There are some books that are so good as audiobooks that I can't really imagine 'reading' them any other way. One of these for me is Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding (of Bridget Jones fame), read by Suzy Aitchison. I had a situation this week, when the audio I was listening … Continue reading Olivia Joules: when audio rules
It's funny, but when I sit down to list my all-time favourite fantasy novels or series, most of them are not what you'd call recent. In fact some of them are just plain old. Maybe this is because I believe favourites must stand the test of time and re-reading. Or maybe it's because I just … Continue reading Seven fantasy favourites
Yesterday I was happily discussing with a friend the awesome book I'd just finished -- and which she'd read previously -- when I happened to mention a couple of things that didn't quite work for me. (I can't help it -- attempting to write novels has somewhat killed my ability to just read and enjoy... … Continue reading “It’s just a story”
Once upon a time it seemed as though I had hours and hours a day in which to read. I devoured books at an impressive rate. Although I'm not a particularly fast reader, I made up for it in sheer number of hours devoted to the cause. But that was before I started writing in the evenings, … Continue reading How reviews influence my choice of books
Reading is what it's all about, isn't it? That's why we writers turn up to the computer, day after day, to grind out the words. In fact, reading invariably came first. As children we devoured books; at least I did. Now I look back at those days with yearning, because I seemed to have so … Continue reading Reading places and spaces
Fiction or non-fiction? -- that is the question. And the answer is easy. Fiction. I read non-fiction under sufference. I'm a member of a reading group that chooses a fair amount of non-fiction... sometimes I give the books a go, sometimes I don't even try. Having said that, occasionally I'm surprised by a book I don't … Continue reading Fiction or non-fiction?
First off, let me admit I'm going to break the rules. I've decided these '11-question' games or memes or whatever you call them offer too much fodder for discussion to be used up in a single blog post. So instead I'm going to use each question as a launching point for a single post. And … Continue reading If I could live in a fictional world…
For today's FRIDAY WITH FRIENDS I welcome April Plummer, who has recently published her debut novel, Coming Home. I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but it sounds incredibly moving. I asked April to stick around to tell us about her novel and share some of her experiences during its creation. Coming Home For … Continue reading April Plummer discusses Coming Home
I’m currently reliving Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy during my commute to and from work in the car. (Have I mentioned how much I love audiobooks?) I first read this amazing fantasy trilogy back in 2005 and it has since resided firmly near the top of my all-time favourite novels/series. Even so, I’ve previously read … Continue reading Character and conflict in The Liveship Traders
This week I'm a guest over at Diana Lesire Brandmeyer's blog talking on the subject of audiobooks... Three reasons why audiobooks are awesome The rise of the e-book over the past few years has sparked some fun discussions about the various merits of ‘tree’ versus ‘e’… But there’s a third format that doesn’t seem to … Continue reading Talking audiobooks with Diana Lesire Brandmeyer
Ellen Gregory 