Re-read for the umpteenth time. If there was one book that changed my life, it was this. I first read it in summer 2005; tomorrow, I get to teach it for the first time, as part of a new lecture for Postcolonial Texts on my developing project on mental health, intersectionality and literature. Funny where life takes you!

Ali Smith just gets better and better. Her earlier novels left me cold; absolutely loved one half of How to Be Both; completely loved Autumn. Winter is my favourite yet
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'[Sophia:] Not so long ago it was only the mentally deranged, the unworldly pedants, the imperialists and the naivest of schoolchildren who believed that encyclopaediae gave you any equivalence for the actual world.' #ReadingHabits2018

Essential advice for this time of year (or any other time of year, tbh)

First book of 2018 done and dusted. Great start to reading year. I love Egan‘s insight into character and storytelling ability. Definitely up there with my other favourites by her, Goon Squad and Look At Me.

Anyone else 'save' a new book by one of their favourite writers? Am I just a sadist?? 😄 I've had Hot Milk since its week of release. Now is the time to treat myself to the latest Deborah Levy. And what a treat it is turning out to be...

[Image is part of the cover for the UK hardback]

A week of Margaret Atwood. Really enjoyed The Heart Goes Last; surprised by how twisty it was in mood & plot. More of a heist romp than dystopian satire but good fun. Consequently, decided to finally finish the MaddAddam trilogy: hated Oryx & Crake yet loved Year of the Flood. Quite enjoyed the final book; glad to have finished the story but also glad the story *is* finished!

Joining in #augustphotochallenge (better late than ever, eh?) Here in the UK, the summer weather has been, well, mostly rainy and chilly 😕 My choice for #laidbackbooks is a memoir I would LOVE to be reading on a beach right now, inspired to hit the waves between chapters. Imaginary surf and sun, it is then!

Melancholy. Bittersweet. Moments of the irreal. Darkly comic. Plays with linearity.
Pretty much the definition of an enjoyable read for me 😄

Told myself I wouldn't rush through the latest volume of Saga.
Read it within an hour.
DAMMIT.
Too good.

Backlist Bump! Reading Mrs Engels had me scurrying to Holmes' brilliant biography of Karl Marx's youngest daughter and Engels' goddaughter. If you've enjoyed McCrea's novel, I highly recommend diving into the life of 'Tussy', essentially the founder of British Marxism.

Intrigued to read as I love Rachel Holmes' biography of Eleanor Marx. McCrea's characterisation of Lizzie Burns is quite different from various biographical accounts but I appreciate how these changes help to dramatise issues of sexual & domestic labour. ❤️ed the structure between L's past & present

Latest in Hogarth Shakespeare series: a retelling of Taming of the Shrew by one of my favourites. Perfect marriage of writer & play: Tyler explores the family dynamic & psychological complexity whilst maintaining the comedic lightness of the original. Reads like AT had great fun with the project!

I read The Argonauts in a single evening.
I just couldn't stop. Mesmerising. Maggie Nelson is a bloody genius.

A Roman general, sending a letter home, described Britain as "grim, fruitless and isolated".
Some things never change, then.

Utterly devastated and ashamed to English right now. I'm finding Frankopan's awesome history very comforting.
#Brexit #notinmyname

Groff wrote my favourite novel of 2015. Arcadia didn't disappoint: a richly realised protagonist (I believed Bit the adult to have emerged from Bit the child). Arcadia is a love letter to the relationships between parent & child, & the value of solidarities between women. No utopia without equality.

So true!

SP was one of my favourite music journalists as a teenage Music obsessive (all my pocket money was spent on weekly music papers and magazines). She was always funny and astute, never mean. Really excited to read this!

(Read last week) Marian Keyes & Mhairi McFarlane are my favourite Rom Com writers, hands down. I preordered this as a post-viva treat: great characters, excellent dialogue & love McFarlane's commitment to set stories outside of London! Also related in A Big Way to part of plot. So that was fun 😏

Absolutely stunning. A beautifully written account of grief, family, mortality, endemic sexism and storytelling that I read as speedily as a comic. Compulsive and utterly memorable.

I'm back! Haven't had much chance to read with the viva prep (😱) but now I'm doctored, it's back to the books (🤓). I've been holding back this as a treat as I LOVE the Corm Strike series. Like its siblings, CoE is a pure pleasure to read and characterisation is top notch, as ever 👍👍👍

A friend reminded me that it was two years ago this week since EACLALS. I met the author whose work probably had the biggest impact on my life. As Tsitsi Dangarembga lives in Zimbabwe, I never thought I'd meet her; so glad I did and told her face to face how much Nervous Conditions means to me.

Excited to finally be reading Euphoria! The opening paragraph has to be one of my favourite openings to a novel...

Also: Betty gives me life 💚

Evening read... At last! Rat Queens! I've been really looking forward to reading this but wanted to give it some space after my Saga binge. It's as funny, sweary and kickass as I'd heard. And, frankly, even more gory than I expected. But what beautifully rendered gore! 😄

LOVED it. I'll admit, I trepidatiously read the first couple of chapters, wondering how such an amazing poet & lyricist could mould herself into the novel form. But I really didn't want it to end! Made me v homesick for SE London. The Bricks will end up one of my best reads of the year, I reckon.

Um... Sooo... Y'know how the UK cover of Kate Tempest's first novel is very pretty? Weeeell, my friendly local bookshop put aside a copy of the limited, signed edition, which is even prettier. Look at those blue edges! 😍

REALLY excited to be reading the first novel by one of my favourite poets, artists and humans. A few chapters in and loving it. (This is the UK cover, btw.) P.S. If anyone knows KT's Everybody Down LP, you'll be intrigued by the plot...

In the midst of marking, last weeks of teaching prep, job applications, oh, and viva prep (😱), I'm in need of fun & fizzy reads. Heard good things about this so fingers crossed!

Hopping back on the reading wagon after a slump due. Needed something quick and pacy to kick off; In a Dark, Dark Wood certainly delivered, although I wasn't convinced by the characters and plot. That said, I would def recommend for a quick blast of enjoyment, especially when travelling.