Whilst reading Sophie Jai’s Wild Fires, I kept thinking of the line by Tolstoy in Anna Karenina, ‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ The unhappiness that pervades the pages of this book is centred round the loss of the narrator’s cousin Chevy whose funeral forms one of … More Wild Fires by Sophie Jai

Executive Editor of the National Geographic Dennis Dimick states in the foreword of Tor Eigeland’s memoir ‘Stuff Happens: The Far from Humdrum Life of a Photojournalist’ that ‘Tor had seen places and events I’d experienced vicariously through National Geographic and Life magazines as a youth.’ This resonated with me whilst reading through the pages of … More Stuff Happens: The Far from Humdrum Life of a Photojournalist by Tor Eigeland

I was initially drawn to the front cover of this novel which is probably not something you should admit to when writing a review. The implication of the title ‘Groundskeeping’ suggested ideas of potential unrest and disaster whilst trying to maintain order, authority and calm. In lots of ways this is exactly what it was … More Groundskeeping by Lee Cole

It is fascinating how landscapes and where we grow up as children can stay with us as we age. How these memories of home often draw us back whether with positive association or more traumatic ones. The idea of landscape imprinting and drawing individuals homeward seems to be a central preoccupation with Polly Crosby’s novel, … More The Unravelling by Polly Crosby

The title of Linda Snow-Griffin’s text ‘Hope and Learning- Our Journey with Schizophrenia struck me as being a different take or lens through which we perceive the mental illness. Despite it affecting nearly 20 million people, it is an illness that does come with certain baggage around stereotypes and misconceptions. Without knowledge and understanding of … More Hope and Learning: Our Journey with Schizophrenia by Linda Snow-Griffin Ph.D

I had felt the pressure again, quite recently, of reading books to deadlines. A few library books had finally arrived at my local library and I had felt that it was imperative to read them before they got passed on to the person who had made the next reservation. This became quite stressful and so … More The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld

I’d been excited to read Anna Mazzola’s new novel ‘The Clockwork Girl.’ I had read lots of positive reviews and felt it was a book most suited to these darkening evenings of winter. I was incredibly fortunate to receive an ARC from Netgalley and so inevitably this book went to the top of my reading … More The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola

I picked up Claire Keegan’s novella ‘Small Things like These’ as I had read a Guardian article with the writer Sarah Moss naming it as one of her books of the year. I sat down with it and was immediately drawn into the story, finishing the text within one sitting. Set in the months and … More Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Egon Schiele’s painting, ‘Seated Woman with Legs Drawn Up’ hung on my friend’s wall at university when we lived together in dorms. I remember going into her room and being captivated by the image, my eyes drawn to it every time I visited. The vivid use of colour and the provocative look in her eyes … More The Flames by Sophie Haydock

Mental illness still carries with it today a significant amount of stigma and conditions such as bipolar seem to be little understood and so carry more than most. In ‘Manic Man: How to Live Successfully with a Severe Mental Illness’ Jason Wegner challenges such notions and stereotypes illustrating rather wonderfully how it is possible to … More Manic Man: How to Live Successfully with a Severe Mental Illness by Jason Wegner and Dr. Kerry Bernes