The Shahnameh, the Persian Book of Kings, is an epic poem composed by Abolqasem Ferdowsi in the late-tenth century, early-eleventh century. It chronicles Persia’s legendary and historical past, through the lives of its kings, from the creation of the world to the seventh-century Arab conquest that brought Islam to Persia. It has been described as…
In mid-June it looked like I wasn’t going to buy any books in the month. I wasn’t feeling ‘it’. No books were jumping out at me, making me feel that it was essential that I have them and read them. No books were making me feel anxious that they may soon be out of print…
Staying On by Paul Scott is a wonderful little novel, a Booker Prize Winner and, having read Scott’s Raj Quartet, a novel that has changed what I thought of Scott’s writing. In the garden of Smith’s Hotel in Pankot, India, Tusker Smalley lies dead from an apparent heart attack. In his hand he still clutches…
Reading book series’ is something I am still relatively new to but I have been thoroughly enjoying. Especially by reading the novels back-to-back (you can see some of the series I have read and reviewed here). It helps that there are no shortage of literary series in addition to the more popular science-fiction, fantasy, crime,…
I can’t believe it is June already! My classic purchase for the month of May was The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek. I feel like I’ve become obsessed with this book in recent months. I’d been aware of it for some time but lately I keep running into it. First, I found a second-hand…
Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen’s first published novel, appears to be a straightforward romance. Men and women of contrasting and complimenting character are thrown together, but, the chances of love are thwarted by the social conventions of the period that prevent honesty and openness and instead breed duplicity and secrecy. But, on reflection, Sense and…
Wild Swans is, simply put, a masterpiece. It is a memoir of three generations of author Jung Chang’s family, principally told around the lives of her grandmother, mother and herself. Though I could not find confirmation, it is by some accounts the highest-selling memoir of all time with sales variously reported as being between 10-15…
Look at that! Only four new books! Maybe all my effort to cut back is bearing fruit. Or, more likely, the fact I had a 3.5 hour exam to cram for meant there were no weekend excursions, no local markets, for me to browse and inevitably add more than I intended. First up is The…
I’m taking a break from Top Ten Tuesdays to attend to another bookish meme doing the rounds. This is a questionnaire of Book Buying Habits I came across via Karen at Booker Talk. 1. Where Do You Buy Your Books? My book sources have changed a lot over the years as I have moved around…
My previous two Top Ten Tuesday posts have been lengthy and thoroughly thought-out. The topic for this week, from The Broke and the Bookish, is about book covers. Anything about book covers. And, initially, I was set to write another lengthy, thoroughly thought-out post about my favourite book covers. But I very quickly thought ‘nuts…
Last week’s Top Ten Tuesday was about things that would instantly make me want to read a book. This week the list from The Broke and the Bookish is its complement; Ten Things that Would Instantly Make Me Not Want to Read a Book. My answers are not all opposites of last week’s, but I…
Last month I mentioned that a couple of my February book purchases were the result of coping with some rough days. I had a bout of pneumonia when I was a teen. This was not quite the same yet I was actually annoyed when my doctor told me I did not have pneumonia because the…
