Pechorin

LATEST ARTICLES ( 230 )

• A Reading Journal of the Plague Year

  

  I read more in 2021 than at any time I suspect since I was a teenager. Oddly that’s not because I had more free time, I didn’t. Read more

  Posted on 04 January 2022 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 2020 – a Bad Year with Some Good Books

  

  I read on my commute. It’s a sentence that could be past or present tense, but of course it’s been past tense for nearly twelve months now. Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2021 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Now She Had Taken off Her Goodness and Left It Behind Like a Heap of...

  

  May roundup Despite still being very busy May was a reasonably solid reading month. I managed a bit of variation in terms of genre (SF, crime, literary, comic)... Read more

  Posted on 10 July 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• What God Shorted Me in Looks, He Compensated Me for in Gab.

  April roundup April wasn’t the cruellest month, but it was the busiest for quite some time. As a result I read only two books. On the plus side, both were good. Read more

  Posted on 04 June 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Brother Oliver Shook His Head. “I’m Not Entirely Convinced a Freudian Priest is ...

  

  It’s May, I know. I’m part of the UK Government’s Covid-19 response which means I’m working crazy hours. Blogging, including reading blogs, reading anything... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• February Round-up

  

  Between work and house hunting February was a very light reading month. Just three books! However, they were very good books. March is another story given recen... Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• January Round-up

  

  So, in the hope of turning over a newish leaf, here’s the first of my monthly reading round-ups for 2020. Water Shall Refuse Them, by Lucie McKnight Hardy My... Read more

  Posted on 07 February 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Such Are the Debts Among Men; They’re Paid with Songs and Bullets.

  

  Hi all, long time no see. As anyone following this blog may have guessed I’ve struggled to find time to post this past year. That’s somewhat ironic given I... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• February Was a Sullen Captive in the Afternoon Mist

  

  March was a strong reading month. Through March and April I’ve been very busy at work so finding time to read was a challenge. The answer was shorter, punchier... Read more

  Posted on 30 April 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• February Roundup (still a Bit Belatedly)

  

  So, here’s my February roundup as recently promised. February was an intense month at work and I read very little. On the other hand, I did enjoy what I read, s... Read more

  Posted on 16 March 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• January Roundup (slightly Belatedly)

  

  I’d hoped to do my January roundup straight after January ended, but I had an intense period at work and then flu which was fairly brutal. Read more

  Posted on 10 March 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 2018 Round up

  

  As anyone who’s read this blog for any time will have noticed, my updates took rather a dip in the second half of the year. That was due to my change of job, an... Read more

  Posted on 06 January 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• I Wondered If You Could Ever Rely on Someone Who Makes Their Living Selling Fizz...

  

  I Stole the Rain, by Elisa Ruotolo and translated by Lisa McCreadle Originally I was writing this up for an (overdue) August round-up post, but this was an... Read more

  Posted on 22 October 2018 BOOKS, CULTURE

• I Cannot Surrender My Soul to Any Nation State, Or to Any Set of Beliefs.

  

  It’s been a little while since my last update. I’ve had holiday (Bologna, always lovely) and started a new job (Cabinet Office, fascinating). Between all that... Read more

  Posted on 17 August 2018 BOOKS, CULTURE

• We Were Slim and Pleasing, Like People in a Picture.

  

  A Certain Smile, by Françoise Sagan and translated by Irene Ash A while back now I read and loved Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse. Come the searing summer... Read more

  Posted on 06 July 2018 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Time Played Its Usual Trick in the Presence of Holt House.

  

  June roundup June was a pretty solid reading month, despite a bit of a weak start. Here’s my now regular round-up (and a lovely illustration to kick things off... Read more

  Posted on 02 July 2018 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Harriet and Clarence Drove up to the Chaussée in What Seemed the Last Sunset of...

  

  The Great Fortune, by Olivia Manning I’m a latecomer to Olivia Manning. She’s one of those authors who’ve often been recommended to me but who seemed to blur... Read more

  Posted on 25 June 2018 BOOKS, CULTURE

• People Who Know How to Sing While Shaving Are Fortunate.

  

  A Different Sea, by Claudio Magris and translated by MS Spurr civilization, like gardening, is the art of pruning. This is an unusual one – a book that utterly... Read more

  Posted on 14 June 2018 BOOKS, CULTURE

• You Have Heard Variations on Tram Timetables?’

  

  Care of Wooden Floors, by Will Wiles This is another that I wanted to return to with a longer post after my recent May roundup. Will Wiles is an architecture... Read more

  Posted on 11 June 2018 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Sometimes My Father Loves Us, and Sometimes He Doesn’t.

  

  Child of all Nations, by Irmgard Keun and translated by Michael Hofmann I wrote up Child of All Nations as part of my recent May roundup post, but it was so goo... Read more

  Posted on 08 June 2018 BOOKS, CULTURE