The Literary Sofa
Book Review
Writers on Location – Alicia Drake on Paris as a longterm ex-pat
Hosting today’s guest author and featuring her debut novel, another of my Spring Sofa Spotlight titles, feels like a special occasion and not only because until now I’m the only one who’s written about Paris here. That was destined to change the moment Alicia Drake stood up to read from I love you too much … Continue reading
Guest Author – Claire Dyer on Research and Imagination
Last week’s Spring Sofa Spotlight met with great enthusiasm and lots of my favourite feedback: that people discovered books they may not otherwise have heard of and can’t wait to read. Thank you for the appreciation and for helping to spread the word – I wouldn’t still be running this blog if I didn’t believe … Continue reading
Sofa Spotlight – Spring 2018
Spring is in the air, I’ve been reading (as always) and it’s time for my latest selection of recommended new releases. Narrowing it down is never easy – I’ve enjoyed far more than I can include, especially as there were many with overlapping themes. There’s huge variety amongst the ten which stood out (and I … Continue reading
2018 Reading round-up #1 – Two Books about Vietnam and America
This was just going to be a review of two superb books I read on holiday in Vietnam, both set partly in that country and partly in the United States. But then I decided to make round-ups of my reading a new regular slot because it’s bothered me for a while that some of the … Continue reading
My Books of 2017
This is one of the most fun posts to write but it’s also difficult, when I spend the entire year featuring books I’ve really enjoyed and rated here on the Literary Sofa. So please do look beyond today’s list of my personal favourites to the many brilliant guest author posts I’ve hosted in 2017, which … Continue reading
Guest Author – Isabel Losada: Sex – Let’s be honest
I’ve resisted using this line for more than six years but this week’s extended post really is Sex on the Literary Sofa, discussed in very frank terms by two women called Isabel. This is the moment where I might say ‘click away if you don’t like the sound of that’ – except that I really … Continue reading
Launch of Stories for Homes 2 – an anthology in aid of Shelter
On Saturday night I took part in a fantastic event supported by the Folkestone Book Festival: the paperback launch of the second volume of Stories For Homes, an anthology of 55 short stories, poems and flash fictions on the inexhaustible theme of ‘home’, in aid of UK housing and homelessness charity Shelter. Like the original … Continue reading
Book Review – This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay
This is the first time I’ve ever reviewed a book I have listened to, rather than read. There’s been a huge boom in the popularity of audiobooks in recent years and I’m a partial convert; with fiction I don’t want anything to come between me and the words and seeing them is a big part … Continue reading
Slow Journeys – Why we read
Today I’m pleased to be receiving a visit from one of the most prolific and versatile people I’ve met in the book business, and many of you will know her too: Roz Morris is an award-nominated novelist (My Memories of a Future Life; Lifeform Three), book doctor to award-winning writers (Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012), … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Henrietta Rose-Innes on Cape Town
Last week’s piece on Resilient Thinking and First Drafts was my first post about writing in a long time and it struck a chord with so many people that I’ve decided to do a follow-up on resilience and the editing process, once I get to that point with my new manuscript (patience required). Whilst my … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 