebrow audience, published between the World Wars. By ‘fantastic’, I...
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Maggie on the Walls: Peas in a Podcast #21!
It’s episode 21 of the podcast I do with my identical twin bro Colin! In this episode we discuss international standard units of measurements, big apples, tips for job interviews, and Dr Crippen. All...
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The 1952 Club: your reviews
The 1952 Club is here! There already seems to be a bit of a buzz in the blogosphere, which is lovely. Because this is the biannual event where Karen and I ask everyone to read and review books...
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Treasure Hunt by Molly Keane – #1952Club
The first post-it that came out of my 1952 Club bowl was Treasure Hunt by M.J. Farrell – the pseudonym of Molly Keane, and my Virago Modern Classic uses both names on the cover, though the newer...
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Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson #1952Club
One of the things I love about our clubs are when it leads me to read books that have languished on my shelves for years – and they end up exceeding my expectations. In some cases, by a long way. I’d...
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The Bright Blue Eye by Katherine Dunning – #1952Club
The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning was my favourite read of last year, and has been reprinted in the British Library Women Writers series (hurrah!) so naturally that set me off to see what else...
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The Equations of Love by Ethel Wilson – #1952Club
I bought The Equations of Love by Ethel Wilson in Canada back in 2017, based on her being a Persephone author. Since then, I’ve read another couple of novels by her – but I think this overlooked gem...
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Barmy in Wonderland by P.G. Wodehouse – #1952Club
It is a truth universally acknowledged that every club year will have appearances by Georges Simenon and Georgette Heyer – but there’s another prolific mid-century writer who usually turns up too....
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Trial By Terror by Paul Gallico #1952Club
Paul Gallico is one of the most varied writers I’ve encountered. Not just in terms of quality – though that’s probably true – but in terms of the types of books he writes. He’s perhaps best known in...
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A couple of #1952Club mysteries
Almost any club year will have a host of vintage murder mysteries (and Neeru always comes up with some good candidates) – 1952 is no exception. I’m not sure when the Golden Age technically ended, so...
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Fever of Love by Rosamond Harcourt-Smith – #1952Club
I’m always willing to take a punt on a cheaply priced mid-century novel by a British woman, and that’s how Fever of Love by Rosamond Harcourt-Smith ended up in my hands on a trip to Hay-on-Wye a while...
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Don’t Look Round by Violet Trefusis – #1952Club
There was a time when I would indiscriminately buy almost any book connected to the Bloomsbury Group. To a certain extent, that’s a book-buying era I’m still living – but I don’t seem to read them as...
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Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison #1952Club
My post about Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison is going to be short – because what on earth was I thinking, back in 2012, when I bought this Virago Modern Classic? Well, maybe I’ve answered my own...
View ArticleThe next club… your suggestions!
What a fun 1952 Club it’s been! I’ve tried to collect all of your reviews, though do let me know if I’ve missed anything – and I have an awful lot of them still to read, as it’s been a busy week at...
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Announcing the 10th Anniversary Reading Week Club!
Thank you to everyone who took part in the 1952 Club and, yes, I still indeed to read lots more posts(!) – and thank you especially to everyone who submitted ideas for the special 10th anniversary club...
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People in the Room by Norah Lange – #ABookADayInMay Day 1
It’s May, and that means it’s A Book A Day in May time! I’m delighted to see that Madame Bibi is back at the challenge too, and I thank her for inspiring me every year to take it up. It’s always quite...
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The Happy Ending by Leo Walmsley – #ABookADayInMay Day 2
The Happy Ending (1957) is the third book in Leo Walmsley’s trilogy of autobiographical novels – starting with Love in the Sun and followed (rather later) by The Golden Waterwheel. Clicking on those...
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#ABookADayInMay: Days 3, 4, 5
I was away for the Bank Holiday weekend, which is why I’m behind with reviewing books for A Book A Day In May – but I did manage to keep reading, hopefully without being too antisocial to the friends...
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