Review: ‘Veronika Decides To Die’ Paulo Coelho

Veronika has everything she could wish for. She is young and pretty, has plenty of boyfriends, a steady job, a loving family. Yet she is not happy; something is lacking in her life, and one morning she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in …

August in books

Well, like July, I didn't read too much in August. I read three books. In all honesty, though, I've been struggling with my mental health for the past couple of months. I've had depression and anxiety for well over a decade and both just seem to have been a lot worse recently. I'm on medication …

Review: ‘Death of Darkness’ Dianne Duvall

Seth has led the Immortal Guardians for thousands of years. With them fighting by his side, he has protected humans from psychotic vampires, defeated corrupt mercenary armies, defended military bases under attack, and more. But the latest enemy to rise against the Immortal Guardians has proven to be a formidable one, wielding almost as much …

Convenience versus the independent bookshop

My partner and I decided to venture into Glasgow city centre on Friday after steering clear of it for pretty much the entirety of the pandemic thus far. After having some lunch, we went to the Savoy Centre on Sauchiehall Street, which is one of the city centre's main shopping streets. Inside, we were met …

July in books

I read a mere three books in July, but they were great books and that's what matters ultimately, right? I think quality is more important than quantity, plus my reason for not having got through too many books is pretty positive. My partner and I both had a week off, so we decided to go …

Review: ‘Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers’ Mary Roach

What happens to your body after you have died? Fertilizer? Crash test Dummy? Human dumpling? Ballistics practise? Life after death is not as simple as it looks. Mary Roach's Stiff lifts the lid off what happens to our bodies once we have died. Bold, original and with a delightful eye for detail, Roach tells us …

Review: ‘Awaken the Darkness’ Dianne Duvall

He awakens encapsulated in dirt with no knowledge of how he came to be there. Riddled with injuries, he can remember neither his past nor who he is. Nor can he remember what he is. But surely no mortal man could survive being buried deep beneath the earth. All he knows with certainty is that …

June in books

How are we more than halfway through the year already? 2020 was a complete write-off and I feel like 2021 has pretty much been the same so far. I try not to complain because I've been extremely lucky compared to other people over the course of pandemic. The nature of mine and my partner's jobs …

Review: ‘Stolen Tongues’ Felix Blackwell

High up on the windswept cliffs of Pale Peak, Faye and Felix celebrate their new engagement. But soon, a chorus of ghastly noises erupts from the nearby woods: the screams of animals, the cries of children, and the mad babble of a hundred mournful voices. A dark figure looms near the windows in the dead …

Bibliophile Bullies

I've been a part of the bookish blogosphere for over five years and, for the most part, I love it. I've found it to be a positive community, one in which people from all walks of life are connected through their shared passion for books. Regardless of how much I've interacted with a blogger, if …