Category Archives: Non-fiction

LIST: A mixed bag

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Ela

Inspired by watching Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon mucking about in Italy (in The Trip to Italy, filmed by Michael Winterbottom), I tried this team’s entertaining adaptation of ‘The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy’, A Cock and Bull Story … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Fiction, Filmed adaptations, Lists, Non-fiction, Not A Review, Read on my Kindle | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

REVIEW: Penguin Lines – various authors

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Ela

The London Underground is 150 years old this year. In commemoration of this, Penguin have issued a series of books, one for each of the Underground Lines (the East London although not now in existence, has its own book, Buttoned … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 New Reads, Humour, Non-fiction, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

REVIEW: The Everyday Dancer – Deborah Bull

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Ela

Deborah Bull was formerly a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, and her aim in this book is to give an idea about what a typical day (if one exists) in the life of a professional dancer in a large … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 New Reads, Non-fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Reading in 2012

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Ela

Well, despite what might be implied by my complete failure to post any reviews during 2012, I was still reading. Good news was that I retrieved most of my books from storage at the end of 2012 (after almost six … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Humour, Journalism, Lists, Meta-review, Non-fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

REVIEW: Cosima Wagner: The Lady of Bayreuth – Oliver Hilmes

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Ela

(Yale University Press 2011) I picked this up at Blackwell’s music shop in Oxford (along with lots of CDs of twentieth century music) – something of a departure for me, since I don’t tend to read biography, and I’m not … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Biography, Non-fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

REVIEW: Delusions of Gender – Cordelia Fine

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Ela

(Icon Books 2010) I was first introduced to this book by Nymeth in her excellent review back in January this year: it sounded interesting enough to buy straight away, though it’s been several months since it was first put onto … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Feminism, Non-fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Quirkology – Richard Wiseman

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Ela

(Macmillan 2008) Wiseman’s book is very similar to Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics, in that he tries to explain the quirks of modern life through experimental psychology, in his case, rather than statistics as in Levitt and Dubner’s books. … Continue reading →

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To Miss with Love – Katharine Birbalsingh

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Ela

(Penguin 2011) This book tells the story of a year in the life of a school in inner-city London, from the point of view of a committed teacher. It’s been put together from a blog where Birbalsingh called herself ‘Ms … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Just My Type – Simon Garfield

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Ela

(Profile Books 2010) subtitled: A Book about Fonts This is a very readable and interesting book about typefaces and their history, and how we have become much more aware of type in our daily lives with the advent of personal … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Non-fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments