You know how, when you love the taste of a food, you gobble it up and somehow forget to fully enjoy it? Have you ever had that experience with a book? Right now I am forcing myself to slow down and savour reading The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell. Snow. Russia. Wolves. Adventure. A girl called… Continue reading Gobbling up books
I have an admission to make: ‘how to’ writing books make me feel a bit queasy. You know the ‘classics’ you’re supposed to read? The ones that talk about grammar and style, and how to psychoanalyse your characters to within an inch of their lives? I have tried to read them. But two chapters in… Continue reading Why I am allergic to most ‘how to’ books on writing
Oooh, here’s a little more publicity organised by the lovely Summersdale Publishers in Chichester: A ‘My favourite books’ interview with local radio station Spirit FM. ‘My favourite books’ is, of course, a topic close to my heart. I could warble on for hours about this given half the chance. But in this interview I was uncharacteristically succinct for… Continue reading My top five favourite books (Spirit fm radio interview)
I read Once in one sitting yesterday afternoon. It is, quite simply, an amazing book. It’s the story of the holocaust through the eyes of a boy called Felix. Which sounds depressing but Felix has his own quirky way of looking at things. It made me smile. It made me cry. It made me marvel… Continue reading My name is Felix. This is my story…
I have just finished reading Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. I have one word to say: WOW! To begin with, I wasn’t sure. Something about the story didn’t grip me. A friend assured me the book was a “masterpiece” and was “one of the finest books of the twenty first century.” I shook my head. What… Continue reading Book reading rules and magic
I went into Waterstones last week and fell in love. The object of my affection was a picture book called Love Monster by Rachel Bright. Things hadn’t been going well with J and I was feeling rather forlorn to put it mildly (OK, I was moping about thinking I would never find true love). I… Continue reading Love Monster
Katherine Bassford 