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
Today it’s a great pleasure to welcome one of my favourite British authors back to the Literary Sofa. This is Claire Fuller’s fourth visit (that’s what happens when you write a great novel every time) and at this rate I’d be surprised if anyone manages to overtake her. It’s also an opportunity to congratulate Claire … Continue reading
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
It’s time to reveal my Books of 2018, a post I always relish writing, but this year it’s more complicated than usual. It’s been a strange reading year for me, frustrating in some ways and very rewarding in others. I’ve ‘only’ read 80 books, slightly down on my usual average, as was the proportion written … Continue reading
I’d like to start by thanking everyone for the exceptional response to last week’s Literary Lunch competition, which prompted a deluge of retweets, entries and appreciation for the blog. Just as well I did keep going! And since the entries took the form of book recommendations and there were so many great ones – including … Continue reading
I’m delighted to be bringing you my Summer Reads 2018. I’ve been hard to impress recently but the outcome is a selection of compelling and powerful titles which I really loved and for each one I tell you why! As always, there is a wide variety of settings – Italy [1], Australia [4], Chicago/Paris [8], … Continue reading
Today, as a supplement to my Summer Reads 2017 selection, it’s great to be bringing you something a bit different: a showcase of recent and ‘coming soon’ titles by members of The Prime Writers. I’m very lucky to be part of this fantastic community of novelists first published over the age of 40 and have … Continue reading
Today’s guest Claire Fuller has visited me before on the Literary Sofa and it’s lovely to have her back. When I read her debut novel Our Endless Numbered Days before publication, little did any of us know that it would go to take the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for a first novel – and yet … Continue reading
As I prefer to open a book knowing the bare minimum about it (yes, that is weird coming from someone who constantly recommends books but at least I don’t do spoilers), I am very influenced by titles and a beautiful and intriguing one like Claire Fuller’s Our Endless Numbered Days is guaranteed to attract my attention. (It’s actually … Continue reading