How young couples managed to meet before the advent of social media Rustic Courtship Love island: the love lives of our 19th century ancestorsby Dr Marion McGarryIn recent years, apps have increasingly facilitated online dating, Indeed, thanks to Covid-19, these have become the only way for single people to link up with potential partners. Covid … Continue reading Interesting things I read last month – May 2021
Reading
My Reading – May 2021
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata MasseyOn the morning Perveen saw the stranger, they'd almost collided. Deep South: Stories from Tasmania edited by by Ralph Crane and Danielle WoodHe had never heard of the ‘enthusiasm of humanity’—the expression was not in fashion in his day, and, if it had been, I doubt whether he … Continue reading My Reading – May 2021
My Reading – April 2021
Rooted : an Australian History of Bad Language by Amanda LaugesenIn 1821, the Reverend Robert Cartwright, an Anglican minister who had arrived in Sydney in 1810, provided testimony to the Bigge Commission, which was investigating how effective transportation was in deterring crime. The Crow Trap by Ann CleevesIf you were looking for Baikie's Cottage on … Continue reading My Reading – April 2021
My Reading – March 2021
Ross Poldark by Winston Graham Joshua Poldark died in March 1783. In February of that year, feeling that his tenure was becoming short, he sent for his brother from Trenwith. Beware the Lizard Lurking by Vivienne Brereton Snow-laden clouds lay low on the evening sky, threatening to release their heavy burden at any moment. Black … Continue reading My Reading – March 2021
My Reading – February 2021
A Woman's Lot by Carolyn HughesLuke blasphemed and Arthur whimpered as they tripped and stumbled over jutting roots and fallen branches, or lost their footing in the dips and hollows of the woodland floor. The Burning Girls by CJ TudorWhat kind of man am ?
Should I read on?
Some people judge a book not by its cover but by the opening lines, or perhaps the first page or two. It is wonderful when a brilliant beginning is followed by an equally sparkling book but often the momentum slows. At other times, the opening of a story is serviceable but the storytelling strengthens with … Continue reading Should I read on?
My Reading – January 2021
Thomas Cromwell: A Life by Diarmaid MacCulloch A time there was when a son was born to humble parents in the Surrey village of Putney, a place of little account, at a ferry crossing on the bank of the Thames, 6 miles upstream from the King's Palace of Westminster. The Dry by Jane Harper It … Continue reading My Reading – January 2021
2020 – A Year of Reading
I could argue that I have done reasonably well with my reading this year having finished fifty books but I feel, in some ways, that I have cheated. Nine of those books are children's books and all but one of them less than 200 pages long. These were Tove Jansson's Moomin series which I would … Continue reading 2020 – A Year of Reading
My Reading – December 2020
Grace by Paul Lynch This flood October. And in the early light her mother goes for her, rips her from sleep, takes her from a dream of the world. Bone China by Laura Purcell Love is fragile, my mother once said. It can break. Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan All the light left Paddy Gladney's … Continue reading My Reading – December 2020
My Reading – November 2020
A Plague on Mr Pepys by Deborah Swift Bess Bagwell clung to the seat as a wash of freezing river water sluiced over the side of the wherry. She had to shift fast, to avoid a drenching. Expectation by Anna Hope It is Saturday, which is market day. It is late spring, or early summer. … Continue reading My Reading – November 2020
