Someone in my book group chose The Razor’s Edge (1944) by W. Somerset Maugham after hearing it recommended on a YouTube video – making it my second Maugham of the year, after reading Th…

Stuck In A Book Blog

13.11.2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Destination Titles – Stuck in a Book

I don’t often manage to join in with Top Ten Tuesday, but today I’m going to! This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is: “Destination Titles (titles wi…

Stuck In A Book Blog

11.11.2024

The Man on the Pier by Julia Strachey – Stuck in a Book

If you know the name ‘Julia Strachey’, it’s probably for Cheerful Weather for the Wedding – reprinted by Persephone Books, and later made into a very enjoyable film. Or perh…

Stuck In A Book Blog

08.11.2024

The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner – Stuck in a Book

I bought The Children’s Bach (1984) by Helen Garner in Oxford’s newest bookshop, Caper, a while ago. I might have mentioned the shop before. From the outside, it looks like a children&#…

Stuck In A Book Blog

07.11.2024

Norah Lofts – now in British Library Women Writers series! – Stuck in a Book

I realise I haven’t yet said that Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts is out in the British Library Women Writers series – with another lovely cover: It’s another quick turnaround &#…

Stuck In A Book Blog

04.11.2024

Casualties by Lynne Reid Banks – Stuck in a Book

Long-termers here will know how much I love The L-Shaped Room, and over the past couple of years I’ve been exploring more of Lynne Reid Banks’s considerable output – further promp…

Stuck In A Book Blog

02.11.2024

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid – Stuck in a Book

I don’t hear much about the latest fiction, but there are some titles that break through my early-20th-century mindset. Everyone was talking about Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid five years ago,…

Stuck In A Book Blog

29.10.2024

A Pint of Semi-Skimmed Down The Old Gullet: Peas in a Podcast #18! – Stuck in a Book

Somehow it’s episode 18 of the podcast I do with my identical twin brother Colin! In this episode of the usual nonsense, we cover the important topics: favourite bridges, the milk marketing b…

Stuck In A Book Blog

25.10.2024

#132: Interview: Edward Carey on Edith Holler – Stuck in a Book

Edward Carey joins us to discuss his latest novel, Edith Holler. Welcome to episode 132! Rachel and I both love Edward Carey’s novels, so it was a real joy to have the opportunity to intervie…

Stuck In A Book Blog

23.10.2024

All Men Are Liars by Alberto Manguel – Stuck in a Book

I see quite a few people write about Alberto Manguel’s non-fiction, about reading and libraries, but not so often his novels. I picked up All Men Are Liars (2008, translated from Spanish by M…

Stuck In A Book Blog

22.10.2024

And the next club will be… – Stuck in a Book

Thanks so much for your contributions to the 1970 Club! There are so many books I now want to read (with The Woods in Winter by Stella Gibbons head of the pack) – and some I now know to avoid…

Stuck In A Book Blog

21.10.2024

The Listeners by Monica Dickens – #1970Club – Stuck in a Book

The 1970 Club is drawing to an end, and I have a LOT of reviews to catch up on – perhaps foolishly, I’ve been away since Thursday. But it’s been great, as always, and Karen and I …

Stuck In A Book Blog

17.10.2024

Island in Moonlight by Kathleen Sully – #1970Club – Stuck in a Book

You may well know Brad’s blog Neglected Books. As the name suggests, he reads and reviews books that are neglected – but we’re not talking about authors who could do with a boost,…

Stuck In A Book Blog

17.10.2024

Trespasses by Paul Bailey – #1970Club – Stuck in a Book

When I reviewed Jenny Offill’s brilliant novel Dept. of Speculation earlier in the year, I asked for recommendations for other books told in fragments or vignettes. The comment section has lo…

Stuck In A Book Blog

17.10.2024

#1970Club: your reviews! – Stuck in a Book

It’s the 1970 Club! This week, we’re reading and reviewing any books published in 1970. Please share your links to 1970 Club reviews in the comments, wherever you write them – blo…

Stuck In A Book Blog

12.10.2024

#1970Club coming up on Monday! – Stuck in a Book

Just popping in for a quick reminder that the 1970 Club is coming on Monday! Hosted by me and Karen (see her post about it), we ask everyone to read one or more books published in 1970 and post a r…

Stuck In A Book Blog

11.10.2024

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri – Stuck in a Book

A Century of Books can sometimes turn up some real gems that I wouldn’t have otherwise read. When I was looking through my books, I didn’t find anything I particularly wanted to read fr…

