Monthly Archives: February 2011

Molesworth – Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle

Posted on February 26, 2011 by

(Penguin Modern Classics 2000) Down With Skool! (1953) / How to be Topp (1954) / Whizz for Atomms (1956) / Back in the Jug Agane (1959) The four Molesworth books have been much imitated and often quoted, mainly because the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Humour, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

If on a winter’s night a traveller – Italo Calvino

Posted on February 24, 2011 by

(Vintage e-book, originally published 1980, translated by William Weaver) This is a strange, unusual book about books and reading, where the author(s) – whoever he may be – constantly addresses the reader, and where one is always aware of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Please Ignore Vera Dietz – A. S. King

Posted on February 20, 2011 by

(Random House e-book 2010) I wouldn’t have got this book were it not for Erin’s recommendation at Aelia Reads: I pass on my own recommendation, because King’s novel is excellent. Vera Dietz is eighteen, a high school senior living in … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Shaping of Middle-Earth – J. R. R. Tolkien

Posted on February 19, 2011 by

(HarperCollins 2002, originally published 1986) The History of Middle-Earth – Vol. 4 (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The only works of Tolkien’s legendarium to have been published in a completed form during his lifetime were The Hobbit and The Lord of … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fantasy, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

A chance to read more

Posted on February 9, 2011 by

I won’t be posting for a while, since I’m off to Eritrea tomorrow. The horrendously long flight and travelling time will, however, let me read several of the books I have on my Kindle. If on a winter’s night a … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Silmarillion – J. R. R. Tolkien

Posted on February 3, 2011 by

(HarperCollins audiobook 2001, read by Martin Shaw) Let me say right now that I don’t much like audiobooks. The read word tends to distract me from other things, and I prefer to listen to music while doing chores or repetitive … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Office of Fair Trading to investigate Agency model pricing for e-books

Posted on February 1, 2011 by

My sister, who works in publishing, sent me a link to this article from The Bookseller, a UK trade magazine, about pricing of electronic books. An extract from the article is below: The Office of Fair Trading has launched an … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment