That was the thing about mountaineering. It tested every single one of your faculties, in a place that was depriving your brain of oxygen. That’s why it was all about putting actions into logical steps, a series of checks, making steps so foolproof that even when you were being a fool, you wouldn’t get itContinue reading “Breathless, by Amy McCulloch: There’s a Killer on the Mountain (Book review)”
Author Archives: luggageandscribble
Joyous and Endearing: Dear Mrs Bird, by AJ Pearce (Book Review)
I started off this year with a promise to myself: that I would not buy any new books until I had read some of the ones that I already have. At the last count I had around 120 unread books dotted about my house (!) and I don’t have a big home. They are onContinue reading “Joyous and Endearing: Dear Mrs Bird, by AJ Pearce (Book Review)”
Imaginative, hilarious, gruesome: How to Kill Your Family, by Bella Mackie (book review)
Limehouse prison is, as you might imagine, horrible. Except maybe you can’t imagine it, not really. There are no games consoles and flatscreen TVs, as you have surely read about in the newspapers. There’s no friendly communal vibe, no sisterly tribe – the atmosphere is usually frantic, hideously loud, and it often feels as thoughContinue reading “Imaginative, hilarious, gruesome: How to Kill Your Family, by Bella Mackie (book review)”
My Top Ten Books of the Year (Part 2)
Ho, ho, ho, it’s *nearly* time to say goodbye to 2021! It wasn’t all bad as I had lots of extra time at home to read this year! This is the second half of my Top 10 list. The books are in no particular order and if you want to read the first half (postedContinue reading “My Top Ten Books of the Year (Part 2)”
The Arctic Curry Club, by Dani Redd: the perfect winter heart-warmer!
Maya moves to the Arctic to accompany her boyfriend, Ryan, as he embarks on some very important scientific research to do with tracking polar bears. She has left a life in London including friends, a job, and her own home, to come to a land that’s in perpetual darkness and sub-zero temperatures, and she findsContinue reading “The Arctic Curry Club, by Dani Redd: the perfect winter heart-warmer!”
London: who wants to go on a bookshop tour of Covent Garden and Charing Cross?
Who doesn’t love looking round unique independent bookshops? Who wouldn’t want to spend all their money in them? On a recent trip to London I walked this route around the Covent Garden and Charing Cross area to try and visit as many bookshops as possible. The walk takes around two hours depending on how longContinue reading “London: who wants to go on a bookshop tour of Covent Garden and Charing Cross?”
My Top Ten Books of the Year (Part 1)
Inspired by many other book bloggers, I’ve come up with my own list of my top ten favourite books I’ve read in the last twelve months (they might not have been published in the last year). I will talk about the first five this week and the other five next week. Still Life, by SarahContinue reading “My Top Ten Books of the Year (Part 1)”
The Women of Troy: part two of Pat Barker’s superb re-telling of the Iliad
Pat Barker got me interested in Greek mythology. But, more importantly, she got me thinking about the women who were lost in the stories. The Women of Troy, the second part of Pat Barker’s series, after The Silence of the Girls, is a re-telling of the Iliad but told from the point of view ofContinue reading “The Women of Troy: part two of Pat Barker’s superb re-telling of the Iliad”
Rainbirds, by Clarissa Goenawan: a beautifully written book about grief
“Hey, Ren,” she said softly, “I’m going to call every week, I promise. So you won’t be lonely.” “Who says I’m lonely?” And I didn’t believe she would call every week, but she kept her promise until the day she died. Keiko Ishida, you were such a liar. You would have been better off stayingContinue reading “Rainbirds, by Clarissa Goenawan: a beautifully written book about grief”
All the books I read in the dark and chilly month of November
I can’t believe it is the end of November already! It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was rounding up the books I had read in October. This month has been a fun one full of seeing friends and visiting places (including trips to London, Salford and York!) but it has also been aContinue reading “All the books I read in the dark and chilly month of November”
Luggage & Scribble 