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Articles by John Righten
Books to Read if You Like James Bond
in Books to Read if You Like..., eBook, Mystery, News, Thriller Books to Read if You Like James Bond Do you like action, adventure, mystery, and more? We’ve curated a list of new books that are perfect for fans of Ian Fleming’s James Bond! Check out these electrifying mysteries and thrillers. The Englander by John Righten Release Date: November 25, 2022 Connor Pierce, known as The Englander by his enemies – of which, he has many – stands by the freshly dug grave of his daughter.
Rule-breaking writers whose work packs punch through less punctuation and playing with convention - from Bernadine Evaristo and Sally Rooney, to Sarah Crossan and Elizabeth Acevedo.
Two of our favourite recently published novels (Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo and Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You), both critically-acclaimed bestsellers, also happen to break conventions of punctuation, putting paid to the idea that playing with style and form makes a novel intrinsically difficult to read.
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
LoveReading Expert Review of Wish You Were Here We declare this a must-read. Striking, eloquent, and thought-provoking, this story charts a relationship during the early months of the pandemic. This emotionally intelligent and perceptive novel is hand-on-heart gorgeous. Diana finds herself alone in the Galapagos during the early months of the pandemic while her surgeon boyfriend is back in New York.
Clare Chambers' book Small Pleasures optioned for TV, and we can't wait!
Clare Chambers' stunning book Small Pleasures has been optioned for TV adaptation by Shy Punk Productions, starring Anna Maxwell Martin, and we couldn't be more excited. First published in July 2020 Small Pleasures was an absolute hit with the LoveReading team, a well deserved Star Book of the Year.
WHSmith names Matt Haig as Author of the Year
What a year for Matt Haig who was last night named as WHSmith's Author of the Year 2021! His latest release The Comfort Book which here at LoveReading we called "a beautifully packaged, beautifully comforting hug in a book and an antidote to today’s busy lifestyles, medicine for our crazy lives." The book is filled with a collection of consolations learned in hard times and suggestions for making the bad days better.
Wilbur Smith dies aged 88
The much-loved best-selling author who published 49 books and sold more than 140 million copies worldwide died at his Cape Town home on Saturday aged 88 with his wife Niso by his side.
November Bookshop of the Month: Pickled Pepper Books (London)
Founded in 2012 by parents Steven Pryse and Urmi Merchant, Pickled Pepper Books was sparked by a desire to create a family-friendly space in which parents and children could enjoy that incomparable, tactile experience of choosing books together.
Vanity Project by Dave Thomas
LoveReading Expert Review of Vanity Project The sumptuous, photo-packed rags-to-glad-rags story of a plumber-turned illustrious celebrity stylist. A statement piece gift for lovers of fashion and the world of celebrity styling, Vanity Project tells the rags-to-glad-rags story of Dave Thomas, an erstwhile unemployed plumber whose hard graft and flair for styling saw him take the fashion world by storm.
The Crystal Crypt by Fiona Veitch Smith
LoveReading Expert Review of The Crystal Crypt This wonderfully evocative and vivacious 1920’s murder mystery features a female sleuth and reporter investigating a suspicious death. Whoopee, isn’t this just the bee’s knees of a murder mystery! I’ll stop with the 1920’s slang now, but seriously, this really does rather beautifully conjure up the years after World War One. Sleuth and reporter Poppy investigates the death of a female scientist in Oxford.
20 Exceptional Books by Transgender and Non-Binary Writers - Novels and Non-Fiction That’ll Enthral You, Entertain You, Move You and Mend You.
Sparked by reading Queer Life, Queer Love, a dazzling anthology published by Muswell Press that showcases 43 writings (short stories, poetry, and narrative non-fiction) by exceptional LGBTQI+ voices, this Collection celebrates a selection of books by outstanding transgender and non-binary writers (Queer Life, Queer Love is published in memory of Lucy Reynolds, the trans daughter of Sarah Beal, publisher at Muswell Press, and niece of co-publisher Kate Beal).
A Three Dog Problem by SJ Bennett
LoveReading Expert Review of A Three Dog Problem S.J. Bennett returns with the second in her “Her Majesty, the Queen, investigates” series; a glorious, right Royal, rip-roaring rollick of a read, based on the best “what it” in recent years. OK let’s be clear, Her Majesty, the Queen, does not investigate. At least, not as far as we know. Bennett is very clear about this.
When Harry Met Minnie by Martha Teichner
LoveReading Expert Review of When Harry Met Minnie A beautiful evocation of how the phrase “man’s best friend” misses the obvious reverse, that we are “dog’s best friend”, and how Martha’s love of her Bull Terriers led to life affirming friendships.
The Missing Pieces of Mum by Sally Herbert
LoveReading Expert Review of The Missing Pieces of Mum Heartbreaking tale of an abandoned baby and a daughter’s search for the truth about her mother’s past The Missing Pieces of Mum is a heartbreaking true story of an abandoned baby and a daughter’s search for more information about her mother’s past.
Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan
LoveReading Expert Review of Christmas at the Island Hotel Set on a Scottish island this lovely Christmas romance wraps gentle humour, beautiful relationships, and spark filled plot up in the most deliciously warming hug. A wonderfully merry and bright Christmas romance with oodles of heart-warming love, in the many different forms love takes, on offer.
