The Literary Sofa
Memoir
Reading in the interest of writing
When I set out to write this as a regular round-up and it felt really flat I put it down to being out of practice – followers of the blog may have noticed that I haven’t been showing up much lately. Then it occurred to me that these aren’t just any books and I needed … 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
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
Guest Author – Peter Papathanasiou – Resilience on the road to publication
Five years ago, a friend asked if I’d be willing to meet up with a Greek-Australian writer who was new to London and the UK publishing scene and share a few tips. That writer is today’s Sofa guest Pete Papathanasiou, who joins me with the final post in my Summer Reads line-up just ahead of … Continue reading
Guest Author – Catherine Simpson on Writing about Mental Health
There was a really enthusiastic response to my First Sofa Spotlight of 2019 a couple of weeks ago – many thanks to everyone who got in touch, shared it on social media and entered my one day competition on Twitter. I hope the winners and the rest of you are enjoying the books you chose! … 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
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
Sofa Spotlight – Autumn 2017
Welcome to the Autumn 2017 Sofa Spotlight, my quarterly selection of titles which have really stood out amongst the many I read. In real life I’m always being asked about my latest discoveries and this slot is a kind of virtual version of that conversation*. This is a short but varied list, with a story … Continue reading
Guest Author – Kate Mayfield on Writing about Life and Death
In this week’s holiday reading round-up I mentioned my new love of reading memoirs, but my enthusiasm for Kate Mayfield’s The Undertaker’s Daughter dates back even further, to the first time we met almost two years ago. When Kate told me her book was about growing up in a funeral home in rural Kentucky I couldn’t … Continue reading
Guest Author – Barry Walsh on Writing fiction from your own life
This morning I had the pleasure of catching up with Wendy Wallace who was my first ever Guest Author on the Literary Sofa just over a year ago. I’m delighted at how popular this regular slot has become; the ‘one-question interview’ formula produces thought-provoking pieces every time. I read the novel and ask the author … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 