Shiny New Books
  • About
  • Editorial & Review
  • Privacy
  • Fiction Review Index
  • Non-Fiction Index
    • Architecture, Art & Design, Craft, Home & Garden, Photography
    • Biography, Memoir & Diaries
    • Books about Books, Lit Crit, Publishing, Reading & Writing
    • Ecology & Environment, Natural World
    • Entertainment, Media, Film & Music
    • Mind and Body, Medicine, Psychology
A Novel Calling Anthology Architecture, Homes & Gardens Art & Design, Craft & Photography Art of Writing & Translation Biographical articles Biography & Memoir, Diaries BookBuzz Books About Books, Publishing Books into Film Business Children's classic Ecology & Environment, Natural World Entertainment, Media Essays Exhibitions Fiction Five Fascinating Facts Flash & Original Fiction Food & Drink Graphic Novel Guest Post History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Humour Interview, Q&A Linguistics Lit Crit Literary Prizes & Festivals Mind and Body, Medicine, Psychology Miscellaneous Music Myths & Legends, Fairytale New Translations of Older Works Non Fiction Philosophy Playscripts & Screenplays Poetry Poetry Competition Reading Guide Relligion Reprint Reviewer's Choice Science & Technology Self-help Sports & Leisure Spotlight on Publishing The Eds Discuss The Shiny Book Club Translated Travel & the World True Crime Uncategorized YA Spotlight
Architecture, Homes & Gardens Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

Lonely Planet: Hidden Libraries by‎ D.C. Helmuth

Review by Liz Dexter This attractive and heavily illustrated book covers fifty unusual libraries from around the world. Informative and rich, it celebrates libraries of all kinds, from mobile ones…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books February 25, 2025
1 341 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction Playscripts & Screenplays

Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers by Darren Freebury-Jones

Reviewed by Harriet, 7 Jan 2025 When I was young, I spent several summers in Stratford-upon-Avon. My parents were working at the theatre there, so I was fortunate to be…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books January 7, 2025
5 934 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

The Book Forger by Joseph Hone

Reviewed by Harriet ‘Thomas James Wise (1859-1937) was a bibliophile and thief’, says Wikipedia. He was indeed. As Joseph Hone puts it in this fascinating exploration of  ‘the most sensational…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books June 6, 2024
2 1305 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction Uncategorized

A Bookshop of One’s Own by Jane Cholmeley

Review by Karen Langley Back in the 20th century, the world was a very different place to live in if you were female and/or gay. Equal pay was a pipe…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 10, 2024
3 2242 8
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Lit Crit Non Fiction

Marcel Proust by Michael Wood

Review by Rob Spence It’s not often that one gets the chance to begin a review with a boast, so I’ll get it over with now: I have read À…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books March 6, 2024
2 2998 2
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

Portable Magic by Emma Smith

Reviewed by Liz Dexter If classic status is registered in material book form, the stages leading up to this are also readable across different editions of the same work. Rachel…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books November 8, 2023
4 1311 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

Remainders of the Day by Shaun Bythell

Review by Julie Barham A further book recording life in all its humour and honesty, this is a brilliant read which captures so much from the perspective of Shaun Bythell,…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books August 15, 2023
1 1281 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Lit Crit Non Fiction Poetry

The Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem by Matthew Hollis

Review by Terence Jagger T S Eliot, when I read The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock, was my introduction to modernism as a reluctant and noisily sceptical schoolboy, and…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books July 19, 2023
1 1352 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

Shakespeare’s First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book by Emma Smith

Review by Liz Dexter In stressing users of the First Folio, then, this book is not concerned with the discussions of how the Folio came to be published, the provenance…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books June 20, 2023
1 1726 3
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Lit Crit Non Fiction

Fantasy: How it Works, by Brian Attebery

Review by Helen Parry Over the last thirty years, the genre of fantasy has become more ‘respectable’. Although it has never been simply an excuse for plodding, Lord-of-the-Rings, Sword-and-Sorcery knock-offs,…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books January 18, 2023
1 1906 5
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

Literary Cats by Judith Robinson & Scott Pack

Reviewed by Annabel This super hardback book from Bodleian Library Publishing has ‘Christmas gift for the cat lover in your life’ written all over it. Who would have thought that…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books December 8, 2022
0 1078 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

The Life of Crime by Martin Edwards

 Reviewed by Basil Ransome-Davies  Here is a hefty and impressive package, a bumper fun book and prodigious resource guide for all serious crime fiction fans (and who isn’t these days,…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 31, 2022
0 1281 1
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Essays Non Fiction Translated

