MadameBibiLophile

Galley Beggar Ghost Stories – The Signalman by Charles Dickens and The Old Nurse’s Story by Elizabeth Gaskell Back in winter 2024, the independent publisher Gallery Beggar Press issued a small bundle of ghost stories called Pocket Ghosts, comprising three beautifully produced slim volumes, each containing …

New on the blog today, my thoughts on two excellent stories from @galleybeggars.bsky.social's Pocket Ghosts series.

THE SIGNALMAN by Charles Dickens & THE OLD NURSE'S STORY by Elizabeth Gaskell - two atmospheric ghost stories to chill the bones. #BookSky 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/03/12/g...

No 205 The Mangan Inheritance by Brian Moore #readingirelandmonth26 First published in 1979, The Mangan Inheritance is one of Brian Moore’s longer novels and a quietly unsettling exploration of identity, legacy and the dangers of looking too closely at the past. At…

My #readingirelandmonth26 continues with a review of The Mangan Inheritance by the incomparable Brian Moore. A slippery tale of identity and legacy.

A Far-flung Life by M. L. Stedman: ‘Guard your secrets well – that’s my advice. Forget they even exist.’   - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

New on my blog - A Far-flung Life by M. L. Stedman: ‘Guard your secrets well – that’s my advice. Forget they even exist.’   alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/a-fa... #BookSky

“…is your cunning just an aspect of your inner simplicity?” #voices #fredericprokosch Nowadays, the line between reality and fiction has become very blurred; whether it’s a fabricated online identity, a made up misery memoir or an image created with AI, it’s getting hard…

On the Ramblings today, my thoughts on a wonderful piece of literary ventriloquism just reissued by @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social - "Voices". More here: kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/03/10/i...

Books to Look Out For in April 2026: Part Two - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

New on my blog - Books to Look Out For in April 2026: Part Two alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/book... #BookSky

The Stepdaughter by Caroline Blackwood Born into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family, Lady Caroline Blackwood was, for many years, largely known as a socialite and muse. Her marriages to the artist Lucian Freud, the pianist Israel Citkow…

New on the blog today, I've written about THE STEPDAUGHTER by Caroline Blackwood.

A short, sharp shock of a novel where the reader bears witness to a stepmother’s unravelling and the impact of this nightmare on those who are under her care. #BookSky 💙📚

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Similar thing happened to me last year too - Bloomsbury’s edition of Mrs Tim of the Regiment, when I opened it at home it was a non-fiction title, an entirely different book!

Hello Bluesky! I am looking for anyone who cares about/writes about/thinks about Rebecca West.

I've been on a 10 year mission to get her a blue plaque in London and am finally allowed to re-apply after it was last turned down.

I'd welcome help building a strong application.

Thank you 💙🙏

“It’s a very odd set-up.” #carolcarnac #thedoubleturn Timing is often all when it comes to reading, I find, and today’s book is a wonderful example of that. It arrived on the day I had finished reading the epic volume, “The Waste Land: A B…

On the blog today, another brilliant #CarolCarnac reissue from @blpublishing.bsky.social -such a clever and twisty one! @martinedwardsbooks.bsky.social kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/03/06/i...

A Private Man by Stephanie Sy-Quia: ‘There are many different ways to have an affair.’ - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

A Private Man by Stephanie Sy-Quia: ‘There are many different ways to have an affair.’ alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/a-pr... #BookSky

Blasts from the Past: The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998) - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

New on my blog - Blasts from the Past: The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998) alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/blas... #BookSky

Two Irish authors on Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist Kit de Waal and Wendy Erskine nominated for award worth £30,000

Two Irish authors on Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist
Kit de Waal and Wendy Erskine nominated for award worth £30,000

www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

“You must get over these fancies…” #edgarallanpoe Back in January, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole after reading some classic cosmic horror by H.P. Lovecraft, and as I reported, I ended up investing in a number of new titles inspired by that bo…

On the Ramblings today, I explore a rattling good yarn from #EdgarAllanPoe - more here! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/03/03/y...

The Penguin art department in the 1970s/early 80s really made some interesting choices 😄I love finding them in the wild now, even though they're truly terrible!

The Barracks by John McGahern First published in 1963, The Barracks was John McGahern’s debut novel, written when he was in his late twenties. Now considered one of Ireland’s greatest authors, McGahern wrote about a world he kn…

New on the blog today, I've written about THE BARRACKS by John McGahern.

A sad, quietly devastating novel that delves deep into character, raising the question of whether the protagonist - a housewife in her early forties - has lived a meaningful life. 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/03/03/t...

Books to Look Out For in April 2026: Part One - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

New on my blog - Books to Look Out For in April 2026: Part One alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/book... #BookSky

Reading Independent Publishers Month 2026 This page is to collect together all of the reviews of books published by Independent Publishers during #readindies month 2026! Please do let me know about your posts in the comments below and I wi…

February and Reading Independent Publishers Month #ReadIndies are over, but we should be reading and supporting independent presses all year round. If you want some ideas of what to read next, check out my page with a massive amount of links! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/reading-inde...

