Homesick by Jennifer Croft
Review by Annabel Jennifer Croft’s name may ring a bell with you somewhere, but with a different hat on. As the translator of Olga Togaczuk’s Flights, she was co-winner of…
The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley
Review by Annabel It was wonderful to discover that Natasha Pulley had a new novel published last month, I’ve been a fan since the beginning and have reviewed her first…
The Facemaker: One Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I, by Lindsey Fitzharris
Review by Annabel Lindsey Fitzharris is an American with a doctorate from Oxford in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology, and a post-doc fellowship from the Wellcome Trust. Her…
One Day I Shall Astonish the World by Nina Stibbe
Review by Annabel I’ve been a fan of Nina Stibbe since she first hit the literary scene in 2013 with Love, Nina, an hilarious memoir of her years nannying for the…
Good Pop, Bad Pop: An Inventory by Jarvis Cocker
Review by Annabel Since he first came into the public eye, Jarvis Cocker has always presented a delightful, non-conformist approach to life – droll and at times laconic, at other…
‘Sensational Books’ at the Bodleian
By Annabel On Tuesday I was privileged to be invited to join a press event for the Bodleian Libraries’ new (much-delayed by Covid) exhibition in Oxford which celebrates ‘Sensational Books‘….
Elektra by Jennifer Saint
Review by Annabel The current vogue for feminist retellings of stories from Greek and Roman myths and legends is showing no signs of slowing down and long may it continue….
America Over the Water by Shirley Collins
Review by Annabel Shirley Collins is widely regarded as one of the most influential British folk singers of our times. Often singing alongside her sister and composer Dolly, she was…
Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert
Review by Annabel At this early stage of the year, it may be a bit forward of me to suggest that I may have found my book of the year,…
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Review by Annabel Sometimes the hype is true, and a publisher’s lead-title for the season really is worth the advance praise heaped on it. This is the case with Lessons…
The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen
Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston Review by Annabel I’m always interested in adding new Nordic authors to my reading list, which is increasingly expanding beyond the traditional home…
The Gift of a Radio by Justin Webb
Review by Annabel The TV news came on and a lugubrious looking chap in a light-coloured suit with a deep, plummy voice said something about the balance of payments. ‘That’s…
Brainspotting: Adventures in Neurology by A. J. Lees
Reviewed by Annabel Dr Andrew Lees is a neurology professor at the National Hospital in London the first English hospital dedicated exclusively to treating the diseases of the nervous system….
Whatever Gets You Through the Night by Charlie Higson
Review by Annabel Back in the 1990s, Higson wrote four thrillers for adults, they were dark, nasty and funny. But after them he got sidetracked onto writing for Harry Enfield…
Mother Mother by Annie Macmanus
Review by Annabel You may know Annie Macmanus as ‘Annie Mac’, the fomer Radio 1 DJ. She left the station last year to pursue other avenues, which have included publishing…
The Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein by Sharon Ruston
Review by Annabel Gaskell Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, her novel conceived during that momentous trip to Geneva in 1816 during ‘the year without a summer’, is supremely concerned with the subject…
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Review by Annabel Over recent years, I have been much enjoying the current vogue for the retelling of ancient myths and ancient history, especially those told from different perspectives, primarily…
Are We Having Fun Yet? By Lucy Mangan
Review by Annabel Those of you who’ve read journalist and author Lucy Mangan’s ‘memoir of childhood reading’, Bookworm, (which Liz reviewed here) will rejoice that she has now written a…
Raising Laughter: How the Sitcom Kept Britain Smiling in the ‘70s by Robert Sellers
Review by Annabel I watched an awful lot of telly in the 1970s, my formative teenage years. It was thus inevitable that between the early evening slots occupied by Top…
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Review by Annabel Amor Towles’s first novel, Rules of Civility, was published in 2011 when he was in his mid-forties. It was such a success he was able to retire…
Madgermanes by Birgit Weyhe
Translated by Katy Derbyshire Review by Annabel It’s been exciting to see the variety of German books in translation coming from V&Q Books who launched in the UK last autumn….
Star Turns by Tim Walker
Review by Annabel Tim Walker’s name may ring a bell, particularly with broadsheet readers. During his career as a journalist, he has written for The Observer and The Daily Telegraph,…
The Red Planet: A Natural History of Mars, by Simon Morden
Review by Annabel Who hasn’t been enthralled by the idea of there being ‘Life on Mars’ even if said life ends up as the first humans to visit the red…
The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino
Translated by Rebecca Copeland Review by Annabel Japanese author Natsuo Kirino is primarily known for her crime novels, of which Out is the most widely known. However, she also contributed…