Books

This Devastating Fever, Sophie Cunningham I liked this a lot. It's a terrific evocation of the Bloomsbury set, about which I've read a lot except not so much about Leonard Woolf. He's the focus here. We follow the trials and tribulations of a writer as she attempts a biography of him; taking years and years, finally giving up when she sees … [Read more...] about Books October – November 2024

I read these books back in September - October both before and during my reading of Praiseworthy when in need of light relief. The Friday Afternoon Club, Griffin Dunne I read this before starting Praiseworthy. It was spruiked as a memoir by a Hollywood insider that was a cut above the usual, but I didn't find it so. The author is of the … [Read more...] about Books Pre-Praiseworthy

A big picture of a big book. Seven hundred and twenty three pages. I bought it as soon as it came out - I loved Wright's Carpentaria and enjoyed Tracker. But I knew it would take energy and commitment to read it, so it's taken me this long to finally do so. Conscientiously avoiding all the rave reviews - I like to make my own mind up without being … [Read more...] about Praise for Praiseworthy

I've been immersed in the world of Iris Murdoch these last eight weeks. While I've read them in the past I couldn’t remember anything about her novels, including the three I own: The Sea The Sea, The Book & The Brotherhood and A Fairly Honourable Defeat. My renewed interest was sparked by Peter J. Conradi's Family Business: A memoir which I … [Read more...] about Books June/July 2024 – Iris & Friends

The Last Devil To Die, Richard Osman I hadn't intended to read this as I thought the author had run out of steam with the third in the series which you can see given how little I wrote about it here. I didn't even write very much about the first two despite having really enjoyed them as you can see from this blogpost. But Pauline loaned it to … [Read more...] about Books: April – May 2024

The Letters of Seamus Heaney, Ed. Christopher Reid I spent March immersed in the world of Seamus Heaney. Joe gave me this beautiful book for Christmas - ordered before the 25th December, it took a while to arrive. I like the informality of letters (and diaries) as an easy way to get to know a person in their own words. I found these ones … [Read more...] about Books – March/April 2024