So, apparently spending a morning on my feet walking round a gallery has killed my back for three days (and counting). I love getting old!
Geraldine Rowe
@geraldinerowe.bsky.social
Cats, books, nature. What else is there? London, UK.
Had a little trip up to the National Portrait Gallery today. And I took a photo of Nelson's Column from a bus going down Whitehall, just like a real tourist 😁
Roundup of the books I read (and one I gave up on) in August. youtu.be/A3F8_YBoQRQ?...
August 2026 roundup
YouTube video by Geraldine's Novel Opinions
youtu.be
Enjoyed this Booker longlister much more. The Renovation by Keenan Orhan. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/6946...
Review by geraldinerowe - The Renovation: A Novel
An exploration of how exile from our home can affect our memories of it, while comparing it to...
app.thestorygraph.com
And here's The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley. The longlist seems to be favouring books with excellent writing, but which ultimately go nowhere. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/91bc...
Review by geraldinerowe - The Palm House
As with her book, My Phantoms, this is more a collection of anecdotes. They're brilliantly wri...
app.thestorygraph.com
I've got a bit behind posting my book reviews. Can't say I'm terribly excited about the Booker longlist this year. Here's what I thought of The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a1eb...
Review by geraldinerowe - The Shadow of the Object
I had to let this one sit with me before reviewing it. It's beautifully written and takes you ...
app.thestorygraph.com
My Booker longlist reading isn't going well. Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/2647...
Review by geraldinerowe - Helen of Nowhere
I have no idea what this was trying to tell me. Whiny man has a couple of very odd interaction...
app.thestorygraph.com
I think Ann Patchett is becoming a favourite author. Watch out Elizabeth Strout! Whistler by Ann Patchett. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/c487...
Review by geraldinerowe - Whistler
I very much enjoyed Tom Lake so was looking forward to reading this, and I wasn't disappointed...
app.thestorygraph.com
Lots of eclipses filtered through the gaps between the leaves on my jasmine bush.
The sun's gone behind the houses now, but I think it's just past its maximum. It upset the gulls for a while.
Very unusual but very good. Will make you wonder if you could be more easily manipulated than you think. The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/76e2...
Review by geraldinerowe - The Matchbox Girl
An extraordinary book which is not only unusual in its narrative style, but also in how it pla...
app.thestorygraph.com
John of John by Douglas Stuart, hotly tipped by many to win the Booker this year, is £1.99 on Kobo and Kindle today.
A quick graphic novel read. I loved the Three Body Problem trilogy but this came nowhere close. Sea of Dreams by Cixin Liu. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/0d74...
Review by geraldinerowe - Sea of Dreams
I haven't read the short story this graphic novel is based on so perhaps I'm being unfair, but...
app.thestorygraph.com
Many people thought this would be on the Booker longlist. I... didn't get it. Transcription by Ben Lerner. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e9d9...
Review by geraldinerowe - Transcription
I'd heard rave reviews of this book but wondered if it was for me. I was right to wonder. It j...
app.thestorygraph.com
This is 99p on Kobo and Kindle today if you wanted to snap it up.
The Booker Prizes@thebookerprizes.com · 2mo agoThe Renovation by Kenan Orhan (@kenanorhan.bsky.social) is a heartbreaking portrait of one family caught in the tides of history, grappling with grief, exile, politics and the painful absurdity of love. Find out more about this Booker Prize 2026-longlisted book: thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-l...
I love David Sedaris and am always pleased when he comes out with another collection of essays. The Land and its People by David Sedaris. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/b15d...
Review by geraldinerowe - The Land and Its People: Essays
More of what we expect from David Sedaris. If you know his work this will satisfy your itch. I...
app.thestorygraph.com
Another of the Darkland Tales novellas. Well worth a read. Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/0b17...
Review by geraldinerowe - Queen Macbeth
I enjoyed this new story of Gruoch, Macbeth's wife. While we know that Shakespeare's play is w...
app.thestorygraph.com
An Icelandic classic. A bit of a curate's egg, but the good parts were few and far between. Independent People by Halldór Laxness. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a33d...
Review by geraldinerowe - Independent People
Apparently many wrap items have drawn inspiration from this book. In part I can see why. The a...
app.thestorygraph.com
Took myself on a day out to the Bethlem Museum of the Mind today. There was an exhibition of art by patients of the Bangalore Mental Hospital in the 1950s, and some Louis Wains which are on permanent display. Bought myself some Louis Wain Top Trumps in the gift shop.
Colombia v Switzerland being referred to as Charlie v The Chocolate Factory.
I just gave a company some feedback which led to a brief exchange with their customer services. I've now received an email asking for feedback on their response to my feedback. What madness is this?!?!
Many people's favourite for the International Booker. I enjoyed the story, but not the style of telling it. She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, trans: Izidora Angel. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/1a65...
Review by geraldinerowe - She Who Remains
A fascinating and excellent little story written in an unnecessarily irritating way. The story...
app.thestorygraph.com
A belated but quick read of one of the International Booker shortlist. On Earth as it is beneath by Ana Paula Maia. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e737...
Review by geraldinerowe - On Earth As It Is Beneath
Very short novella about a brutal Brazilian penal colony where the staff are as much prisoners...
app.thestorygraph.com
People have raved about this book and, on the one hand, I can see why - it's a very believable tale of a dysfunctional family. But for me it lacked a cohesive core. My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3153...
Review by geraldinerowe - My Phantoms
The story of growing up with a bully for a father and a narcissist mother. A lot of this book ...
app.thestorygraph.com
Unlike the rest of the country, this heatwave has given me my best nights sleep in a very long time. The cats don't want to sleep snuggled up with me so I'm not constantly being woken up. I got six hours unbroken sleep last night. Can't remember the last time that happened.
That was quite the thunder storm last night. I don't think I've ever seen so much lightning before. From the map it looks like Thor has beef with the Jutes.
