John of John by Douglas Stuart

This beautiful, devastating, wonderful book… John of John by Douglas Stuart is my first, hands-down five-star read this year.

The story begins simply – Cal, out of money and with little to show for his art school education in Edinburgh, takes the ferry home to the island of Harris  –

…the closer he got to home, the more lost he felt. Continue reading

Things That Are Making Me Happy This Week

01. Cocktails and snacks at The Florence – it’s newish; they have a negroni menu; and helpfully the kitchen is open until 1am. A Piazza Rosa above (Campari, hibiscus, gin and raspberries) and sensational oysters with negroni granita below. Continue reading

20 Books of Summer (except that it’s Winter)

Annabel from AnnaBookBel is hosting the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge this year. The challenge is straightforward – read the books between June 1st and August 31st. I reckon this is the most relaxed reading challenge you can participate in (swap books out, change your target, do whatever). Continue reading

I’m waiting for… 2026 edition

Proving that I don’t actually care about my never-really-shrinking-TBR-list are these upcoming 2026 releases that I intend to add to my bookshelf. Continue reading

My Best Books for 2022

 

I did away with ‘top tens’ a few years ago, and instead I finish the reading year with a recap of the books that are still speaking to me (less about four and five-star ratings, more about what has stuck). Continue reading

Quick (very quick) reviews

Yep, running out of time to draw a line under the reviews for the year. Some of these I’ve been meaning to write for eleven months. Lucky it doesn’t actually matter… Continue reading

The Top 54 from the Best Books of 2022 List of Lists

Presenting the 2022 Commonly-Agreed-by-the-People-Who-Publish-Best-of-2022-Book-Lists-Before-December-31 top 54 books.

(This is my annual community service to book-bloggers – a list of the books that appear most frequently on the 52 lists that I listed on Best Books of 2022 – A List of Lists – enjoy!). Continue reading

I’m waiting for… 2022 edition

Proving that I don’t actually care about my never-really-shrinking-TBR-list is this list of new releases that are on my radar for 2022. Continue reading

My Best Books for 2021

I did away with ‘top tens’ a few years ago, and instead I finish the reading year with a recap of the books that are still speaking to me (less about four and five-star ratings, more about what has stuck). Continue reading