The Dollmaker by Harriette Simpson Arnow My rating: 5 of 5 stars Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review. Harriette Arnow’s The Dollmaker, first published in 1954, was set during the last months of the second world war. With the current rise of economic migration, this story about the clash of cultures is as…

The Giant Jumperee by Julia Donaldson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review. This is a typical Julia Donaldson, and that’s a good thing. The story is short, well written and with a twist that the kids love! There’s no Axel Scheffler and there’s less rhyming than her…

The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion My rating: 5 of 5 stars Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review. I loved this book, it’s like Nick Hornby for a maturer audience. Maybe because I’m more or less the same age as Dooglas, or maybe because I’ve had some of the same experiences,…

John Wayne’s Revenge by James Scott Bell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Nice short story from James Scott Bell. View all my reviews

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough My rating: 4 of 5 stars Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review. I was really enjoying this book. The writing had the urgency and passion of Gone Girl, and both have a lead character whose scheming offers intrigue and suspense. Great, loved it, flying through the pages,…

Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers My rating: 5 of 5 stars I came across Derek Sivers from the Tim Ferriss podcast. He gave a brilliant interview about a year ago where he talked about his start-up, CDBaby, and the decisions that allowed the company and himself…

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler My rating: 5 of 5 stars Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review. This is the third Anne Tyler book I’ve read, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them all. Her themes are consistent – families appearing content hiding underlying problems that they themselves are unaware of. As…

Productivity for Creative People by Mark McGuinness My rating: 5 of 5 stars I suspect Mark McGuinness and Steven Pressfield are good friends. I discovered this free ebook from a link on Steven’s site, and Mark frequently references Steven’s acclaimed The War of Art in this book. Still, since you’re judged by your associates, this…

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss My rating: 5 of 5 stars A fun book on the importance of clear punctuation – read it, or you might start a war… View all my reviews

Author in Progress: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published by Therese Walsh My rating: 5 of 5 stars Writer Unboxed is a web-based community of writers, some traditionally published, some self-published while others write as a hobby, but everyone within the community wants to learn more about the craft and…