What better time to read Jared Diamond’s Upheaval? After all, the world is having a crisis of some sort at the moment. Sadly, the book doesn’t lay out a ten-step-plan to get ourselves out of the COVID-19 crisis, as it was published in 2019, a world away from what is actually going on now. Still. Jared Diamond’s Upheaval is a case study of 7 nations … Continue reading Jared Diamond’s “Upheaval” – book review
Known to quite a few people as “the other Booker winner (not the Atwood)”, Evaristo’s book recently came out in paperback with a lovely very tempting cover. Girl Woman Other chronicles the lives of black British women who are linked either by family relations (the book covers several mother-daughter pairs) or tangential connections. Be warned though, the novel uses no formal sentences. Apart from commas, … Continue reading Bernardine Evaristo’s “Girl, Woman, Other” – book review
When I picked up The Secret Barrister, I expected something similar to a diary – the anonymized trials and privations of a barrister working in court. Instead, the book is a depiction of the functioning of the criminal justice system with a chapter each dedicated to the victim, the Prosecution (Crown Prosecution Service), the Defendant, the Magistrates Court, the Crown Court – you name it. I … Continue reading The Secret Barrister – book review
I have a history of not receiving feedback terribly well. When I was little and my Mum had the audacity to say that I was not vacuum cleaning in the corners, I would cross my arms and reply “You can do it yourself if you don’t like it”. The slightest criticism was a risk of me either giving up or bursting into tears. Obviously, as … Continue reading Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen “Thanks for the Feedback” – book review
Do not eat everything in the house… Continue reading Things not to do when social distancing
If this was a realistic novel about spies in suits, I’d be so happy… Continue reading Jason Matthews “The Red Sparrow” – book review
Did I really ‘read’ William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy?
I let it waft around me, listening on Audible as I cooked dinner and I cleared the kitchen. That is surely not the reading it deserves. Continue reading William Dalrymple’s “The Anarchy” – book review
Though the Brave New World was written in 1932, its unashamed dualism feels eerily contemporary. Continue reading Aldous Huxley “Brave New World” – book review
My deeply non-profound and entirely useless thoughts occurring during the crisis. No useful information here. Continue reading Weird thoughts that suddenly strike me when I’m social distancing
I opened the first few pages – featuring a scene at the gynecologist – and I was impressed. Women have all been there, but it takes a gutsy author to be able to write about it. Continue reading Candice Carty-Williams “Queenie” – book review
