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Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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 " May your paths be safe, your floors unbroken and may the house fill your eyes with beauty." Piranesi is, one of my favourite books of all time - and is a book that holds higher esteem with each read.  I first got my hands on a copy borrowed at the recommendation of a friend in 2024, and I'm so glad she told me about it. This book transcends anything I previously thought I knew about fantasy and is one of the best examples of original world-building that I have ever had the privilege to read. I am currently working through my third read and it captivates me just as much, if not more, than it did on my first.  I recently went to the seaside for a couple of days and was struck by how fitting the world Clarke so masterfully creates, aligns with coastal scenery. The book describes a world within a house, a place with many floors and halls. The house boasts upper floors which are in the clouds, whilst its lower ones are covered by tides and swells of sea. The house defies co...
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Book Review: A Christmas Read - A Ukrainian Christmas by Nadiyka Gerbish and Yaroslav Hrytsak

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 Hello,  Today I wanted to jump back on the book blog to write about a read that is perfect for Christmas.  With officially fifteen days left until the big day, I thought now would be a perfect time to talk about A Ukrainian Christmas by Nadiyka Gerbish and Yaroslav Hrytsak.  There is a little back story - as is the case with 99.9% of the books that fall into my hands without a recommendation. I first brought a copy of this book, just before Christmas on the busy Bold Street in the Heart of Liverpool. I was browsing the local independent book shop, looking for something beautiful and captivating, to slightly mirror the famous William Morris quote but not quite do it justice.  Drawn to what I now know to be Ukrainian artwork adorning the cover, I had a feeling that my book token was going to be used wisely. Flower and plant motifs in red, gold and blue adorn the cover and back of the book. In fact, it is so beautiful to look at, I almost thought that the inn...
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Book Review: I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O' Farrell

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 Today, after quite the hiatus, I wanted to review a book that I was so swept away by, that I finished it within twenty-four hours.  I Am, I Am, I Am is O' Farrell's only memoir, each section divided by anatomy of the body, each section gripping and pertinent.  The stories within the pages tell of the author's brushes with death. Seven times during her lifetime, she comes close to dying and yet, as she doesn't.  Her stories are succinct, harrowing and captivating - yet all have the same message. That it truly is a lucky thing to be alive. That sometimes the stars align seemingly in your favour, until one day they don't. That you have to make the most of it until then.  I have read two other works of fiction by O' Farrell, Hamnet and A Marriage Portrait, both exceptional. I was so eager to read a reflection of her life, knowing how she is able to tell a story with crisp clarity. However, this isn't a story, this is her memories, written so simply and yet wha...
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Book Review: Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

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 Happy February! I hope this new year has been finding you well so far, and to mark the first whole book finished this year, I wanted to highlight the wonderful Tayari Jones.  Having read An American Marriage through the recommendation of a friend a few years ago, I knew I had to read Jones's second book. In it, her characters are so alive and fully-formed, with nuance, flaw and individuality. Her writing style is detailed and crafted, easy to get lost in. Jones covers race, class and the messy lives of humanity so effortlessly, you find yourself pages in within minutes.  Silver Sparrow follows the parallel lives of two stepsisters and through the majority of the narrative, only one is aware of the other. It spans generations, decisions made in youth and the varied nature and nurture parenting, that projects each of us into our fate.  I didn't want this book to end and I will absolutely be getting my hands on anything else released by this incredible writer. If you'v...
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Book Review: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

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 Hello, I hope this post finds you well and having a slow, wintery start to the new year.  This review is my first for a while, mainly because I started a, just for fun, podcast and that took up every part of my creative brain since October. I loved creating it, but now that that has finished, I feel more able to turn my attention to writing and photographing, so I'm back reviewing.  I have just read Rebecca for (I'm sure?) the third time. I read it once I think from a library copy, in, 2022. I then brought my own copy after loving it (I rarely buy books new, but I did with this one, as an after work treat whilst in Liverpool in the same year). I then picked up this copy again in November, as I felt the lead up to Christmas, with its dark and cosy nights would be the perfect time to snuggle up with gothic fiction.  So 'Rebecca'... How can I do it justice in this post? It has been reviewed probably hundreds of times, and turned into multiple film adaptations. I think ...
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Book Review: The Small Hand by Susan Hill

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 Hello,  It's cold and dark today, so I hope you can go and grab a blanket and get cosy. Today is Halloween after all, and what better way to celebrate than by reading a spooky story.  Today's review is exactly that. The Small Hand is a ghost story first published in 2010 by Susan Hill, the author of the famous horror story The Woman In Black. I first saw this story only a few days ago, sitting merrily in the Oxfam Bookshop window. I can not resist a good ghost story and I first saw the beautiful embossed blue cover and thought "It can't be.. It is! Another ghost story!"  I brought it straight away with a Victorian collection of ghost stories I also found - strangely linked to this, as in both antiquarian's are featured. This Victorian collection is a little harder to read, but this story is a perfectly formed and accessible ghost story. It follows Adam Snow, a rare book seller as he stumbles upon a derelict house one evening. The house is overgrown, dilapidat...
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Re publishing old posts - Books I've read so far in 2024 and the joys of writing - April 29th 2024

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 First published on my other blog on April 29th 2024. Hello,  Two blogs in two days Molly?! I hear you proclaim,  I know, doesn't write for six months and then writes two posts... Like buses really.  I love blogging and sometimes when life gets busy it's so easy to forget about the joys of writing. I've recently been taking courses in literature and I've been really delving into creative writing for the first time in the past few months. I realised recently how much blogging helps with finding my own narrative voice and just finished a course on  BBC Maestro  an online learning platform where industry experts guide you in their field. It was incredibly informing and was called  Writing Children's Picture Books  with Julia Donaldson. In that time I have read dozens of picture books, marvelled at the prose and craft and enjoyed the beautiful illustrations that you find everywhere in children's literature. I'm now learning about  Writing Love St...
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