The Literary Sofa
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February 2022 Round-up
Due to my lack of activity on the blog lately – you know there’s too much going on when you’re posting your February content in March – I decided to throw together a quick round-up of recent reading while on a trip to Paris. Voilà the intro. Voici the books! A Very Nice Girl – … 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
Book Pitch Spotlight 2021
Following last week’s Ten of my favourite novels of the last ten years, it’s exciting to be doing something new today: hosting my first spotlight on pitches for not-yet-published books by unagented writers. I’m also delighted that industry expert Andrew Wille accepted my invitation to share a few thoughts on what makes a good book … 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
Book Pitch Spotlight – Call for Entries
As part of the Literary Sofa’s fast approaching 10th anniversary celebrations, in early October I’m hoping to dedicate a post to 50-word book pitches* from unagented writers, featuring the 10 best ones in my opinion – and it is only my opinion! They will be chosen on the strength of the pitch, not my personal … 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
Summer Reads 2021
Here we are, facing a second weird summer but I’m as excited as ever to share my 2021 Summer Reads selection with you. These 11 books explore a huge range of people, life experiences and places including France, Algeria, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USA when the transporting power of fiction has never been more … Continue reading
Spring Spotlight 2021
I’m a bit rusty on the art of the chatty intro so here is my Spring Selection: 8 fantastic books, including several which give a voice to people and subjects we don’t hear often enough. I look forward to hosting some of the authors – see the Sofa Dates – and an honorary addition to … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 