The Literary Sofa
Book Review
Guest Author – Jon Ransom on Three Unspoken Words
Today I’m hosting the first guest post of 2022 and it’s a huge pleasure to welcome fellow Muswell Press author Jon Ransom whose debut novel The Whale Tattoo joins their superb LGBTQ list this week. I discovered Jon’s writing last autumn when we both had work included in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology. His … Continue reading
Books of 2021 – Non-fiction
Following December’s post on my top novels of 2021 and a (mostly) nice long break, it’s great to start 2022 on the blog with my 8 personal favourite non-fiction titles of 2021, when I read way more of them than ever before. And I do mean ‘personal’, as they are quite telling of what’s been … Continue reading
My Books of 2021 – Fiction
It’s strange looking back on something nobody wanted: a full year of pandemic. Doesn’t 2021 feel like it’s been dragging on forever? Despite everything, it’s been a very significant one for me personally and professionally. My second novel Scent came out (followed by the author, which wasn’t the plan but it’s all good); I was … Continue reading
Queer Life, Queer Love: an anthology
This week’s unashamedly subjective post is all about a fantastic queer book which includes my first published poem as one tiny part (there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write). It’s a project that means a lot to me and I know that’s a common feeling among those involved. Queer Life, Queer Love is an … Continue reading
November 2021 Reading Round-Up
As I’m now hard at work on my new novel as well as my other work, I’ll be posting less often than usual for a while but hopefully the quality of the books I’m recommending today makes up for that. (Think you can captivate my audience? See the postscript* if you’d like to pitch for … Continue reading
Ten of my favourite novels of the last ten years
There was a lovely response to last week’s post looking back on ten years of the Literary Sofa and since book selections have always been a big part of what I do here, I hope you’ll enjoy this post with the carefully worded title. Why is that? Well, as I read around 80 books per … Continue reading
French Fiction Special Edition
In a normal year about a quarter of my reading is in French but due to the toxic combination of Covid and Brexit, I didn’t read a single French novel in 2020 and really missed it, along with everything else I love about France. That changed when I read All Men Want to Know by … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Anne Goodwin on the long-stay psychiatric hospital
Welcome to the final post of the Summer Reads guest programme – if you missed it (or have already read all the books on the original selection – some people do!), Summer Reads Extras was released earlier this week with another five novels that really impressed me. There seem to be even more great books … Continue reading
Summer Reads Extras 2021
There’s a heatwave on, I’ve got my reading mojo back and it’s time to share the follow-up to my main Summer Reads selection which met with a great response last month. Here are five more novels worth shouting about before the blog goes quiet for August: 1.Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (Penguin) As a child … Continue reading
Guest Author – Rosie Wilby on Love (and Creativity) in London
We’re on a roll with this year’s Summer Reads guest line-up. Last week’s post on Older Love by Catherine McNamara has been resonating loudly with readers for its rare affirmation of what later life can hold for women. Today I’m excited to welcome comedian and author Rosie Wilby to share her unique perspective on matters … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 