A Reader’s Life: Looking Back at 2022 and Ahead for 2023

It’s that time of year again when readers like to conduct their annual reading review. This is where we look back over the previous reading year, analyse our data (for those of us who keep stats) and think about our reading goals for the coming year. Goal setting and data analysis sound like serious business. …

#Book Bingo – Politics and Power

This year I have been joining in with Book Bingo hosted by Theresa, Amanda and Ashleigh, and in this round I am completing the Politics and Power square with Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth. At first glance Castle Rackrent appears to be a simple tale of the last generations of the Rackrent family narrated by …

#BookBingo – Prize Winner

I missed Book Bingo in June. With the stress of assignments and exams I was otherwise occupied, but today I am checking off the Prizewinner square with Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce (1920-2006). First published in 1958, it won the Carnegie Medal and is still credited as "one of the best-loved children's books ever …

#BookBingo – About the Environment

I have just finished reading Silent Spring by Rachel Carson which fits perfectly with the Environment theme on the Book Bingo card. First published in 1962, it is still just as timely as it was then. Carson exposed the devastating effect that the wide scale use of chemicals such as DDT was having on the …

#BookBingo2020 – Coming of Age

Today is round two of Book Bingo 2020 hosted by Theresa, Amanda and Ashleigh, and I am crossing off the Coming of Age box with A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs. I have quite enjoyed reading this series and am now onto book five, The Conference of the Birds, published just this year. A Map of Days was also the …

Gaia Reading Challenge 2020 – Watership Down

Sharon from Gum Trees and Galaxies is hosting a reading challenge this year that is most appropriate for these times. The Gaia Reading Challenge draws our attention to books, both fiction and non-fiction, that focus on an environmental theme. The environment is high on the agenda these days, as it should be. From the catastrophic …

Book Bingo 2019 – Challenge Completed!

A few days before Christmas I wrote that I had completed my Goodreads challenge for the year and was just four boxes short of completing my Book Bingo card. It was a big ask - 4 books in 10 days, with Christmas in between. But as of 3.25pm this afternoon, it has been achieved. And …

Book Bingo 2019 Update

With only 10 days to the end of this reading year I am madly trying to complete the challenges I set for 2019. At the beginning of the year, moving house again couldn't have been further from my mind and it has been a major disruption in the reading and blogging program. However, since my …

Sep-Oct Reading Update

The last two months have been quite busy again with final essay writing and moving house being top priorities. Still, over the last two months I managed to read… The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton  First published in 1908, The Man Who Was Thursday is a thrilling and humourous read featuring a guy …

Book Bingo 2019 Catch-Up

This year I am having a go at the Book Bingo Challenge run by Theresa, Ashleigh and Amanda. The idea is to read a book in each category over the course of the year and complete the Bingo card. With 30 squares it works out to be about one book every fortnight with a few …