Top Five Saturday: Unread Authors

Top Five Saturday is a meme hosted by Devouring Books to discover and share books that all have a common theme. The list of themes currently runs at 11/9/19 — Books with a Survival Theme 11/16/19 — Books by Unread Authors You Want to Read 11/23/19 — Books with Fake Love Couples 11/30/19 — Books to be…

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The Book Lover’s Kitchen: Chocolate Fudge Cake

After a somewhat disastrous attempt with one chocolate fudge cake recipe, I found the old one I used to rely on. Which has turned out so much better! And made a massive cake which fed three adults and a six year old at home for a week, and a Department meeting at school! Ingredients For…

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Blackberry and Wild Rose, Sonia Velton

There is nothing like a rich and sumptuous historical novel and the cover of Velton’s Blackberry and Wild Rose was so beautiful I had high high hopes. Possibly too high. The novel revolves around two women in eighteenth century London, a setting that I am not familiar with: the sixteenth century has been such a…

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Deeplight, Frances Hardinge

Some writers just blow you away. The depth of their world-building, the vividness and humanity of their characters, the beauty of their language, the thoughtfulness – the philosophy – of their concept. Hardinge is definitely one of these writers. I was a little concerned picking up Deeplight, however much I adore Hardinge because her most…

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Top Five Saturday: books with a survival theme

Top Five Saturday is a meme hosted by Devouring Books to discover and share books that all have a common theme. Previously, the focus has included witches, werewolves, thrillers, faeries, fairy tale re-tellings, high fantasy and many more. This week’s topic from Devouring Books is books with a survival theme – books where the primary goal of…

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Give Off Autumn Vibes

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Poetry I thought I’d start this with two of my favourite poems…

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The Secret Commonwealth, Philip Pullman

Oh Lyra Belacqua, Lyra Silvertongue. I devoured the original trilogy of your journeys to the North. Bolvangar, Svalbad, Iorek Byrnison, The World of the Dead. I adored the Miltonic and Blakean echoes. Fell in love with the mercurial, quick witted, innocent girl. Loved the world created by Pullman, the familiarity of it, the uncanniness, the…

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Allegedly Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake

Taking a step away from reading to my other go-to pastime: baking. It is the half term and Hallowe’en and we have birthdays coming up. The weather is fairly rubbish so I’ve ended up doing a lot of baking. In addition to this birthday cake, I am also intending to do two – possibly three…

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Teaser Tuesday, The Body, A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson

Beware, the squeamish! This teaser contains (written) images of the inside of, well, us! One of my brief forays into non-fiction and popular science. But, as an erstwhile barrister who has on occasion been instructed to witness a post mortem, this particular extract seems very accurately described. “Feel this,” Dr. Ben Ollivere is saying to…

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