On Yōko Ogawa’s dystopian novel: ‘The Memory Police’

A novelist lives on an unnamed island whose inhabitants have been slowly losing objects. Or rather, the objects remain for a while, fading only in memory. Birds, bean bags, perfume. Gone. Memory police patrol the island, ensuring that citizens keep no trace of the things they should be forgetting. And those who remember have the most to lose. As I read this, I thought of Offred in The Handmaid’s...

Reading Review: February 2020

Here are some mini reviews of the books I read last month (February)! Be My Guest by Priya Basil (3/5) I finished this as the UK officially left the European Union, which definitely added a painful aspect to reading. Priya writes about immigrants and refugees, about hospitality and how we welcome others through sharing food. It was touching and insightful, with glimpses into her own life and...

First Reads of The Year - January 2020

Hi, hello. Happy (very belated) New Year! One month down. We did it. It's been an intense month for me, unfortunately. I also didn't love a lot of the books I discuss below, but I have high hopes for the books due to be published later in the year. Surrender the Pink by Carrie Fisher 4/5 Carrie was such a brilliant writer. She wrote funny, uncomfortable dialogue and shared the vulnerabilities...

Reading Review: December

Here's a (very overdue) post about the books I read in the last month of 2019! Tin Man by Sarah Winman, 4/5 This was an interesting portrayal of the friendship between two boys as they grow into men. It touches on grief, masculinity and sexuality. I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but it's genuinely heartbreaking and wonderful. Clock Dance by Anne Tyler, 1/5  I...

A Little Bookshop Tour of Europe

In November I arrived home after two months of travelling and I thought I’d share some of the bookshops I found myself in along the way. Some are tiny hidden gems, others are enormous and well-known, but all are irresistible in their own way.  Bookshops are my favourite places to hide in. To bury myself in a book or a piece of work, or to shelter from the rain, surrounded by the particular...

Reading Review: November 2019

November. What a month. I arrived home after travelling (mostly) alone for two months, feeling overwhelmed and excited and almost every emotion in-between. I'm now ridiculously ready to cover everything in tinsel. Anyway, where were we? Right - books.  Here's what I thought of what I read this month: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes 4/5 This is inspired by the real librarians...

12 Anticipated Reads: 2020

Here are some of the books being published in the new year that I am VERY excited to read: The Regrets by Amy Bonnaffons. A love affair between the living and the dead. All I need to know. Bizarre and intriguing.  So We Can Glow by Leesa Cross-Smith. A short story collection about female desire, obsession and bad behaviour. Yes please.  Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby....