Booksnob

LATEST ARTICLES ( 302 )

• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

  

  This is not the kind of book you can review without destroying the reading experience of others coming after you, so I’m not going to review it, as such. Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Changes Afoot

  

  Some of you who subscribe to my other blog, Old Fashioned Girls, which I write with my dear friend Miranda, may have seen that yesterday the blog was updated,... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Amalfi Coast

  

  I have longed to visit the Amalfi Coast for years, entranced by the beautiful pictures I have seen of its rugged coastline and pastel coloured villages... Read more

  Posted on 23 August 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

  

  Image from hereI took this delightful book on holiday with me, and it was the perfect read for lazy days bathed in the warm Mediterranean sun. Read more

  Posted on 15 August 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Naples and Herculaneum

  

  ‘See Naples and die’ said Goethe, after experiencing the glories of Naples in the Golden days of the Bourbon Kings. Naples was once the wealthiest and most... Read more

  Posted on 11 August 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym

  

  While chuckling away quietly to myself as I read this book, I kept wondering why I don’t read Barbara Pym more often. She writes with a dry, well observed wit... Read more

  Posted on 08 August 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Sorrento and Capri

  

  I have just returned from a glorious week in Italy, exploring Naples and the Amalfi Coast. What could be a more perfect way to spend the summer holidays? Read more

  Posted on 04 August 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Westwood by Stella Gibbons

  

  When Vintage republished a large proportion of Stella Gibbons’ back catalogue a couple of years ago, I was delighted. I’d read and loved the hilarious Cold... Read more

  Posted on 29 July 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Notes from the Classroom

  

  It’s been a challenging year. For much of it, I had utterly fallen out of love with teaching and decided that it wasn’t for me. Read more

  Posted on 23 July 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden

  

  Furthering my mission to read the many unread books on my bookshelves this summer, I plucked the very seasonally appropriate The Greengage Summer out of its... Read more

  Posted on 20 July 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• West of the River

  

  I rarely go far into West London, but this weekend I decided a trip to somewhere different was well overdue. Intrepid university friend Emma and I therefore... Read more

  Posted on 14 July 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Fair Stood the Wind for France by H E Bates

  

  This is one of those rare war novels actually written and published during the war, bringing with it that crackling sense of tension that can only be created... Read more

  Posted on 06 July 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Chevening House

  

  Last weekend, I took advantage of one of the rare open garden events at my local stately home, Chevening, to finally have a chance to see what was apparently th... Read more

  Posted on 02 July 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• A Month in the Country by J L Carr

  

  This beautifully written novel, set in the depths of the Yorkshire countryside in the summer of 1920, was the perfect follow up to Cider with Rosie. Read more

  Posted on 29 June 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• London Strolling

  

  There is nothing better than London in the sun. Suddenly, everything becomes rather European. Restaurants spill out onto the pavements. Markets and stalls pop u... Read more

  Posted on 23 June 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee

  

  I somehow managed to get through school, university and most of my twenties without reading Lee’s seminal memoir of everyday life in early 20th century rural... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal

  

  When I worked at the V&A;, I met Edmund de Waal in passing several times. If I had known he had such a fascinating family history to tell, I would have... Read more

  Posted on 11 June 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Pleasures and Landscapes by Sybille Bedford

  

  When I saw this on display in Daunt Books, I knew I had to have it. For starters, the cover design is absolutely beautiful, and I couldn’t resist such a pretty... Read more

  Posted on 07 June 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• More London Touring

  

  Last week was half term, and a much needed break before the seemingly never ending seven weeks until the summer holidays. I relaxed, I read, I played with my... Read more

  Posted on 02 June 2014 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, TRAVEL

• Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deirdre Madden

  

  I’ve had this book hanging around for a couple of years; I’d read good reviews and picked it up when I saw it in a charity shop, but didn’t feel immediately... Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE