It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up. Continue reading
Tag Archives: John Boyne
Reading Ireland Month 2024
It’s fast approaching March which in the bookish world, is Reading Ireland Month, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. I’ll be using it as an opportunity to attack the TBR stack. I’ll be selecting from the following: Continue reading
Sample Saturday – a suspect, water and a child
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
Six Degrees lets me find links between the various books I read – sometimes a theme, sometimes an odd detail, sometimes it’s something totally random. But there’s also book serendipity (as described by Bookish Beck) – I don’t keep track of it, but I notice it. When I began A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne, I was aware of the serendipitous links to other books I was reading or had just finished. Indulge me a moment – Continue reading
20 Books of Summer (except that it’s Winter)
Cathy at 746 Books is hosting the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge again this year. As Cathy explains, it’s the most relaxed reading challenge you’ll participate in (swap books out, change your target, do whatever). The challenge is straightforward – read twenty books between June 1st and September 1st. Continue reading
Reading Ireland Month 2023
It’s fast approaching March which in the bookish world, is Reading Ireland Month. Cathy at 746 Books has set a theme for each week (to be used as a prompt if needed). My theme is ‘attack the TBR stack’. 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
Six Degrees of Separation – from Wintering to Alone Together
It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up. Continue reading
The Echo Chamber by John Boyne
I enjoy live comedy. The very best comedians are masters of the narrative – introducing a theme early, meandering around related topics, only to loop back to the initial idea for that final punchline. Done well, it’s immensely satisfying.
The Echo Chamber by John Boyne is like a 420-page comedy skit. The broad themes are political correctness and social media, and from there Boyne weaves a deliciously sharp satire that had me laughing out loud – and all those threads came to a neat ending with a brilliant final line. Continue reading
20 Books of Summer (except that it’s Winter)
Cathy at 746 Books is hosting the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge again this year. As Cathy explains, it’s the most relaxed reading challenge you’ll participate in (swap books out, change your target, do whatever). The challenge is straightforward – read twenty books between June 1st and September 1st. Continue reading