I’m a thirty-something engineering geologist living in London with my husband. My main interests are reading voraciously, writing fiction, and choral singing. I’ve had blogs before which turned into a forum for reviews, so I thought I’d post a blog which was (almost) solely reviews of books I’ve read.
If you have a book which you’d like me to review, please email me at ela_bookblog at fastmail dot fm – do please note that I don’t read all genres of books and am unlikely to want to read horror or romance!
Choirs I sing with: Lyra Davidica, Anton Bruckner Choir, City of London Choir.
Favourite authors: Jane Austen, Iain M. Banks, Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, Leslie Charteris, Agatha Christie, Antonia Forest, Neil Gaiman, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Clare Mallory, Terry Pratchett, Dorothy L. Sayers, Neal Stephenson, J. R. R. Tolkien, Minette Walters, Patricia Wentworth, Dornford Yates.
Current favourite music: Bliss – Colour Symphony; Mahler symphonies; The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love; Kaiser Chiefs; Flanders & Swann – At the drop of another hat; Vaughan Williams – Lord, Thou hast been our refuge, Shakespeare songs; Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine; Rautavaara – Cantus Arcticus; The Art of Noise – Influence.
scary, your likes are very similar to mine…….
but my current reading list is a lot lighter. Can’t remember the address of my very hidden (ie I@m not allowed to have one) blog with my books read this year on…. I’ll email it at another point!
Currently half of my reading is Young Adult because of keeping up with my eldest!
x
Thanks for stopping by, Pippa. I like YA books, too, as well as children’s books, though the current reading list doesn’t include any at present.
I was looking for a review on “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and came across your blog. Now I can’t wait to dive into the book! I’m looking forward to reading more of your reviews. Seems we
have an appreciation for some of the same authors.
Currently hooked on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Thanks for posting your book reviews!
Thanks! Hope you continue to enjoy.
Dear Ela
My debut novel, Black Shadows got an authonomy gold star in January and following Harpercollins advice, I sent it to a few small presses. I am happy to say that it will be released by Wild Wolf Publishing in May 2011. I am currently seeking out some reviews I would really like you to review Black Shadows.
I’m happy to send you through PDF copy, as I am still awaiting the proofs for the May release.
Here’s the blurb:
New Jersey 1935: When private detective, Errol Black and his fellow agents, are protecting an Irish mobster they get mixed up in the killing of Dutch Schultz. A gunfight leaves a bloody mess behind.
Ten years later, Black’s past is about to catch up with him. A young lady hires Black for a seemingly routine surveillance job, former partner Dyke Spanner is shot to death and Black is drawn deeper into a violent and bloody quest. The search for the priceless Blue Tavernier Diamond brings gangsters, New York’s ruthless Tongs and beautiful women into his life.
To solve the crime, he finds himself journeying into his own past where both the secret to Dyke’s killer and the clues to the hidden diamond lay.
Black Shadows is a crime novel blending fact and fiction. In the finest hardboiled tradition, it is filled by gangsters, beautiful dames, colourful villains and red herrings galore – this is the world of private eye Errol Black.
BLACK SHADOWS is a tightly written piece of noir fiction, inviting obvious comparisons to Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. – Harpercollins
My website: http://errolblack.weebly.com/
I really do hope you can help me out a little, and if you really don’t think it is something you could do yourself, maybe you could point me in the direction of other author/reviewers of noir?
Best regards
Simon Swift
Hi Simon,
Your book sounds like the kind of thing I’d like to read and review. I will email you.
I love your blog. I have posted it on my company’s facebook page to send more readers to you and your reviews. Great work.
Deborah Emin
Hello,
I hope you’re well! I thought you would be interested in reviewing John Sharer’s “Honor Knows No Borders”. The book tells the thrilling story set in WWII of a Jewish boy and his father who encounter German officers and learn that people can’t always be judged by the uniforms they wear.
We would love to send you a copy, please let us know if you’re interested!
Best,
Josie Brown