The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard

First published in 1980, The Transit of Venus is the third novel by the Australian writer Shirley Hazzard, an author I’ve been circling for some time. It’s also one of the best novels I’ve read so …

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“Here they were, wrecked together on the edge of Europe as on an island and she was learning to keep her thoughts to herself.” (The Spoilt City, Olivia Manning)

It was a conversation with Marcie in the comments of Jacqui’s Levant Trilogy post which led to us doing a buddy read for all three volumes of Olivia Manning’s Balkan Trilogy this year. We started w…

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Books to Look Out For in September 2026: Part One - A Life in Books

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

alifeinbooks.co.uk

“…all of us…are primarily interested in murder and love-making.” #gkchesterton ~20BOS26 Book 21

I’ve always been fond of a good essay, and a search through the archives of the Ramblings would no doubt reveal a number of essay collections I’ve covered. Some of these would have been…

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Women Writers in Translation – some book recommendations for #WITMonth

As many of you know, August is #WITMonth (Women in Translation), a celebration of books by women writers, initially written in languages other than English (and then translated for English-speaking…

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A month of chunksters! #July #20BOS2026

For some reason, July ended up being a month in which I read a number of chunky books (which I hadn’t necessarily planned…) and so although the total of books read was less than usual, …

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Blasts from the Past: For Kings and Planets by Ethan Canin (1998) - A Life in Books

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

alifeinbooks.co.uk

Women Writers in Translation – some book recommendations for #WITMonth

As many of you know, August is #WITMonth (Women in Translation), a celebration of books by women writers, initially written in languages other than English (and then translated for English-speaking…

jacquiwine.wordpress.com

Classic crime round up – part 2! #20BOS26 Books 19 + 20 #GalileoPublishing

As I mentioned in last week’s post about a pair of British Library Crime Classics, I have been very spoiled by publishers recently, and the second press to send some GA crime over has been Ga…

kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com

Blog Tour: The Hotel Manager’s Guide to Murder by Erlendur Arason (transl. Quentin Bates)

I’m delighted to be taking part in a blog tour today for a new-to-me author and publisher: The Hotel Manager’s Guide to Murder by Erlendur Arason (2025, transl. Quentin Bates 2025) from Blekverk Bo…

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“…a bewildering tapestry of myth and lore…” #twistedspoonpress #20BOS26 Book 18

Back in 2017 I discovered the German-Czech author, Johannes Urzidil, when a collection of his short Bohemian fables was published by Pushkin Press. I thoroughly enjoyed these stories, so when the P…

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Twisty tales and guilty secrets – over at #ShinyNewBooks!

When it comes to mystery books, I tend as a rule to stick to Golden Age Crime which is a huge favourite of mine. However, I was recently offered the chance to review a new collection of modern shor…

kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com

Literary escapade : Frédéric Dard & the village of Saint-Chef, France. #ParisInJuly2026

I thought I’d take you to another literary escapade in France, in the village of Saint-Chef in the Isère department. This is where Frédéric Dard (1921-2000) , aka San Antonio spent part of his chil…

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“Every brave man is brave in his own way.” #vasilygrossman #fromthefrontline #20BOS26 Book 17

Back in 2013 I read my first Vasily Grossman book, “An Armenian Sketchbook”, translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, and was bowled over by his writing. I commented at the time tha…

kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com

My favourite books from Jan – June 2026

Now that we’re well into July, I thought it might be interesting to put together a mid-year review, summarising my reading highlights from January to June. I seem to say this every year, but 2026 i…

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Family Friends by Chloë Ashby: Happy holidays - A Life in Books

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

alifeinbooks.co.uk

My 2026 Booker Wish List - A Life in Books

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

alifeinbooks.co.uk

“Living is a horizontal fall.” #ParisinJuly2026 #20BOS26 Book 13

As I hinted in my end of June post and my review of “Women of Iron and Velvet”, I’ve been off down a number of rabbit holes recently, particularly with French authors. Jean Coctea…

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Paperbacks to Look Out For in August 2026  - A Life in Books

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

alifeinbooks.co.uk

“…her form of liberation…” #ParisinJuly2026 #20BOS26 Book 12

July is a month with a lovely event, hosted by Emma at Words and Peace: “Paris in July”, where we read books about all things pertaining to  France and its capital. Now I have all manne…

kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com

Another Part of the Wood by Beryl Bainbridge

This is only my third novel by the British writer Beryl Bainbridge, following An Awfully Big Adventure and The Bottle Factory Outing (both excellent), but I’m already sensing something of a pattern…

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“…lost in the muddied waters of memory…” @SarabandBooks #20BOS26 Book 11

Back in 2024, I stumbled across a random book find in my local Oxfam, which turned out to be a marvellous read – “Writing Landscape” by Linda Cracknell, published by the lovely in…

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The Simp by Roshan Sethi: A novel without a hero - A Life in Books

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

alifeinbooks.co.uk

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty – Book Group Report & No 5 of #20BOS26

This was our July book for discussion at Book Group – and yes, it generated a good discussion – but that doesn’t mean that readers enjoyed it! Only 2 out of 7 were largely positiv…

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The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith

Part war-torn love story, part character study, part portrayal of a young woman’s life on the home front, The Spring House is another brilliant entry in the British Library Women Writers seri…

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