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
Fiction Translated

The Time of Cherries by Montserrat Roig

Translated by Julia Sanches Review by Michael Eaude Lemons and Cherries Most reviews I write are of Catalan fiction translated to English. I often wonder whether my commitment to learning…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 9, 2024
3 2302 1
Read Later Share
Fiction Reviewer's Choice

Reviewer’s Choice – Birthright by Charles Lambert

Review by Rob Spence Birthright. The word smacks of entitlement, doesn’t it? The idea of being privileged because of the status of your parents. There’s plenty of entitlement on show…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 8, 2024
3 2162 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Non Fiction

Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliff

Reviewed by Harriet Who remembers reading The Eagle of the Ninth? First published in 1954, when Sutcliff was 34, it is set in Roman Britain and tells the story of…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 7, 2024
4 1580 1
Read Later Share
Fiction

Shiny Prize Season – Falling Animals by Sheila Armstrong – The Ondaatje Prize shortlist

Review by Annabel 2024 marks the twentieth anniversary of the ‘Ondaatje Prize’, awarded by the Royal Society of Literature for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 2, 2024
3 1349 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Non Fiction

Rural Hours – The Country Lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann by Harriet Baker

Reviewed by Gill Davies In the summer of 1917 Virginia Woolf was living at Asheham, a house near Lewes in Sussex. She was 35 and hadn’t written anything for two…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 30, 2024
4 1519 0
Read Later Share
Lit Crit Music Non Fiction

Anthony Burgess, The Devil Prefers Mozart: On Music and Musicians  1962 – 1993, edited by Paul Phillips

Review by Rob Spence Anthony Burgess was, of course, one of the most significant novelists of the second half of the twentieth century, publishing over thirty novels, (a centenary reading…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 25, 2024
4 2299 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Non Fiction

Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries, edited by Sarah Gristwood

Reviewed by Harriet I have set myself many tasks for the year – I wonder how many will be accomplished? A Novel called Middlemarch, a long poem on Timoleon, and…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 24, 2024
2 1357 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Non Fiction

Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty, by Alexander Larman

Review by Elaine Simpson-Long When Alexander Larman wrote The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication about Edward VIII, he had no idea that it would be the beginning of…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 23, 2024
3 872 0
Read Later Share
Fiction

Shiny Prize Season – Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan – Women’s Prize for Fiction

Review by Annabel I enjoyed Nolan’s debut, Acts of Desperation, published in 2022, which was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Author Award. It is a fine example of the now…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 18, 2024
2 1003 0
Read Later Share
History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Non Fiction

Head North by Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham

Review by Rob Spence When Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in October last year that the multi-billion pound rail infrastructure programme HS2 would not, after all, be completed, leaving Manchester…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 17, 2024
2 1433 0
Read Later Share
Fiction

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Review by Annabel One thing I know: this sublime novella will be featuring in my books of the year for 2024. Samantha Harvey’s Orbital is a beautifully written love letter,…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 16, 2024
3 2558 2
Read Later Share
Poetry

Shiny Prize Season – Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan – Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist & Jhalak Prize longlist

Reviewed by Rebecca Foster I knew from the Costa Award-winning debut collection Flèche (2019) that Mary Jean Chan writes exquisite poems of love and longing. Their follow-up, Bright Fear, has…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 12, 2024
3 1062 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Non Fiction

Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence, by Avril Horner

Reviewed by Harriet In the back of my mind I was always sure that wonderful things were waiting for me, but I’d got to get through a lot of horrors…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 11, 2024
4 2116 1
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 2243 8
Read Later Share
Mind and Body, Medicine, Psychology Non Fiction Philosophy

How to Be Multiple: The Philosophy of Twins, by Helena de Bres, illustrated by Julia de Bres

Reviewed by Simon Thomas When I discovered there was a new collection of essays out about the philosophy of twins, and that it was written by an identical twin, I…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 9, 2024
3 1575 1
Read Later Share
History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Non Fiction

Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s hidden histories, by Amitav Ghosh

Review by Peter Reason The term ‘narco state’ usually refers to those countries whose economy has been taken over by the cultivation of the opium poppy and the criminal gangs…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 4, 2024
3 1118 0
Read Later Share
Fiction Translated

Shiny Prize Season – A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare – International Booker Prize

Translated by John Hodgson Review by Karen Langley The International Booker Prize is one of the more high profile literary awards, and its stated aim is to introduce readers to…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 3, 2024
3 1644 4
Read Later Share
Fiction Translated

Shiny Prize Season – The Details by Ia Genberg – International Booker Prize

Translated by Kira Josefsson Review by Susan Osborne While enduring a light fever, the unnamed narrator of Ia Genberg’s The Details is seized with the urge to read the novel…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 3, 2024
2 1533 0
Read Later Share
Fiction

Shiny Prize Season – Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang, & I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai – Carol Shields Prize

Reviews by Laura Tisdall Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang Land of Milk and Honey, C Pam Zhang’s second and so far, strongest, novel, is set in a near-future…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 2, 2024
3 1307 0
Read Later Share
Essays Non Fiction Philosophy Reprint Translated

What Do I Know? by Michel de Montaigne

Translated by David Coward Review by Karen Langley The essay as a form of writing has existed for centuries, and one of its pre-eminent practitioners was the French author Michel…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books March 28, 2024
28 2126 6
Read Later Share
Fiction Translated

Shiny Prize Season – Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck – International Booker Prize

Translated by Michael Hofmann Review by Susan Osborne Jenny Erpenbeck’s novels offer much food for thought on the events that have shaped modern Germany. Opening in 1986, Kairos charts an…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books March 27, 2024
29 1445 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Non Fiction

Shiny Prize Season – A Flat Place by Noreen Masud – Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction

Reviewed by Simon Thomas The world is probably divided into two people: those who find the idea of a book about flat landscapes appealing and those who don’t. I suspect…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books March 26, 2024
30 1472 0
Read Later Share
Fiction

Shiny Prize Season – Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson – Dylan Thomas Prize

Review by Susan Osborne Beginning in 2010, Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Small Worlds is a beautiful, eloquent exploration of love, loss and finding a place of safety for a person of…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books March 21, 2024
4 1216 1
Read Later Share
Fiction

Shiny Prize Season – The Coiled Serpent by Camilla Grudova – Dylan Thomas Prize

Review by Annabel The longlist for this year’s Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize is truly eclectic, including poetry and short stories from all over the world alongside novels. After being…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books March 20, 2024
5 1218 0
Read Later Share
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • …
  • 98
Categories

Join 3,711 other subscribers.
The posts you’re looking at most…
  • Fair Play by Louise Hegarty
  • The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
  • Nothing Grows by Moonlight by Torborg Nedreaas
  • From Z to A, how Zweig inspired Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'
  • Riders by Jilly Cooper
  • Puzzles, constraints and cryptograms: An Oulipo beginner's primer
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
  • kaggsysbookishramblings 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
  • Liz Dexter on The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century by Owen Hatherley
  • Laurie Graves 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
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
  • 782,164 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