My darling Mum died in October 2017 after a short illness. Such stark words to describe so very enormous a loss. As she put it herself though, we all survive the most appalling things, things […]
Mum's Books

110. ‘Accordion Crimes’ by E. Annie Proulx.
Massive, meaty, magnificent.

Blimey. I’m sixty!
Earlier this year I turned sixty. And I approached it with a great deal of trepidation – not because of the number, but because of where I find myself, both physically and mentally. I give […]

109. ‘Pachinko’ by Min Jin Lee.
What a surprisingly great read this turned out to be! I literally devoured it cover to cover on a rainy afternoon – knowing little but the basics of the history of the area, much of […]

108. ‘Into The Water’ by Paula Hawkins.
Paula Hawkin’s debut novel, ‘The Girl on the Train’, was a runaway success both as a novel and a movie and really, deservedly so – it had all the required elements for a good old […]

107. ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ by Lionel Shriver.
Oh my word. What an absolutely harrowing, enthralling, devastating book. I’m told there is a movie – I haven’t seen it and I’m glad of that as it would have entirely spoilt the unforgettable finale […]

106. ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ by Liane Moriarty.
Picked up on a whim in a recent charity shopping spree searching for costume jewellery for BeckyandVince, and thoroughly enjoyed in an afternoon sitting! This is an entertaining and quite cleverly put together novel, using […]

105. ‘The English Civil War at first hand’ by Tristram Hunt.
This non fiction book of Mums was entirely engrossing taken in what I like to call ‘One Chapter Chunks with a Cup of Tea’, alternating with a re reading of the fictional ‘Cold Mountain’ by […]

104. ‘Case Histories’ by Kate Atkinson.
HOW have I managed to previously overlook this author, even after reading and reviewing ‘A God in Ruins’ back in 2018…honestly, it’s a burning question! ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ was another one of […]

103. ‘South Riding’ by Winifred Holtby.
I first read this book in a hard cover edition I borrowed from my local library as a teenager, and I loved it. I remember I initially chose it because of the title/location – although […]

102. ‘Parade’s End’ by Ford Madox Ford.
This is a book I have tried to read previously but I just got so bogged down in the ‘wordiness’ of it, I gave up. However due to the miracle that is the internet, I […]