All right, I’ll admit it. I am totally guilty of setting myself a reading challenge on Goodreads. This year, I’ve lowered the bar to eighteen. In previous years, I aimed for fifty-two; a book a week. I achieved it (once, I think). Last year, I didn’t. I noticed my anxiety surge because it was November, …
Despite the likes of Amazon, Waterstones and big supermarket chains demanding massive discounts on bestselling, frontlist titles (which might be good from a reader’s point of view but not that of the author) the cost of living crisis means many of us cannot buy the books we would want to. Believe me, I would have …
Read more “How to read books for free (which aren’t detrimental to the author)”
Beta Readers are invaluable to writers. They put their trust in them to read and critique their work. So what have I learnt since becoming a beta reader? 1) Stick to guidelines and deadlines Writers should give you guidance on what they want from you. Ask first if they would like you to offer help …
Read more “Five things which have helped me become a better beta reader”
Ah, June! The sun has made a comeback. What better than to read a murder mystery set in the baking hot Egyptian desert while sunbathing on the beach! Amelia Peabody is a guilty pleasure read. But come on, every book comes with a dose of Egyptology and a feminist Indiana Jones mixed with murder, mystery, …
Books The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood The plot is well known, and considering the erosion of women’s rights in the USA, reality draws some worryingly similar parallels to the novel. However, I could not get into it. First, the lack of quotation marks makes deciphering what is and isn’t dialogue a chore, and it …
Audiobooks The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien (read by Andy Serkis) There is no point in me harping on about this brilliant novel. However, I will talk about the narration of this audiobook version. During the Covid lockdown, Andy Serkis streamed a live reading of The Hobbit for charity, which I tuned into. …