Clik here to view.
The Persimmon Tree by Marjorie Barnard
I hope you’ve had a wonderful Christmas, if you celebrate – indeed, I hope you are still having it, since we are still in the 12 days. I love Christmas and I intend to make the most of every moment of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany
Happy Betwixtmas! And welcome to the final weekend miscellany of 2023. Tomorrow, I’ll be posting my favourite reads of the year – I always enjoy the little ritual of sitting down with my year’s reads...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Top Books of 2023
I’m delighted to unveil my top reads of the year – as ever, considering how much I enjoyed them and how good I think they are, wrapped up into one. Apparently I usually do 12, but this year it wasn’t...
View ArticleMy top films of 2023
For the first time, in 2023, I kept a list of the films I watched. I discovered that most of what I want from movies is to be silly and fun and usually short – I watched maybe three disposable films...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Century of Books: 1925-2024
I’ve set myself a 2024 reading challenge! Long-time StuckinaBook readers will remember a few previous times I’ve done ‘A Century of Books’ – reading a book published every year for a century. I...
View Article2023: Some Reading Stats
Reading people’s favourite books of the year, and their reading stats, is always my favourite period of the book blogging calendar. Here are mine – and here’s the link to the 2022 stats, which I’ll be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The World Between Two Covers by Ann Morgan
Every Christmas, I seem to read a book I was given for the previous Christmas. Partly that’s me looking at a particular book and thinking, “Gosh, I’ve wanted to read that for a whole year.” Partly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tea or Books? #124: Our Favourite Reads of 2023
Our favourite books from 2023 – or reads, because of course we mostly read ‘backlisted’ titles. Always a fun one to record – this time with the added bonus that we were each going to choose one from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill
When I was in Toronto, I met up with a listener to Tea or Books? – Debra – and, after a lovely dinner, we went book shopping. I told her I was on the lookout for Canadian authors writing about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning
When Scott (aka Furrowed Middlebrow) raves about a novel, you take notice. Katherine Dunning’s little-known 1934 novel was his favourite read of last year and he wrote extremely enthusiastically about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
I don’t usually stand behind the idea that the books we read in school are ruined for us – but I have to admit that I have no long-lasting love for Of Mice and Men. It was rewarding to analyse for my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Twice Lost by Phyllis Paul
When I read R.B. Russell’s very good Fifty Forgotten Books, there were a handful of books that particularly appealed – and one of them was Phyllis Paul’s much-admired but out-of-print Twice Lost...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Day by Michael Cunningham
If you read my Top Books of 2023 or listened to the ‘Tea or Books?’ episode where Rachel and I shared our favourite reads, you’ll have already heard that I really loved Day by Michael Cunningham. It...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Unnecessary Rankings! Jane Austen
It’s actually surprising that it’s taken me this long to rank Jane Austen in my Unnecessary Rankings series. Because surely we’ve all had this conversation with fellow Austenites at some point? It’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
I go to my village book group because I enjoy discussing books and getting to know people. I don’t particularly expect to enjoy the novels. It leans much more modern than my taste, and often towards...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
I think my friend Kirsty first mentioned Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, and it falls in a genre I particularly like – the sort of essay that is both personal and well-researched. When they lean too...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Death and Mary Dazill by Mary Fitt
With a title like Death and Mary Dazill (1941) and the cover you see above, I knew I couldn’t resist reading this novel. It went on my wishlist, and my friend Clare gave it to me for my birthday last...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Three quick reviews
I don’t normally write about every book I read, but A Century of Books project means that… well, I do! So here are three short takes on books that I don’t want to write about in full. There are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Oracles by Margaret Kennedy
It’s not often that I buy a book and read it straightaway, but I was so intrigued by The Oracles (1955) by Margaret Kennedy when I picked it up in Chipping Camden last weekend that I immediately...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tea or Books? #125: Do We Read Celeb Memoirs? and Day vs Landscape in Sunlight
Celeb memoirs, Michael Cunningham, Elizabeth Fair – welcome to episode 125! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/tea-or-books-125.mp3 In the first half, Rachel and I discuss...
View Article