Stuck In A Book Blog

08.10.2024

Unnecessary Rankings! Muriel Spark – Stuck in a Book

It’s time for another unnecessary rankings! In today’s iteration, I’m turning my attention to a very prolific novelist – I’ve been steadily reading her for years, help…

Stuck In A Book Blog

05.10.2024

#131: Do We Read Deeply or Shallowly? and One Year’s Time vs Which Way? – Stuck in a Book

Angela Milne, Theodora Benson, and reading deeply – welcome to episode 131 of Tea or Books?! In the first half of the episode, we discuss a topic suggestion by Heidi – do we read deeply…

Stuck In A Book Blog

02.10.2024

The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith – Stuck in a Book

We all know that the quality of a book is no guarantee that it will stay in print. The ones that survive almost always have merit, but the ones that disappear could be equally brilliant. And I was …

Stuck In A Book Blog

24.09.2024

Barrel Fever by David Sedaris – Stuck in a Book

I remember falling in love with David Sedaris. I was staying in a Youth Hostel in the Lake District, having gone there to give a talk on ‘the fantastic fringes of the Bloomsbury Group’ …

Stuck In A Book Blog

23.09.2024

Life hacks and hand cream! Peas in a Podcast #17 – Stuck in a Book

Oh my gosh Peas in a Podcast is BACK! Due to HUGE DEMAND! For those not in the know, it’s the very occasional podcast I do with my brother Colin, arguably about nothing. You might be able to …

Stuck In A Book Blog

16.09.2024

The Clocks by Agatha Christie – Stuck in a Book

I’ve reached the point where I can’t really remember which Agatha Christie novels I’ve read and which I haven’t. Which I suppose is a good thing, because it means I can go b…

Stuck In A Book Blog

13.09.2024

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields – Stuck in a Book

When I was in Canada last year (how I miss it and how I want to return!), I met up with Debra and she very kindly gave me a copy of The Stone Diaries (1993) by Canadian literary royalty Carol Shiel…

Stuck In A Book Blog

11.09.2024

Treasures of Time by Penelope Lively – Stuck in a Book

One of the things I love about my book group is how varied our book choices are – not just the latest hit novels, but ranging back over a century and more. Somebody suggested we read some Pen…

Stuck In A Book Blog

08.09.2024

Some spinsters for Spinster September – Stuck in a Book

It’s September, which means it’s officially Spinster September! It’s the brainchild of Nora (@pear.jelly on Instagram) and it’s a celebration of all the wonderful spinsters …

Stuck In A Book Blog

03.09.2024

It’s another A Century of Books round-up! – Stuck in a Book

My century of books is much healthier than it looks, and that’s cos I have been reading a whole heap of books I’ve not been writing about. And these eleven books aren’t gonna get …

Stuck In A Book Blog

01.09.2024

Rereadings by Anne Fadiman – Stuck in a Book

I imagine quite a lot of you have read Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman, and hopefully you loved it as much as I did. It was one of the earliest examples of those little books-about-reading that have prol…

Stuck In A Book Blog

29.08.2024

Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson – Stuck in a Book

I started seeing Moomins popping up in reviews all over the place, and discovered that that it is #Moominweek! Literary Potpourri and Calmgrove have set this up, and even though I was late to the p…

Stuck In A Book Blog

26.08.2024

A Meeting By The River by Christopher Isherwood – Stuck in a Book

Christopher Isherwood is one of those authors everyone knows about, and you sometimes see mentioned, but whose wide-ranging catalogue of books doesn’t seem to get as much attention as you&#82…

Stuck In A Book Blog

25.08.2024

#130: Do Books Need Romance? and The Ladies’ Paradise vs Babbacombe’s – Stuck in a Book

Emile Zola, Noel Streatfeild, and romantic books – welcome to Tea or Books? episode 130! In the first half of this episode, we do a topic suggested by Lindsey – do books need a romantic…

Stuck In A Book Blog

23.08.2024

New British Library Women Writers book – now published! – Stuck in a Book

The latest British Library Women Writers title is now out – and I think strong competition for being the most beautiful cover design yet. Here is The Camomile: an invention by Catherine Carsw…

Stuck In A Book Blog

19.08.2024

My favourite books of the 21st century – Stuck in a Book

Perhaps we’ve all moved on from the discourse launched by the New York Times’ list of best books of the 21st century. But, well, better late than never (and I haven’t seen enough …

Stuck In A Book Blog

15.08.2024

My Darling Villain by Lynne Reid Banks – Stuck in a Book

It’s well-documented that I deeply love Lynne Reid Banks’ The L-Shaped Room and its sequels – and somehow it has taken me quite a few years to properly explore the rest of her out…

Stuck In A Book Blog

13.08.2024

The Visitors by Mary McMinnies – Stuck in a Book

On 13 May 2018, Barb at the wonderful Leaves and Pages blog wrote about The Visitors (1958) by Mary McMinnies. According to the note I’ve made inside my copy, it arrived at my flat on 18 May …

Stuck In A Book Blog

31.07.2024

A trip to Bookcase, Carlisle – Stuck in a Book

Gosh, July has been busy. I spent a week up in the Lake District with work, and I’m just off on holiday for a week shortly – unusually for me, since I usually only take holidays during …

Stuck In A Book Blog

15.07.2024

Tea or Books? #129: Authors Who Wrote Too Much vs Not Enough and A Room of One’s Own vs A Bookshop of One’s Own – Stuck in a Book

Virginia Woolf, Jane Cholmeley, and authors who wrote too much or not enough – welcome to episode 129! In the first half, we use a great topic suggestion by David – do we prefer authors…

Stuck In A Book Blog

13.07.2024

Come and see me at the Marlborough Literary Festival! – Stuck in a Book

Friends, I have exciting news! I’m going to be speaking at the Marlborough Literary Festival on 29 September – discussing all things British Library Women Writers. As you can imagine, I…

Stuck In A Book Blog

02.07.2024

How is A Century of Books going, then? – Stuck in a Book

We are somehow halfway through 2024 (which doesn’t SOUND real, but the calendar says it is) – and that means I’m halfway through my timeline for A Century of Books. For the uninit…

Stuck In A Book Blog

30.06.2024

StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany – Stuck in a Book

Hello! I’ve been very quiet in June, perhaps as a reaction to all those book reviews (albeit mini reviews) during A Book A Day in May. It’s also been a really busy time – but good…

home›Stuck In A Book Blog›Books & Literature

Stuck In A Book Blog - Books & Literature

The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham – Stuck in a Book

Top Ten Tuesday: Destination Titles – Stuck in a Book

The Man on the Pier by Julia Strachey – Stuck in a Book

The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner – Stuck in a Book

Norah Lofts – now in British Library Women Writers series! – Stuck in a Book

Casualties by Lynne Reid Banks – Stuck in a Book

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid – Stuck in a Book

A Pint of Semi-Skimmed Down The Old Gullet: Peas in a Podcast #18! – Stuck in a Book

#132: Interview: Edward Carey on Edith Holler – Stuck in a Book

All Men Are Liars by Alberto Manguel – Stuck in a Book

And the next club will be… – Stuck in a Book

The Listeners by Monica Dickens – #1970Club – Stuck in a Book

Island in Moonlight by Kathleen Sully – #1970Club – Stuck in a Book

Trespasses by Paul Bailey – #1970Club – Stuck in a Book

#1970Club: your reviews! – Stuck in a Book

#1970Club coming up on Monday! – Stuck in a Book

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri – Stuck in a Book

Unnecessary Rankings! Muriel Spark – Stuck in a Book

#131: Do We Read Deeply or Shallowly? and One Year’s Time vs Which Way? – Stuck in a Book

The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith – Stuck in a Book

Barrel Fever by David Sedaris – Stuck in a Book

Life hacks and hand cream! Peas in a Podcast #17 – Stuck in a Book

The Clocks by Agatha Christie – Stuck in a Book

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields – Stuck in a Book

Treasures of Time by Penelope Lively – Stuck in a Book

Some spinsters for Spinster September – Stuck in a Book

It’s another A Century of Books round-up! – Stuck in a Book

Rereadings by Anne Fadiman – Stuck in a Book

Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson – Stuck in a Book

A Meeting By The River by Christopher Isherwood – Stuck in a Book

#130: Do Books Need Romance? and The Ladies’ Paradise vs Babbacombe’s – Stuck in a Book

New British Library Women Writers book – now published! – Stuck in a Book

My favourite books of the 21st century – Stuck in a Book

My Darling Villain by Lynne Reid Banks – Stuck in a Book

The Visitors by Mary McMinnies – Stuck in a Book

A trip to Bookcase, Carlisle – Stuck in a Book

Tea or Books? #129: Authors Who Wrote Too Much vs Not Enough and A Room of One’s Own vs A Bookshop of One’s Own – Stuck in a Book

Come and see me at the Marlborough Literary Festival! – Stuck in a Book

How is A Century of Books going, then? – Stuck in a Book

StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany – Stuck in a Book

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