The third Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP) winners announced with Jesse Sutanto taking the main gong
The third annual Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP) winners were announced this evening Monday 8th November at a ceremony at The Groucho Club in London. Shortlistees, judges, previous winners and friends of CWIP gathered to celebrate in-person for the first time since the inaugural year.
A Memory for Murder by Anne Holt
LoveReading Expert Review of A Memory for Murder Norway’s best-selling female crime writer returns with a new, and utterly gripping, third instalment to her hugely popular Selma Falck series. Readers of Anne Holt will know that she spent two years working for the Oslo Police Department, founded her own law firm and rose to serve as Norway’s Minister of Justice, before publishing books that have sold over 10 million copies in 30 languages. That she knows of what she writes is therefore in no doubt.
November 2021 Book Club Recommendation: In Every Mirror She's Black
It’s not for nothing that In Every Mirror She’s Black was selected as a Love Reading Star Book and a Debut of the Month. The three Black women whose stories blaze the pages of this brilliant novel are guaranteed to grab your undivided attention - their struggles, their desires, their varied, complex paths, the obstacles they’re forced to navigate.
Cold as Hell by Lilja Sigurdardottir
LoveReading Expert Review of Cold as Hell Sigurdardóttir’s seventh gripping novel marks the start of a superb new series featuring financial investigator Áróra and police detective Daniel.
The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen
LoveReading Expert Review of The Rabbit Factor Think you know what to expect from “Nordic Noir’? Then think again, because in the hands of Tuomainen in The Rabbit Factor, it’s the funniest, darkest, most suspenseful and deliciously absurd read of the year.
Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop by Rebecca Raisin
LoveReading Expert Review of Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop A fun festive rom-com in which a woman realises her dreams during a life-changing trip to Lapland. Hot on the glittery heels of Aria's Travelling Book Shop and Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop, Rebecca Raisin’s Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop is a story of finding unexpected love and career satisfaction in unexpected places after rejection.
The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan
LoveReading Expert Review of The Christmas Escape Reunions of the familial, friendship and romantic kind resound through this Lapland-set story of finding seasonal bliss. Sarah Morgan’s trademark lightness of touch and romantic warmth are on full Christmas window display in this Lapland-set story of female friendship, and letting down your guard to find (or reaffirm) love in all its forms.
Rise by Maliha Abidi
LoveReading Expert Review of Rise Inspirational illustrated anthology of 100 women of colour who’ve blazed a trail to rise to the top of their respective fields, with world-changing impact. Relating the remarkable stories of 100 extraordinary women of colour, Maliha Abidi’s Rise is an inspirational, informative showstopper of an anthology.
Share a Secret and Win a Copy of Lockdown Secrets and a Pampering Treat for Two
Lockdown Secrets by Eleanor Tattersfield is a compelling collection of anonymous postcards sent during lockdown, revealing hilarious, salacious, relatable and sometimes heartbreaking secret confessions.
The Book of Change by Stephen Ellcock
LoveReading Expert Review of The Book of Change Prepare to be challenged in the best possible way while you view images that travel through time and around the world. An absolute wow of a book which offers and encourages new thoughts and feelings. I follow Stephen Ellcock on social media, he collates images and celebrates the beautiful, different, weird and wonderful and I often stop, pause, and ponder as I scroll. His first book All Good Things, was totally gorgeous, and a LoveReading Star Book.
Sandor Katz's Fermentation Journeys by Sandor Katz
LoveReading Expert Review of Sandor Katz's Fermentation Journeys Recipes, Techniques, and Traditions from around the World Fermentation Journeys of the World is a cookbook which advocates fermented food not only as a sustainable source of tasty dishes but as a means to explore the world from your kitchen.
See How They Run by Geoff Hoon
LoveReading Expert Review of See How They Run An eminently readable and impressively detailed account of a political career in New Labour, from an illustrious insider. Jeff Hoon served as a Cabinet Minister for ten years in the Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, holding office as Defence Secretary during British Military Operations in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq, as Leader of the House, Secretary of State for Transport, Government Chief Whip and two terms as Minister for Europe.
The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters
LoveReading Expert Review of The Swift and the Harrier A truly, utterly, gripping English Civil War love story that is as fleet and majestic as the birds of the title. This is Minette Walters at her brilliant best.
The Judges for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022 are Announced.
The 9th November 2021 marks the launch of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022 with the announcement that Mary Ann Sieghart will chair the latest panel of judges. Former Assistant Editor of The Times as well as a broadcaster and author of The Authority Gap, Seighart will be joined by award winning noverlist, author of I Belong Here, LoveReading Debut Author of the Month in July, and literary journalist Anita Sethi.
Behind the Scenes of War - 5 books of fiction set after WW2, from PTSD through to Nuclear Weapons, and State Assassinations.
Collections By Liz Robinson | 3rd November 2021 These five books explore scenes behind the military might that has been on display since the Second World War. Ranging from novels to short stories, to poetry and even beyond, you can explore thoughts about the threat of nuclear weapons, the suffering of PTSD when home from war, and even State assassinations.
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