31 May 2025

Dreaming Shires

 

The cottage where Thomas Hardy grew up and the garden around it
I have read 'Jude the Obscure' by Thomas Hardy, and now I need therapy.

03 May 2025

The Age of Possibility

I'm not entirely sure why '18: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives' by Alice Loxton caught my eye, but it did. Perhaps it was just very thorough marketing - it did seem to be everywhere when it first came out! More likely, it simply sounded like it could be interesting, which, to be fair, is a pretty good reason for reading anything.

05 April 2025

Come On, Bill Bailey!

A cuddly toy gorilla reading Bill Bailey's book
Bill Bailey is one of my favourite stand up comedians and, unusually for me, I was aware of him quite early.  Not right at the beginning, but put it this way, the first time I saw him it was in a decent city-centre venue and it only cost me £12.50. Now he's filling stadia, those tickets would cost over £90, and he's presenting great TV programmes left, right and centre! As a fan of his work and knowing he's a Westcountry lad, his book 'My Animals and Other Animals: A Memoir of Sorts' immediately got my attention.