Category Archives: Grab it Now

The books that you can’t put down, can’t stop talking about, can’t stop thinking about. The books that leave book hangovers.

March 17

Listen to the Marriage by John Jay Osborn

If you’ve ever held the secret desire to sit in a marriage counsellor’s room and listen in, well, praise be, John Jay Osborn has opened that door and invited you in. Voyeurs rejoice! This is a clever tale where you are witness to the breaking and making of Steve and Gretchen’s marriage and their work […]

March 10

Sunburn by Laura Lippman

Every fabulous holiday (and I use holiday in the true sense where you simply Chill.Out.) requires some must-haves.  Cocktails (free-flowing naturally) closely followed by beaut folk, a tower of books to read, great locale, fancy digs, delicious food, sunshine, pool/beach, yada yada… I have just returned from said holiday where sunshine and books abounded and […]

March 06

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

I’m pretty sure I heard people were dancing in the streets when Barbara Kingsolver released her new book.  I nearly was.  This woman is a legend and remains firmly implanted in my ‘Reading Hall of Fame’ for The Poisonwood Bible because apart from being a great book, it was the first book I read where […]

March 05

French Exit by Patrick deWitt

I didn’t sleep the night I finished this book. It is funny but also strangely emotional and I couldn’t get it out of my head. Released late last year, French Exit tells the story of a glamorous New York widow, Frances and her gloomy adult son, Malcolm. The two of them have spent the last of […]

February 07

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

Guest Review by Mr M Much like stories told around a dinner table, I think the best ones contain facts with entertaining embellishment and in my own case, the occasional physical performance for added effect. Trent Dalton’s book, Boy Swallows Universe is one of the most entertaining dinner table stories, but I must admit – […]

January 28

The Overstory by Richard Powers

If the measure of a great book is whether it makes you think about things differently, then this is a great book. The Overstory starts off as a collection of stories that merge into a single tale of mankind and its relationship with the environment. Some people have labelled it “environmental fiction” but that strikes […]

January 11

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Despite this books dark and disturbing storyline, it’s quite the hoot.  I’m sure it isn’t meant to be but there you have it, it is. The title says it all so I could easily just leave this review right here and say enthusiastically  go grab a copy.  But I will carry on…. Set in Nigera, […]

December 03

Normal People by Sally Rooney

My favourite books are ones that appear simple. This is one of those books. On the face of it, Normal People tells the story of a boy and a girl and their on again/off again relationship. At school, he is the popular one and she is out of place but they get to college and […]

November 15

Severance by Ling Ma

Add this one to your summer reading list please. An irresistible, apocalyptic look at contemporary life that will keep you distracted by the pool for sure. Candace is a twenty-something single in NYC. She is so swept up in her daily routine of work, email and google that she barely notices a killer virus spreading […]

October 01

Beautiful Revolutionary by Laura Elizabeth Woollett

If you’ve ever wondered how the saying ‘drinking the Kool-Aid‘ came about, well good news Readheads, this book answers it for you. The not-so-good news is you really won’t like the explanation. In Beautiful Revolutionary, Laura Elizabeth Woollett has penned a masterful and intriguing re-telling of the 1978 Jonestown Massacre which saw 918 men, women […]