A little while ago I saw a quote from the American novelist Gloria Naylor - 'One should be able to return to the first sentence of a novel and find the resonances of the entire work.' Other than in consciously literary works, I wondered how often this happened so I took a few favourite books … Continue reading In my beginning is my end? – Opening and closing lines
Reading
Openings
Whether it is the opening line, the first paragraph or the first few pages, the beginning of a story must draw a reader in, entice her or him to read on, to sink deep into the world the writer has created. Each of the following books opens in different way be it philosophical musing, lyrical … Continue reading Openings
Favourite Books
While each year I read dozens of excellent and memorable books, there are few that I feel compelled to reread. There are a handful, though, that I keep coming back to. No doubt the primary reason for re-reading is that these particular books have an emotional appeal. There is the added delight of discovering new … Continue reading Favourite Books
2018 – A Year of Reading
For about twenty years now, my goal has been to read a book a week. It is not such a difficult thing to do, but something I seem to be incapable of achieving. I usually manage to read forty-eight books, give or take a couple, each year. In 2017 I reached fifty books but this … Continue reading 2018 – A Year of Reading
Book Review – Graveyard Clay (Cré na Cille) by Máirtín Ó Cadhain
Graveyard Clay (Cré na Cille) by Máirtín Ó Cadhain is set in a graveyard in the west of Ireland in the early 1940s and is a continuing dialogue between those buried there. These are not spirits waiting to be translated elsewhere but rather the coffin-bound corpses of the dead. They have brought with them into … Continue reading Book Review – Graveyard Clay (Cré na Cille) by Máirtín Ó Cadhain
I Spy – Book Challenge
I saw this book challenge on the There's Something About KM blog and thought I would give it a go as it looked like fun. If you want to try it yourself, these are the rules: - Find a book on your bookshelves that contains (either on the cover or in the title) an example … Continue reading I Spy – Book Challenge
Reviews of Forsaking All Other
Recent reviews of Forsaking All Other. Mary Anne Yarde 'I think Meyrick has set a new standard of excellence. Forsaking All Other is certainly the best historical romance book I have read in this era. It is, without a doubt, a plot-driven page-turner of a book. ' The Borgia Bull 'It’s been a good while … Continue reading Reviews of Forsaking All Other
One Minute Book Review – Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Into the Water opens with a disturbing scene – a young woman is bound by two or more men and drowned in icy water. There is no sense given of when this happened or who she is other than her name, Libby. So, from the very beginning there is an undercurrent of danger. The novel … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
My Reading – July 2017
A Writing Life: Helen Garner and her Work by Bernadette Brennan Days Without End: A Novel by Sebastian Barry New Boy : Othello Retold by Tracy Chevalier The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
One Minute Book Review – The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
The Spinning Heart is set in a small town in Ireland during the immediate aftermath of the Irish economic recession. The novel comprises twenty-one chapters, each a monologue by a different character, each capable of standing alone. The first chapter centres on Bobby Mahon whose story is revealed in bits and pieces through every other … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
