Category Archives: Books

Book Review: Ali Smith’s How to be both (fiction)

Posted on 10 March 2019 by andyq

How to Be Both by Ali Smith My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m bowled over by this book. I had no expectations and hadn’t heard anything about it. Neither did the cover photo of the singers Sylvie Vartan and … Continue reading →

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Book Review: André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name

Posted on 22 January 2019 by andyq

[Review includes spoilers; don’t read it if you plan on reading the book and don’t want to know key plot points and issues!] Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman My rating: 4 of 5 stars André Aciman’s Call … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Matthew Mitcham’s Twists and Turns (autobiography)

Posted on 23 December 2018 by andyq

Twists and Turns by Matthew Mitcham My rating: 4 of 5 stars I haven’t seen the one-man shows that Mitcham has done, where he’s brought his stories from this book (and his life) to the stage, but I have the … Continue reading →

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Ramon’s Books

Posted on 10 October 2018 by andyq

After the memorial for Ramon, I was about to leave when I heard his sister asking a small group of people, ‘What shall we do with his books? They were his most prized possessions. How can we get them to … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Elena Ferrante’s The Story of a New Name

Posted on 6 May 2018 by andyq

The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante My rating: 5 of 5 stars My Brilliant Friend was childhood and the end of childhood. The Story of a New Name takes us and our two heroines from this point … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Susan Cain’s Quiet

Posted on 4 May 2018 by andyq

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain My rating: 3 of 5 stars I happened to win the book ‘Quiet’ as a Christmas party book giveaway; everyone got a book, though we … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend

Posted on 22 March 2018 by andyq

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante My rating: 5 of 5 stars There was no question on finishing this book that I’d be reading the rest of the novels… but I was surprised at how I swept into it. First, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer

Posted on 23 March 2017 by andyq

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen My rating: 5 of 5 stars I told two friends that I was reading a book about a Vietnamese spy living in America after the Vietnamese war and that it was really funny, and … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Peter Ho Davies’ The Fortunes

Posted on 28 February 2017 by andyq

The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies My rating: 4 of 5 stars The four stories that make up ‘The Fortunes’ travel in time from the first Chinese-American immigrants to North America, at the time of the gold rush and then … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Tabish Khair’s Just Another Jihadi Jane

Posted on 21 November 2016 by andyq

Jihadi Jane by Tabish Khair My rating: 4 of 5 stars How to imagine the unimaginable? Tabish Khair sets himself quite a task, and a particularly relevant one, in asking how young people from around the world have joined the … Continue reading →

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