Claire’s Corner

I have been intermittently a.w.o.l. from Paperback Reader for weeks now and I would like to explain why, where I can (more on some of the things I’d prefer not to talk about yet at a later date). 1. I was spending time organising a new personal office -above- and the bookshelves that come with [...]

Imbibing Cautiously

Better late than never, this is my sign-up post for Carl’s Readers Imbibing Peril V Challenge, which officially commenced on September 1st. I was caught up in the infection of the first posts that did the rounds, reading everyone’s selections with fascination and a covetous heart, but I’ve been busy on a course for the [...]

One (Wo)man Booker failure

Hm, can one call it a failure if I never actually stated that I would read the entirety of the longlist before the prize was awarded? To be fair, that hasn’t be done yet and only the shortlist is being announced today… Suffice to say, though, I have only read four of this year’s Man [...]

Recent Acquisitions

Ahem. I seem to have acquired a good few books over the last month. A number of these, if not all, have transpired from my recent desire to return to my reading roots and the above reflect my true and yet diverse reading tastes. Very few of the titles are actually new fiction but those [...]

Still Missing by Beth Gutcheon

Endpapers taken from 1970s knit fabric in private collection When I read Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski a year ago, I felt as if my heart had been ripped out in the heightened emotion of the closing pages; with Still Missing by Beth Gutcheon, the emotional intensity was present from the opening page and [...]