An eclectic guide to the Edinburgh International Book Festival – August 2022
This year, join in the Edinburgh International Book Festival wherever you live without the hassle of travelling. The festival organisers have embraced live streaming and so quite a few events will be available for you to watch without leaving your sitting room. Here...
Too many books? Extracts from May newsletter
Is there such a thing as 'too many books'? .. I've been out and about, visiting Wales, Northumberland, and Ullapool. I didn't see any bookshops in Pembrokeshire (though there was a lovely little town called Narberth which has banned chain stores from its high street,...
Top Thirty Books of all time – or Marie Kondo’s bookshelf
Apparently Marie Kondo has said that you don't need to keep more than thirty books. To which some people replied, "on the bedside table?" which sort of sums up my attitude. I mean, by the end of March this year I had already read more than thirty books. Her point...
Better days ahead? Extracts from April’s newsletter
The sun has been shining all over the UK, daffodils are blooming, lambs are leaping, and we've been told that covid is officially 'over' with all restrictions lifted. I for one won't miss seeing the new form of litter; discarded face masks everywhere. (Though I might...
My Top Ten Bookshops in the UK
Earlier this year, I was on holiday in Yorkshire and my hubby had gone off to the bike shop leaving me to wander around the shops. Some time later I was browsing at the back of a book shop, picking up delights, when I heard his familiar voice. "Caroline in a bookshop....
Spring into Action. Extracts from March Newsletter.
March: Spring into action. Despite the gloomy state of the world - or maybe because of it? - it's time to put on a brave face and march forward to a new and exciting writing future. This is much the same message as I made this time last year when I suggested you...
Top Ten Books about War if you hate the idea of war.
Oh my, we are entering dark times. This does not look good. And I have to wonder, which books has Putin read? I think you can tell a lot about a person from their books, or whether in fact, they read at all. At the 2018 Edinburgh book festival we attended an event...
Never work with children or animals? How to get it right in your writing. Extracts from February newsletter
Should you avow never to work with children or animals? This month's blog featured my top ten books with an animal protagonist. It's almost a given that books for young children feature talking animal protogonists, but I was interested in writing about books which are...
Top Ten Animals in Books
Children's books are full of animal narrators or animal protagonists, but it occurred to me that adult readers do also enjoy books about animals or even - dare I say it - books narrated by animals? So this blog is not about books for children - that would be far too...
Planning and overplanning – extracts from January newsletter
January 2022. Can you overplan? In last month's newsletter I talked about making resolutions and goal setting - how to do this and what to do. My diary for 2022 is all planned out with colour blocks for different projects. I'm ready to go. I like a plan, me. But then...