My Year of Reading Welshly by Alex Johnson #ReadingWales26 A brief introduction and a few shared thoughts about my book choice for Reading Wales 2026: ‘My Year of Reading Welshly’ by Alex Johnson.

bookjotter.com/2026/03/01/my-year-of-reading-welshly-by-alex-johnson-readingwales26/ #ReadingWales26 #Dewithon26 #ReadingWales #Dewithon #Books @shedworking.bsky.social @bookertalk.bsky.social @katheastman.bsky.social @calonbooks.bsky.social

Winding Up the Week #461 In this celebratory St David’s Day special, I explore the literary landscape with a distinctly Welsh twist, revisit books read and reviewed, uncover some of the finest writing about literature acro…

bookjotter.com/2026/02/28/winding-up-the-week-461/ #ReadingWales26 #Dewithon26 #Booklovers #AmReading #Books #BookReview #Reading @bookertalk.bsky.social @katheastman.bsky.social @shereadsnovels.bsky.social @createdtoread.bsky.social

“I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” #readindies #thewasteland My final book for #ReadIndies is from a publisher who’s a huge favourite of mine, and I did wonder if I would get it finished in time as it’s a bit of a chunkster! Fortunately, I embark…

On the Ramblings today, my last review for #ReadIndies, and it's a chunkster - a stunning book about the composition of #thewasteland from @faberbooks.bsky.social - more here: kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/02/27/i...

Tea on Sunday by Lettice Cooper While the British novelist and campaigner Lettice Cooper is probably best known for her literary novels, such as National Provincial (1938) and The New House (1936), both in print with Persephone B…

New on the blog today for #ReadIndies, I've written about TEA ON SUNDAY by Lettice Cooper.

A very enjoyable 'closed circle' style whodunnit in which an elderly woman is bumped off in the run-up to her tea party on Sunday afternoon. #BookSky 💙📚 #CrimeFiction

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/02/26/t...

“Everything amazes me when I go back to the past.” (Banine, Days in the Caucasus) “We all know families who are poor but ‘respectable’. Mine, in contrast, was extremely rich but not ‘respectable’ at all.” I don’t often write about memoir on the blog, but Days in the Caucasus by …

Today on the blog, a memoir and my final read for #ReadIndies “Everything amazes me when I go back to the past.” (Banine, Days in the Caucasus) madamebibilophilerecommends.co.uk/2026/02/26/e...

Once the Deed is Done (2025), by Rachel Seiffert Longlisted for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Rachel Seiffert’s latest novel explores an aspect of WW2 that seems not to have had much attention in historical fiction: it…

Longlisted for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Rachel Seiffert’s latest novel explores the nightmarish experience of DPs: displaced persons in the aftermath of the German defeat. anzlitlovers.com/2026/02/26/o...

“I love a dedicated second-hand bookshop as much as the next collector.” #parisfantastique #readindies Confingo Publishing is an indie press based in Manchester, and they have an intriguing list of titles on their books. They’ve appeared on the Ramblings before as they issue Dave Haslam’…

On the Ramblings today for #ReadIndies, a stunning short story collection by @nicholasroyle.bsky.social from @confingopublishing.bsky.social "Paris Fantastique" - so good! More here: kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/02/25/i...

My Women's Prize for Fiction 2026 Wish List - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

New on my blog: My Women's Prize for Fiction 2026 Wish List alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/02/my-w... #BookSky

A Friend of Dorothy - full Oscar nominated short film starring Miriam Margolyes and Stephen Fry YouTube video by Attitude Magazine

youtube.com/watch?v=CMqU... This lovely short film is on YouTube now. I do enjoy an inter-generational friendship! Alistair Nwachukwu’s performance is beautifully sensitive.

“… stay under the radar.” #readindies #corylusbooks I’m happy to be able to share my thoughts today on a book from a really interesting indie press – Corylus Books. As I mentioned when I reviewed another title they released, “Black…

It's the last week of #ReadIndies and on the blog I share my thoughts on a gripping political thriller from @corylusbooks.bsky.social - more here! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/02/23/s...

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier – two characters in the turbulences of the Civil War.

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (1997) French title: Retour à Cold Mountain. Translated by Marie Dumas. Séverine and I picked picked Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier for our first buddy read of the year. It’s…

Freezing Point by Anders Bodelsen (tr. Joan Tate) First published in Danish in 1969, Freezing Point is another thrilling entry in the Faber Editions series, an expertly curated selection of rediscovered gems dedicated to showcasing radical literar…

“A kidney shortage, lack of kidneys in store [...] A law, a law with retroactive effect, an emergency law, allowed us to borrow kidneys from patients who were down and had no use for their kidneys. We borrowed your kidneys.” #BookSky 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/02/22/f...

A Snapshot of My Reading #12 - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

New on my blog: A Snapshot of My Reading #12 alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/02/a-sn... #BookSky