Last weekend I went along to the Greenwich Book Festival – in the exquisite University of Greenwich buildings – and had a fantastic day in the company of a varied group of authors. I started my morning listening to journalist Lucy Mangan in conversation with Katherine Woodfine (herself a children’s writer who hosts a podcast […]
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Not Working by Lisa Owens. Audiobook narrated by Tuppence Middleton. Opening sentence: “There is a man standing outside my flat wearing khaki greens and a huge ‘Free Palestine’ badge.” Read by the wonderfully named Tuppence Middleton, I listened to Lisa Owen’s debut novel on audiobook and laughed out loud more than once on the train, […]
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Who is Tom Ditto? by Danny Wallace Opening sentence: “The evening of June the 12th was unusual for many reasons in the end, of course, but it was unusual mostly because the evening of June the 12th was the evening my girlfriend did not leave me.” This was an impulse library pick up that I’m […]
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The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet Opening sentence: “The key slides and turns in the lock, smooth and slippery as a silverfish.” The idea of a house swap does not appeal to me at all. A complete stranger living among (and probably having a good old look through) my belongings, sleeping in my bed and […]
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Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce Opening sentence: “When I first saw the advertisement in the newspaper I thought I might actually burst.” Set in London during the Second World War, we meet Emmeline Lake, she dreams of being a Lady War Correspondent, so accepts a job at Woman’s Friend magazine to start her journalism […]
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Attention, Muggles! If you (like me) are a fan of Harry Potter and his magical wizarding world, then I highly recommend a visit to the A History of Magic exhibition, on now until 28th February 2018 at The British Library. Curated to celebrate 20 years since the publication of The Philosopher’s Stone, this exhibition merges […]
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Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell Opening sentence: “A succession of furious choking yells from the street.” I didn’t quite know what to expect when I started listening to this (it was my audiobook for the month), all I knew was that it was an account of the time Orwell spent […]
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