When I announced in English today that I’d read this novel – describing The Master and Margarita as ‘Satan causes havoc in Russia’ – I was met with the kind of look that said ‘You need to step away from the books and go outside’. Although I acknowledge there is an element of truth in… Read More The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
A regular sleep pattern was worth sacrificing for this baby. This is a beautiful, ground-breaking novel that also broke my heart whilst at it. Will (possibly) change how you think about the Victorian novel, because the narrator apparently takes great pleasure in screwing with your mind. It’s like a Victorian, romantic Kafka. The basic premise… Read More The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles
I think I’ve found my new favourite book. I bet you weren’t expecting that. I know that I wasn’t, certainly – I haven’t even finished it yet. Into the Wild is tragically beautiful, and alternately will screw with and linger upon your mind. I’ve got the feeling that it will continue to linger with me… Read More CR: Into the Wild by Jon Krakaeur
As you may recall, I did a mini-feature (featurelette?) called the Book of Joy, which recounted the tome that had brought me the most pleasure. Sadly, this week there is not a book to fill that position – I haven’t been reading for pleasure, I’ve been slumped at my desk inhaling caffeine fumes, writing the… Read More BOOK OF SORROW – AQA GCSE Poetry Anthology
In my previous ‘Book of Joy’ post, I revealed that I’m a dinosaur fanatic. But an even bigger obsession of mine – that has rapidly escalated over the past few months, up until the point when I binge-search second-hand tanks for sale – is fish. I’m now at the point that, whenever I see a… Read More BOOK OF JOY 2: Ocean
I’ve decided to introduce a new feature to spice up your blog-perusing life – the *cue sparkles* BOOK OF JOY. This is a tome that has brought me great pleasure over the past week, and for this feature, it’s Walking With Dinosaurs by Tim Haines. Yes, you read me correctly. DINOSAURS. *mounting excitement* A dinosaur… Read More BOOK OF JOY 1: Walking With Dinosaurs
