The latest Sam Clair series - I love these books set in the London publishing world.
Sam's neighbours are actors in a Jacobean revenge play - on openinThe latest Sam Clair series - I love these books set in the London publishing world.
Sam's neighbours are actors in a Jacobean revenge play - on opening night, the stage is strewn with bodies...but one of them is real. As in, really, really dead - the director, in fact. Sam's boyfriend Jake is in the audience with her, and as he is a Scotland Yard detective, he is first on the scene to investigate...but the show must go on anyway.
This is such a great series - I really hope there are more to come!...more
Stunning, poetic, beautiful, moving and very unusual. A memoir, a haunting, an elegy to a woman centuries dead and an account of the woman's life who Stunning, poetic, beautiful, moving and very unusual. A memoir, a haunting, an elegy to a woman centuries dead and an account of the woman's life who is trying to unearth her story. One of a kind with a voice like no other....more
An absolutely gorgeous story that any bookworm would delight in! Tilly, raised in her grandparent's bookshop, Pages & Co., has an affinity with readingAn absolutely gorgeous story that any bookworm would delight in! Tilly, raised in her grandparent's bookshop, Pages & Co., has an affinity with reading - sometimes it feels like the characters in her favourite books are really there, talking to her... A book full of adventure and charm with lots of corners to explore, that I imagine will happen in further books in the series. Recommended for bookloving children - of any age.
What a story! Set in what feels like Regency era England, but with a fantasy element that combines bookbinding and memory, love and loss, desire and cWhat a story! Set in what feels like Regency era England, but with a fantasy element that combines bookbinding and memory, love and loss, desire and control in a wholly unique way. A story with a forbidden love at it's heart that remains tantalisingly just out of reach, a smart and gripping structure and vividly drawn characters - I utterly loved this and have been urging it on friends ever since I finished it! It is also one of the most beautiful proof copies I've ever seen....more
A gorgeous young adult book about friendship, love, music, the importance of words, marginalia and most importantly, how books can carry messages throA gorgeous young adult book about friendship, love, music, the importance of words, marginalia and most importantly, how books can carry messages through time...
Beautiful, bitter-sweet and life affirming all at once, this is one of the best YA books i've read this year so far.
WARNING: Weeping while reading in public is a genuine possibility!
Charming and delightful, how has it taken me this long to get around to reading this? I love novels that use letters to tell their story, and this oneCharming and delightful, how has it taken me this long to get around to reading this? I love novels that use letters to tell their story, and this one is up there with 84 Charing Cross Road in wit and vivid characters....more
Well. If you, like me - and Lucy Mangan - are a bookworm, prepare to clasp this book to your heart... In a delightful mix of book reviews, memory and mWell. If you, like me - and Lucy Mangan - are a bookworm, prepare to clasp this book to your heart... In a delightful mix of book reviews, memory and memoir, Lucy revisits some of her childhood favourites, lightly sketches the history of publishing for children, reminds you of cherished books you loved as a child and introduces you to ones you wish you had read, and now will.
Insightful and snort-inducingly funny, this is the book for you if you:
Loved SVH Look for Secret Gardens Are Forever fans of Ralph Check the backs of old wardrobes
a warm and lovely book about family, community and the importance of libraries; places to dream, explore and share in. A lovely and lyrical marriage oa warm and lovely book about family, community and the importance of libraries; places to dream, explore and share in. A lovely and lyrical marriage of understated words and gentle illustrations - a book to fall in love with....more
Made me want to write my own tales of customer oddities in a bookshop - also made me neglect all the housework today (my day off) and howl with laughtMade me want to write my own tales of customer oddities in a bookshop - also made me neglect all the housework today (my day off) and howl with laughter. I know my upstairs neighbour definitely gave me A Look...my laughing may be more raucous than I know. In other words, treat yo'self & read it!...more
A wonderful book to dip into, or to read straight through - like I did - making notes as you go of authors whose work you now HAVE to track down.
ConfeA wonderful book to dip into, or to read straight through - like I did - making notes as you go of authors whose work you now HAVE to track down.
Confession: I've already downloaded one book mentioned, and I know if my bank balance can stand it, there will be more!
It's fascinating reading because there are writers in here I have never heard of - but also many that I know about in a subliminal way...I've seen a film based on their books, or read other books based firmly on their writings, or even seen the musical, which seems to be a rite of passage for many books.
There are also many authors that are my personal favourites, eliciting a 'Whaaaat?' reaction from me; but the inclusions are justified. Usually the books are out-of-print and can only be sourced (if that) second-hand; it makes me realise anew how many writers I came across rooting in charity shops/second-hand book shops.
For any bibliophile, this is an absolute treat - read it, treasure it, use it as a reference when you want to try something completely new that was once massively popular....more
Utterly gorgeous picture book about the pleasures and freedoms of reading. A little girl invites a little boy to go on a journey with her through readUtterly gorgeous picture book about the pleasures and freedoms of reading. A little girl invites a little boy to go on a journey with her through reading books - through seas made of type from Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe, in caves formed from the text of Treasure Island, escaping from a monster from the text of Frankenstein down a rope from the words of Rapunzel.
Playful yet profound, the book invites us to consider - what books am I a child of?...more
Dazzling, inventive, laugh-out-loud funny...dancing with twisty concepts and gnarly ideas...vivid characters, brilliant sense of place...but above allDazzling, inventive, laugh-out-loud funny...dancing with twisty concepts and gnarly ideas...vivid characters, brilliant sense of place...but above all, a fantastically engaging story.
Mosca, an orphan girl in a small town, completely changes her own and others destiny when she rescues Eponymous Clent from the stocks and runs off with him and a homicidal goose, Saracen. She does this because although he is a liar and a conman, he uses words like an artist and she has been starved of words since her father died... Upon the road to the fabled city of Mandelion, they come upon combative boatmen, highwaymen, and the Lady Tamarind - white and shining as a pearl... Intrigue, treachery and a ruthless but secret struggle for the heart of the city follow in a wonderful, page-turning romp that borrows a little from 18th Century England.
This brims with vitality and wit and sharp-edged intelligence - the author has the gift of writing about place in a way that grants you glimpses of the canvas from a much larger picture. From the tiny town of Chough to the glittering spires of Mandelion, this world has texture and depth to it.
And oh my! the glorying in words, beautiful words! Has there ever been a better name for a slippery character than Eponymous Clent? or black-eyed, watchful Mosca Mye? Words, and the freedom to express them, are really the running theme throughout the novel; no matter what the cost...
"Words were dangerous when loosed. They were more powerful than cannon and more unpredictable than storms. They could turn men's heads inside out and warp their destinies. They could pick up kingdoms and shake them until they rattled. And this was a good thing, a wonderful thing..."
Also, never before have I encountered a deux ex machina being played by a goose!...more
Such a joy to rediscover this on my shelves, sitting innocently beside it's sister volume At Large and at Small:Confessions of a Literary Hedonist. I Such a joy to rediscover this on my shelves, sitting innocently beside it's sister volume At Large and at Small:Confessions of a Literary Hedonist. I took it down just to flick through the pages, and was instantly captivated - again.
One of my favourite quotes in the wonderful book -
'Alas! Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore!' Henry Ward Beecher....more
Read before in June 2012 and December 2013. this reread being prompted by watching BBC's Death Comes to Pemberley. What a fascinating, intriguing bookRead before in June 2012 and December 2013. this reread being prompted by watching BBC's Death Comes to Pemberley. What a fascinating, intriguing book - now off to read either Emma for the nth time, or Northanger Abbey for the first time!...more
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