In the Margins by Elena Ferrante

Translated by Ann Goldstein Review by Anna Hollingsworth There’s something fascinating about writers writing about, well, writing and reading. I care more about writers’ preferred pens and books on their…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 28, 2022
0 1079 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

After Agatha: Women Write Crime by Sally Cline

Review by Karen Langley We readers have never been able to get enough of crime fiction, it seems, and in the 21st century the genre is as popular as it…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books March 10, 2022
0 1450 8
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Books About Books, Publishing History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Non Fiction

No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy: Memoirs of a Working-Class Reader by Mark Hodkinson

Review by Liz Dexter While he’s now a publisher and editor with his own imprint, Hodkinson grew up in a terrace house in Rochdale with one book in the house…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books March 1, 2022
0 1319 5
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

Great Literary Friendships by Janet Phillips

Reviewed by Harriet When you see the title of this book, you may think, as I did initially, that it was going to be about friendships between writers (Pope and…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books February 24, 2022
0 1004 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Non Fiction

Stalin’s Library, by Geoffrey Roberts

Review by Basil Ransome-Davies One review of this book has come on quite strong against Roberts’ view of Stalin – prominent among the twentieth century’s most publicised murderous dictators and…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books February 22, 2022
0 999 0
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Lit Crit Non Fiction

Living and Dying With Proust, by Christopher Prendergast

Review by Rob Spence Like Joyce’s Ulysses, Proust’s A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu is seen as a kind of literary Everest, to be attempted only by the brave or…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books February 17, 2022
0 1616 2
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

Faber & Faber: The Untold Story by Toby Faber

Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long In 2019 I attended a lecture given by Toby Faber and found him to be as stylish and witty as his illustrious friends and relations, and…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books August 19, 2021
0 912 0
Read Later Share
Art of Writing & Translation Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction Poetry

A Vertical Art – Oxford Lectures by Simon Armitage

Reviewed by Anna Hollingsworth According to a recent Ipsos MORI poll, 90 per cent of people said that they’d read a novel in the last six months. For poetry, however,…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books July 13, 2021
0 1144 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction

Dreaming of Rose: A Biographer’s Journal, by Sarah LeFanu

Review by Helen Parry Reconstructing anyone’s life poses enormous difficulties, for however copious the evidence of letters, diaries, journals, and eye-witness accounts, the problem of interpretation remains, the problem of…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books July 6, 2021
1 1397 4
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Non Fiction

Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack by Richard Ovenden

Review by Liz Dexter  The processes of selection, acquisition and cataloguing, as well as of disposal and retention, are never neutral acts. They are done by human beings, working in…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books June 7, 2021
0 1241 2
Read Later Share
Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction Reviewer's Choice Travel & the World

Reviewer’s Choice: Twentieth Century Paris (1900-1950) – A Literary Guide for Travellers by Marie-José Gransard

While Shiny New Books concentrates on the new, occasionally, we give our reviewers room to share previously published – ie: ‘not Shiny New Books’ – they have been enjoying. Review…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 27, 2021
0 1238 6
Read Later Share
Art of Writing & Translation Books About Books, Publishing Non Fiction Poetry

The Craft of Poetry by Lucy Newlyn

Reviewed by Rob Spence Lucy Newlyn is a intriguing literary figure. She had a career as an Oxford don, publishing well-regarded studies of Romantic poets as well as collections of…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 4, 2021
0 1035 0
Read Later Share
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
Categories

Join 3,711 other subscribers.
The posts you’re looking at most…
  • The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century by Owen Hatherley
  • Fair Play by Louise Hegarty
  • Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
  • A Fortunate Woman by Polly Morland & A Fortunate Man by John Berger
  • Riders by Jilly Cooper
  • Morvern Callar by Alan Warner
Our Affiliate LInk to Blackwell’s – When you click through and purchase, it earns us a small commission to help pay for this site’s upkeep. Thank you.
www.blackwells.co.uk
My Tweets
Recent Comments
  • Peter Leyland on The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century by Owen Hatherley
  • kaggsysbookishramblings on The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century by Owen Hatherley
  • Margot Kinberg on The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century by Owen Hatherley
  • kaggsysbookishramblings on The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century by Owen Hatherley
  • MarinaSofia on The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century by Owen Hatherley
Recent Posts
  • The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century by Owen Hatherley
  • The Strange Case of Jane O by Karen Thompson Walker
  • Murder at Gull’s Nest: Nora Breen Investigates by Jess Kidd
  • Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
  • Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Shiny on Facebook
Shiny on Facebook
Blog Stats
  • 781,613 hits
© 2014-2023, Shiny New Books and its Contributors
Meta
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • April 2014

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • April 2014