Isabel Costello

LATEST ARTICLES ( 428 )

• Guest Author – Katharina Hagena on Her Debut Being Translated into 24 Languages

  

  My Hot Picks for 2013 includes two titles in translation, the first time that foreign-language fiction has been featured here. Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• On Location #5 – South Africa

  

  My husband JC and I share a love of travel. Just a couple of months after we met, we Inter-Railed around Western Europe (back when Eastern Europe was off limits! Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2013 DESTINATIONS, TRAVEL

• Guest Author – Emma Chapman on Setting Her Debut Novel in Scandinavia

  

  Emma Chapman’s debut novel How To Be A Good Wife was released last week after months of mounting anticipation amongst would-be readers. Read more

  Posted on 08 January 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Warning – You Are About to Enter The Cliché Zone

  

  Enough of the serious stuff – it’s silly season.  The Literary Sofa is usually all about good fiction and good writing – you’ve heard about my Best Books of... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Fiction: Hot Picks for 2013

  

  2012 has been an incredible first full year for the Literary Sofa and after months of research, tip-offs and an intense reading marathon, it’s time to unveil... Read more

  Posted on 11 December 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – Lightning Rods by Helen DeWitt

  

  Last week in 2012 – My Year in Books I revealed my six personal favourites. Today, for my final review of the year I’ve chosen one of the most memorable books... Read more

  Posted on 03 December 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 2012 – My Year in Books

  

  Jane Rusbridge’s ROOK inspired me to visit the Sussex Coast where it is setAlthough it’s not yet December, it’s not too early to do a round-up of my literary... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• What Makes a Sexy Fictional Hero?

  

  This post is a bit of fun. Do not even think about taking it seriously.When I first had the idea of writing about sexy fictional heroes, I was concerned that... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – D E Meredith ‘Why I Write What I DON’T Know’

  

  For my recent post Write What You Know? I received some great replies when I asked fellow writers what they make of this piece of advice. Read more

  Posted on 12 November 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Week in New York – A Disaster

  

  As you may know, I was in New York last week. I got home yesterday feeling very disoriented; it’s not just down to jetlag, it’s as if I’ve come to land in a... Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2012 CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Write What You Know?

  

  There are many sayings about writing and almost as many clichés, the number one surely being ‘There’s a novel in everyone.’I’m not getting into that. Read more

  Posted on 23 October 2012 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Book Review – Hawthorn & Child by Keith Ridgway

  

  I need to tell you something right up front – I don’t think any review can really do this book justice. It’s the impossibility of the task that makes me even... Read more

  Posted on 14 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Post – Lesley McDowell on Literary Critics and Book Bloggers

  

  Last week’s post Literary Taste – Who’s to Judge? attracted a lot of interest and thought-provoking contributions from readers, including literary critic... Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Literary Taste – Who’s to Judge?

  

  Last week, while the Chair of the 2012 Man Booker Prize judges Peter Stothard was claiming that book bloggers are ‘harming literature’, I was busy sifting... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Lloyd Shepherd on The Difference Between Writing a First and...

  

  It’s always fun when writers I know in the real world join me on the Literary Sofa. Enter today’s guest Lloyd Shepherd, author of The English Monster, the... Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Blog Anniversary Competition

  

  NOMINATE THE BOOK YOU’VE ENJOYED MOST THIS YEAR FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN A LITERARY LUNCH IN LONDON OR ONE OF MANY EXCITING BOOK PRIZESIt’s a lonely road... Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – NW by Zadie Smith

  

  Zadie Smith’s fourth novel NW has taken seven years to appear. Only elite novelists can get away with a gap that long, which sounds like a creative luxury but... Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE

• York Festival of Writing 2012

  

  Whoa, what a weekend! Last night I got back from the York Festival of Writing run by Writer’s Workshop, which in just a few years has established itself as the... Read more

  Posted on 10 September 2012 BOOKS

• A Place in My Heart – The Lubéron

  

  Well, we got back from our two week trip to Provence on Sunday night and this week is proving every bit as frantic as I expected –endless laundry and... Read more

  Posted on 05 September 2012 DESTINATIONS

• Book Review – Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

  

  Literary tigermania shows no sign of abating. White Tiger, The Tiger’s Wife, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother… Like all of these, the latest addition to the... Read more

  Posted on 15 August 2012 BOOKS