Booksnob

LATEST ARTICLES ( 302 )

• Ypres

  

  A couple of weeks ago, I went on a day trip with some of my students to the battlefields of WWI, in and around Ypres. Having read and taught plenty of WWI... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

  

  I’d been looking forward to reading this book for ages. I adored Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead trilogy of novels, which are the most beautiful, lyrical,... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• London Culture

  

  I love a good cultural outing, and I’ve been up to a fair bit lately in London, which has a range of fantastic plays and exhibitions on offer at the moment. Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Caught by Henry Green

  

  I would have to say that Henry Green is probably amongst the best of the many literary discoveries I have made over the past few years. Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Sundays in Shoreditch

  

  Thanks to having friends in East London who are always very generous with offering me a bed at the weekend, I have been spending a lot of time in the East End... Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Happy Tree by Rosalind Murray

  

  This is one of Persephone’s newest batch of books, and is an evocative, sensitively written and powerfully moving novel that was a pure pleasure to read. Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Where the Chartered Thames Does Flow

  

  Of late I have been enjoying some glorious journeys along the Thames, exploring the stories the buildings on its banks tell about the changing neighbourhoods... Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Germany: Memories of a Nation by Neil MacGregor

  

  When I think about Germany, my first association is always war, followed by Nazis, followed by concentration camps. I imagine that most people who aren’t... Read more

  Posted on 03 January 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Celebrate Good Times

  

  So, another year comes to a close. 2014 has been an interesting experience for me. I learned a lot, professionally and personally. Read more

  Posted on 30 December 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Merry Christmas!

  

  Image from hereThank you for your patience with my sporadic posts this year. It has, as always, been such a joy to have you reading along, sharing in the highs... Read more

  Posted on 24 December 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Life, Etc

  

  So, it’s December. Already. I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that life appears to speed up as you get older. The sense of anticipation, the wonderful fossil-in-ambe... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Vienna

  

  After reading Edmund de Waal’s The Hare with Amber Eyes, I was determined to go and visit Vienna. He made it sound like an absolutely beautiful city, with a... Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Wartime Reading

  

  I can’t believe it’s November: October was so busy that it completely ran away with me. I did lots of things and read lots of things, and saw lots of people... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• London in the Autumn

  

  I love this time of year. Autumn is my absolute favourite season, and living in the countryside as I have for the past couple of years now, I have gained an eve... Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier

  

  When Miranda chose this for our first Old Fashioned Girls Book Club, I was delighted to have the opportunity to revisit a novel that has long haunted me. Read more

  Posted on 06 October 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• On Writing

  

  One month into my first determined effort to write a novel, things are going quite well. I’m not convinced the book itself is going to be particularly fantastic... Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

  

  Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is one of those childhood classics, like Anne of Green Gables, that managed to pass me by when I was young. Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Back to Charleston

  

  Just before the end of the summer holidays, I decided to return to Charleston, country home of the Bloomsbury Group, so that I could see the house at its best. Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt

  

  This was one of the novels on the Booker Prize longlist, and when I saw it on display in my local library, I thought I’d give it a go. Read more

  Posted on 11 September 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Yorkshire

  

  When Miranda and her mum invited me to spend a week with them in Yorkshire this summer, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. I adore everything about the... Read more

  Posted on 05 September 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE