Maurice and Maralyn couldn’t be more different. He is as cautious and awkward as she is charismatic and forceful. It seems an unlikely romance, but it works. Bored of 1970s suburban life, Maralyn has an idea: sell the house, build a boat, leave England and its oil crisis, industrial strikes and inflation – forever. It is hard work, turning dreams into reality, but finally they set sail for New Zealand. Then, halfway there, their beloved boat is struck by a whale and the pair are cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. On their tiny raft, their love is put to the test. When Maurice beg ..read more

This Week in Books is a feature hosted by Lipsy at Lipsyy Lost and Found that allows bloggers to share: What they’ve recently finished reading What they are currently reading What they are planning to read next A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words. The last book I finished reading was Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst, a brilliant non-fiction book charting the titular couple’s experiences of being adrift in the Pacific Ocean for 118 days! Maurice and Maralyn couldn’t be more different. He is as cautious and awkward as she is charismatic and forceful. It seems ..read more

Here are a few of the books that I’m particularly looking forward to in the coming weeks and months (you can find my post for Q1 here). As ever, there are lots of wonderful books to look forward to, and these are just a few of the ones that I’m particularly excited about. Publication dates are correct at time of writing. Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz Hawthorne and Horowitz Book 5 (Penguin, 11 April) Richmond Upon Thames is one of the most desirable areas to live in London. And Riverview Close – a quiet, gated community – seems to offer its inhabitants the perfect life. At least it does u ..read more

Hey everyone – remember me?  It’s been a while (this is my first post since 21 February! ) and while I’d love to say that I’ve just been too busy having fun and adventures since then, it’s simply not the case.  I had a bit of a rough time at work – nothing serious, I was just a little overwhelmed – which meant that blogging was the last thing I felt like doing in my spare time.  That passed, as those things do, and since then… well, I have no excuse but utter laziness, and so what was intended to be a brief break to get me through a rough patch became an unintended and extended ..read more

This Week in Books is a feature hosted by Lipsy at Lipsyy Lost and Found that allows bloggers to share: What they’ve recently finished reading What they are currently reading What they are planning to read next A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words. Things remain busy, particularly at work, and so my reading pace has slowed down from January. The last book I finished reading was Bitch by Lucy Cooke which I reviewed yesterday. What does it mean to be female? Mother, carer, the weaker sex? Think again. In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology a ..read more

What does it mean to be female? Mother, carer, the weaker sex? Think again. In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology and evolutionary biology. Lucy Cooke introduces us to a riotous cast of animals, and the scientists studying them, that are redefining the female of the species. Meet the female lemurs of Madagascar, our ancient primate cousins that dominate the males of their species physically and politically. Or female albatross couples, hooking up together to raise their chicks in Hawaii. Or the meerkat mothers of the Kalahari Desert – the most murderous mammals on t ..read more

Spell the month in books is hosted by Jana at https://reviewsfromthestacks.wordpress.com/ who suggests a theme each month. As I just like to look over my bookshelves and pick out titles old and new (I’ve already found so many books that I want to reread through doing this!), I’m doing my own thing and picking those titles that grab my attention each month.   My choices for this month (with links to my reviews if available – some of these I read a long time ago!) are: The Fireman by Joe Hill Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn Booth by Karen Joy Fowler Reptile Memoirs by Silje Ulstein, translated by ..read more

This Week in Books is a feature hosted by Lipsy at Lipsyy Lost and Found that allows bloggers to share: What they’ve recently finished reading What they are currently reading What they are planning to read next A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words. Things have been a bit busy over the last week, so I’ve only recently finished These Days by Lucy Caldwell. Two sisters. Four nights. One City. April, 1941. Belfast has escaped the worst of the war – so far. Following the lives of sisters Emma and Audrey – one engaged to be married, the other in a secret relationship wit ..read more

When we go through something impossible, someone, or something, will help us, if we let them… It is October 1966 and William Lavery is having the night of his life at his first black-tie do. But, as the evening unfolds, news hits of a landslide at a coal mine. It has buried a school: Aberfan. William decides he must act, so he stands and volunteers to attend. It will be his first job as an embalmer, and it will be one he never forgets. His work that night will force him to think about the little boy he was, and the losses he has worked so hard to forget. But compassion can have surprising con ..read more

A heartbreaking, lyrical story for all of those who have fantasised about escaping their daily lives and starting over. Michael Kabongo is a British-Congolese teacher living in London on the cusp of two identities. On paper, he seems to have it all – he’s loved by his students, popular with his colleagues, and enjoys the pride of his mother who emigrated from the Congo. But behind closed doors, he’s been struggling with the overwhelming sense that he can’t improve the injustices he sees – from his efforts to change the lives of his students, to his attempts to transcend the violence that marg ..read more