I am a sucker for a Hollywood memoir and have long been a fan of the wonderful Teri Garr, who I think is one of the best comic actors to have come out of Hollywood. I was keen to read her autobiography for more personal reasons as she has MS, which I too have, and…
Read more No 410 Speedbumps by Teri Garr Book 11 of #20booksofsummer21
A character in the opening story of Like Life muses on how lost she feels, wondering ‘How did one get here? How did ones eye-patched, rot-toothed life lead one so cruelly, like a trick, to the middle of the sea?’ It is a question that many of the characters in these perceptive and poignant stories…
Read more No 412 Like Life by Lorrie Moore Book 8 of #20booksofsummer21
There is something I find comforting about novels that explore the intricacy and detail of everyday life. I enjoy books that are no less eventful than the lives of the majority of people, but which shine a light on the universal truths hidden inside. What strikes me most about Anne Tyler’s writing is the extent…
Read more No 413 Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler Book 7 of #20booksofsummer
I’m sure at some point Ira Levin has written a bad book, but so far, I haven’t read it yet. Following on from my enjoyment of Rosemary’s Baby and The Stepford Wives comes another crime classic, made all the more impressive by the knowledge that this was his debut novel, published when he was just…
Read more No 414 A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin Book 5 of #20booksofsummer
In the last few years I have read two books by Gwendoline Riley – First Love and My Phantoms – and have been incredibly impressed by both. My Phantoms was in my top books of 2020. Cold Water is Riley’s debut novel, published in 2002. While it is in no way as impressive as her…
Read more No 415 Cold Water by Gwendoline Riley Book 4 of #20booksofsummer
Claire Messud’s gracefully written novel The Emperor’s Children, is incredibly readable and entertaining but on a formidable scale. Set for the most part in New York City in 2000, it focuses on the social and personal lives of a group of young affluent New York professionals as they navigate a series of personal and political…
By Crooked Cat author, Val Penny
Energy with Positive Purpose
There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say. – Italo Calvino
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Book reviews and good books for you to read
