Dave Appleby

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin This entertaining book felt like YA written for adults. I wasn't surprised that John Green, author of YA classics such as The Fault in Our...

I've just finished another best-selling novel that flouts the 'show don't tell' rule: 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow' by Gabrielle Zevin, a book about the American Dream.

My review: bit.ly/3PkiZYm

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'Full House' is very much concerned with the people living in the country house and almost totally devoid of social commentary on Ireland. But it is what it is.

"Out of the Ashes" by Michael Morpurgo Written in the form of diary entries, the diarist being the 13 year-old daughter of the farmer, this harrowing YA novel charts the visitatio...

Just finished a YA book: Michael Morpurgo's 'Out of the Ashes'. A great read.

bit.ly/4dejYTP

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Not read that one. Do you recommend it?

"Full House" by M J Farrell (Molly Keane) This novel is set in a country house in Ireland. The household is dominated by Olivia, Lady Bird, a matriarch who bullies the servants (part...

Just finished 'Full House' by M J Farrell (Molly Keane) highlighting the worst of the aristocratic English who used to dominate Ireland. My full review: bit.ly/46R6SYS

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Open Water" by Caleb Azumah Nelson This extraordinary debut novel, written in the 2nd person, present tense, about the experiences of a young black man in present-day south L...

Just completed 'Open Water' by Caleb Azumah Nelson, a searing portrayal of the experiences of a cultured young black man in contemporary south London written in the second person and a hauntingly poetic style.

My full review: bit.ly/4sd1tUN

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Othello On 4th March 2026, I watched Othello, recorded live in a west end theatre and beamed to the Cineworld screen at the Beacon cinema in Eastbou...

Saw the Trafalgar theatre production of Othello as a screencast last night. Wonderful! My full review:
daja57.blogspot.com/2026/03/othe...

"Trumpet" by Jackie Kay When Joss Moody, a famous jazz trumpeter, dies, it is discovered that 'he' was a woman, who lived as a man. His grieving widow, the only one...

Just finished 'Trumpet' by Jackie Kay (yes, I'm late to this party) a fascinating novel exploring the identity of a cross-dressing jazzman. My full review: bit.ly/4rVXvje

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"The Snow Ball" by Brigid Brophy Elegant. Glittering. Intoxicating. But is this account of a costume party at a rich man's house, with overtones of Mozart's Don Giovanni, ...

During a fabulous New Year's Eve party, three couples absent themselves from the festivities to copulate. Here is my review of 'The Snow Ball' by Brigid Brophy: bit.ly/3OQOsRJ

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"Gently Does It" by Alan Hunter The book that introduced Chief Inspector George Gently who went on to solve crime in another 46 novels, not to mention a TV drama starring ...

Thought I'd try an Inspector George Gently novel, the first of 46! My review: bit.ly/4aZbY6q

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"Model Behavior" by Jay McInerney In Bright Lights, Big City the 2nd person narrator works for a New York magazine as a fact-checker although his employment seems precarious...

I've just finished my second Jay McInerney book, 'Model Behavior' and in subject matter it is almost identical to the first one I read 'Bright Lights, Big City'. Write what you know but come on!

My full review: bit.ly/4aAvo2I

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"The Devil's Elixirs" bt E T A Hoffmann This Gothic novel is heavy on plot, if you can call this convoluted picaresque a plot, but light on character. Having drunk a wine associate...

I struggled to finish this extravagantly Gothic classic from the inspiration behind Offenbach's Tales from Hoffman

bit.ly/46o4B7e

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"All the Days I Did Not Live" by Anna Vaught The trope of the husband who controls the wife, so she has a less than fulfilled life, is now so common it has become a genre. It has a long...

Just completed 'All the Days I did not Live' by @bookwormvaught.bsky.social published by @renardpress.com An interesting and gently lyrical read.

My review: bit.ly/4tQjrNT

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If only Woking was in Wales ...

Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.

Breaking News: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor becomes eligible for his senior bus pass today. This entitles him to free travel on local buses in England and Wales (between 9.30 AM and 11 PM). Including Woking.

I'm too greedy. If I want to read a book I can't wait.

"Four Letters of Love" by Niall Williams “ When I was twelve years old God spoke to my father for the first time. God didn't say much .” This is the opening of a debut novel of extr...

I've just completed the remarkable 'Four Letters of Love' by Niall Williams. Wow!

My full review: bit.ly/4tJDwp5

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"Bright Lights, Big City" by Jay McInerney Naturalistic contemporary literary fiction narrated in the 2nd person (which is extremely unusual in a novel) and the present tense. The n...

I've just finished 'Bright Lights, Big City' by Jay McInerney, a novel unusual for being written in the 2nd person, which chronicles the hero's descent into drug-fuelled hell. Some fantastic lines (and not just the ones he snorts).

My review: bit.ly/4tFjDiV

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So evocative.

"The House in Paris" by Elizabeth Bowen I struggled to enjoy this book. Two children, Henrietta Leopold, meet at a house in Paris. The Fishers, mother and daughter, are acting as c...

I've just finished The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen and I am looking forward to my reading group explaining to me why it is actually so much better than I think it is.

My review: bit.ly/466aPZr

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"The Names" by Florence Knapp The prologue shows Cora going to register the birth of her newborn son. What should she call him? Her husband insists on Gordon, his name a...

Just finished 'The Names' by Florence Knapp, an interesting debut novel (Sunday Times bestseller) about domestic abuse.

My review: bit.ly/4kpUIMa

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On no! Another earworm. Ba ba ba-baaa

Delighted to discover that the 'Someone Special' card at Card Factory is priced at 99p. Not that special, then.

"Do What Thou Wilt" by Aleister Crowley A biography of Aleister Crowley, creator of the Thelema rite of ceremonial magic, dubbed by the British press: the most evil man in the wo...

I've just finished 'Do What Thou Wilt', a biography of occultist Aleister Crowley. It's strange how the life of a man once called 'the wickedest man in the world' should be so sad and wearisome.
bit.ly/4kfqGue

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"To Love and Be Wise" by Josephine Tey Salcott St Mary is an English village beloved by writers: it is an artist's colony containing three novelists, a broadcaster, a playwright,...

Just finished another Josephine Tey crime novel: 'To Love and Be Wise'. Very enjoyable, clever solution. My full review: bit.ly/4a6IFOX

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Apparently Virginia Woolf thought it was Charlotte Bronte's best novel.

Inexplicable

"Villette" by Charlotte Bronte A preposterous plot told by the world's most miserable narrator in prolix and hysterical language. And French. Imagine that when you are you...

The best thing about having finished 'Villette' by Charlotte Bronte is that I'll never read it again. I look forward to my reading group to try to understand why anyone can enjoy this dreadful book. My review: bit.ly/4a7z1f8

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Remembering my dad, who would have been 104 today.

all the time