News & Reviews

Profusion of Pettigrews

I don’t often review books on this blog, and certainly not on anything like the scale of DoveGreyReader who as a result of her industrious and illuminating reviews  is on the receiving end of all kinds of publishers’ freebies, but as a result of a couple of posts last year, I seem to have come to … Continue reading Profusion of Pettigrews

Northern Highlights

To show you I didn’t spend all my recent trip with my head in a book, I’m posting a few photos of Edinburgh including some sculptures in and around the Dean Gallery. I’d been to the Dean and the Gallery of Modern Art before  (which explains why The Water’s Edge has some scenes there)  and … Continue reading Northern Highlights

Travelling Companion

Taking a novel set mainly in Paris on a trip to Edinburgh was not as perverse as it might seem, since its provenance was The Linen Press, a small indie publisher based in that fair city. It’s sometimes suggested we should buy from publishers like this simply because they are ‘a good thing’ and by doing … Continue reading Travelling Companion

What’s the likelihood?

Last Saturday is a long time ago for a blogger – except for me, that is, who hasn’t blogged in yonks. But it was last Saturday that I was reading  an excellent piece in the Telegraph by John Lanchester called ‘When Fiction Breaks Down’  in which he argues that ‘the world is full of interesting things that … Continue reading What’s the likelihood?

Win-Win Situation

So what is it with Twitter? Friends shake their heads in disbelief that I’m straying into such questionable territory and offspring couldn’t care less (too busy Facebooking). I guess quite a few readers of this blog are similarly disengaged. I can only say, don’t knock it until you have tried it. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s fun. … Continue reading Win-Win Situation