Author Archives: susan

We’ve just had three nights away  – at a little cottage in Dean’s Marsh, in the Otways. There was really nothing to do, which was wonderful. I read detective novels, drank tea in the daytime and wine at night, watched … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, I helped a friend called Michael Uniacke to launch his book, Deafness Down. Here’s the short speech I gave. Many years ago, I had a phone call from a total stranger called Michael Uniacke. He’d heard … Continue reading →

I’ve been having a few sleepless nights lately. Change of season? Change of life? Who knows. It’s all right as long as I am lying comfortably, resting, but as soon as I start becoming cross (with myself, the world, or … Continue reading →

The other day I found this poem, on a scrap of paper, in a novel. It was my handwriting, but I can’t remember copying it out. I Googled for the poet – it is Ernest Dowson. They are not long, … Continue reading →

I needed a novel for another train trip, so this time I picked something I’d read long ago. As is often the case, re-reading was even better.  And as Fifth Business is the first of a trilogy, I have a … Continue reading →

How good to find a new author! I bought The Sea in the Op Shop last year and put it on my ‘to read’ shelf where it’s sat for months. This is the first of Banville’s novels I’ve read and … Continue reading →

I have just had a Pride and Prejudice blow-out. A customer ordered a remastered DVD of the 1980 BBC series, with David Rintoul and Elizabeth Garvie in Darcy and Elizabeth roles. So I ordered it as well, and binge-watched the … Continue reading →

I’m just about to start something new – I’ve joined a Book Group. My one and only try at being in a book group was about 10 years ago and it wasn’t a success. Our first book was The Vagina … Continue reading →

It’s the end of January, last day of the first month of the New Year. I have read six books so far in 2016, and they’ve all been terrific. The two Siri Hustvedts got me so keen that I ordered … Continue reading →

I’m not one of those people who can’t let go of books. Book shop customers often love to talk, and to talk about their love of books, and for some their book collections have an almost sacred character. They would … Continue reading →