I’m not alone in being hugely excited by news that we can expect yet another Lucy Barton book. Coming late to My Name is Lucy Barton, I remember being immediately drawn into a world so realistic it read like a memoir. And on the day that I reached the final page, I was handed a proof of Anything Is Possible. The pure joy that I could so quickly pick up where I left off with these characters is something I …
Author: Aileen Smyth
Of all the whimsical words of wisdom circulating on social media at the beginning of the Covid-19 restrictions, this one struck me as funny and starkly relevant: At the end …
Along with books, music has always been one of my greatest joys. Putting these two great loves together was a no-brainer. My collection of music-related books has been growing, and …
With the world held hostage to the deadly virus, getting to travel anywhere now would be a mere dream. But I was lucky enough to visit Vietnam just before the …
The incomparable Patti Smith celebrates the passing of another decade in her life with The Year of the Monkey. In her seventieth year, this prolific punk-rock poet sets out on …
Over the years, I have read many of Iris Murdoch’s twenty-six novels. But I still remember the one that drew me in, that led me down the path of excitedly …

At the end of my last post, I was gearing up for my Camino journey, boots and guidebooks organised, and mind set firmly on putting one foot in front of …
If I had to name just one book that best captured the spirit of the age in which it was written, it would have to be The Great Gatsby, published …
My decision to walk the Camino de Santiago this year is more an accident than a life ambition — Italy was my first choice, a trek in Trentino in northern …
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