Booksnob

LATEST ARTICLES ( 302 )

• The Help by Kathryn Stockett

  

  Reading books on the bestseller lists is not something I habitually do, as you know. If I do dabble in such lowbrow reading material, I only do so at least a... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Notes from the Classroom

  

  I’ve now been teaching for three months. They have flown by, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve been teaching forever. I can barely remember my old life as... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Paris, Day Three

  

  Our last day in Paris was one of those glorious late October days when the sky is blue, the air is crisp, the smell of woodsmoke is in the air and golden... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2012 DESTINATIONS, TRAVEL

• Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

  

  Someone at a Distance was the very first Persephone book I bought. I devoured it in a couple of days, enthralled by the story that unfolded before me. Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Paris, Day Two

  

  On our second day in Paris, we woke up refreshed and ready for another day of culture. Our only plan was to visit the Musee d’Orsay, which we were both... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• On Timeless Novels

  

  I recently re-read To Kill a Mockingbird in preparation for teaching it to a class this half term. I last read it when I was a teenager, and remember being... Read more

  Posted on 10 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Paris, Day One

  

  When I visited Paris earlier this year, I didn’t do much more than simply walk around and marvel at the beauty of everything in sight. Everything was new, and... Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Versailles

  

  During my first trip to Paris earlier this year, I didn’t have time to visit Versailles, which I was really disappointed about, so this time I made it my first... Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2012 DESTINATIONS, TRAVEL

• Patience by John Coates

  

  Persephone’s new book for the Autumn/Winter is an absolute delight from start to finish. After a run of some disappointing books, Patience had me desperate to... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Notes from the Classroom

  

  Phew. It’s half term, at last! My first eight weeks of teaching are over, and what a whirlwind it has been! I am absolutely exhausted, both mentally and... Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2012 SCHOOLING

• Season of Mist and Mellow Fruitfulness

  

  Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun…once upon a time I could recite that entire poem, but now I can only just about manage the first two lines. Read more

  Posted on 23 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• When a Favourite Disappoints

  

  I haven’t written about her much on this blog, if at all, but one of my favourite modern novelists is Anne Tyler. I was first introduced to her when I was... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton

  

  When Simon waxed lyrical about Guard Your Daughters a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to read it. Any book that has shades of I Capture the Castle about it... Read more

  Posted on 14 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Autumnal Ambles

  

  I love this time of year. The nights are drawing in, there’s the faint smell of bonfires in the air, trees are starting to flame and the pavements are littered... Read more

  Posted on 07 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Heir by Vita Sackville-West

  

  Going to Sissinghurst reminded me that I haven’t read any Vita Sackville-West for a long time. Her writing doesn’t get much attention these days, though Virago... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst

  

  When I sorted through my books this summer, I wasn’t surprised to see that barely any of the books I own are ‘contemporary’ – read post 1980. Read more

  Posted on 29 September 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Notes from the Classroom

  

  I’ve decided that I’m going to do a monthly post on my teaching course on the blog, both for myself, to see how I’m progressing, and also for those of you who... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Culture, In Brief

  

  I saw Anna Karenina last night. I was prepared to be disappointed; I had heard disconcerting reports of it all being set in an empty theatre, and with Keira... Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• A Vita Weekend

  

  This weekend one of my dearest friends came to visit, all the way from Washington D.C. Emily and I met at university when she was on her Junior Year Abroad... Read more

  Posted on 16 September 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• On Giving Up

  

  Well, I’ve finally called it a day on Anna Karenina. It has been sitting by my bed for over a week, unopened and radiating guilt. Read more

  Posted on 10 September 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE