it is within my power to be a better ally, and there are many ways to do that, but today we’re talking books and the book industry because, well, that’s what we do here. So I’d like to share a few different resources and recommendations to help us support Black writers, bookshops, and publishers not just right now but indefinitely as we move forward, because it’s not enough to post a hashtag and be sad or angry.
Category Archives: Books
Review: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
Zamyatin’s We is set in the twenty-sixth century AD in the OneState: a totalitarian society completely based on rationality and mathematics.
6 books to read while you’re in lockdown
Here’s a little lockdown reading list to help you escape for a few hours, no matter where in the world you are.
Review: The Book of Newcastle
This fine collection of stories doesn’t just handle tragic tales; they capture, in vivid snapshots, that great northern spirit of resilience.
Review: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
I think I’ve recovered enough from the devastating effects of this beautiful novel to finally share my review with you guys. I mean, I’m going to do my best, but this incredible piece of fiction just does so much with such a gentle touch that I barely know where to begin. Here we go. The […]
Independent Bookshops in Edinburgh
I’ll level with you – I wanted to upload this post before 2020, but you know what the festive season is like. It’s hard to write coherent sentences when you’ve eaten so many pigs in blankets you’re on the verge of becoming one. But here we are, refreshed and ready for a whole new year […]
Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Welcome to another book review, friends. I’ve been on a serious J-lit (Japanese literature – learnt that was an actual abbreviation recently) kick ever since reading Tokyo Ueno Station a couple of months back, and I won’t lie to you: I’ve no intention of stopping any time soon. I haven’t quite cracked what it is […]
5 spooky reads for people who just can’t let go of Halloween
Ghosts and ghouls, witches and warlocks, monsters and mythological beings, and yes – even you, the one at the back who stumbled in here because they took a wrong turn. Take off your shoes, get comfy. Grab a blanket. Halloween has come and gone, but some of us (myself included) aren’t quite ready to let […]
Book haul: London Indie Press Book Fair
I do love when the world conspires in my favour. I mean, it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, but that’s not the point. A few weeks ago I booked a train down to London to see my baby brother (FYI: a fully grown man at this point, but forever baby brother) and what […]
Review: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
It feels appropriate and a little serendipitous that I should ‘celebrate’ my subtle rebranding of this blog with this: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood.
