This week Emma @ Words and Peace, Lin @ Lin’s Perspective and I will be sharing the final part of our buddy read of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose (1980). We have followed the Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his apprentice, the Benedictine Adso as they arrive at an abbey in Italy…
Book Review: James and the Giant Peach (1961) by Roald Dahl #1961Club
[I've had to shame-facedly edit out the opening sentence as unlike what I wrote, I found I had in fact read Dahl for one of Karen and Simon's clubs before (Fantastic Mr Fox): this means all three authors I've picked this time have been read for one or the other of the clubs. Nonetheless, still…
Six Degrees of Separation: From The Correspondent to Siblings (April 2026)
April 2026 and while I missed its first Saturday, I'm posting Six Degrees of Separation--one of my favourite memes to participate in--today. Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme hosted by Kate at Books are My Favourite and Best. Inspired by the concept of 'six degrees of separation', originally set out in a short…
Buddy Read: The Name of the Rose (1980) by Umberto Eco: Third Day
And so we begin the second week of Emma @Words and Peace, Lin @Lin’s Perspective and my discussion of Umberto Eco’s multi-layered medieval murder mystery, The Name of The Rose (1980). This week once again, we have for your three posts, each discussing Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5, respectively, of the events of…
Buddy Read: The Name of the Rose (1980) by Umberto Eco: Naturally a Manuscript, and Prologue
It’s buddyread time again, and this month we’re reading The Name of the Rose (1980) by Umberto Eco, a novel that’s a medieval murder mystery but also so much more bringing in philosophical and intellectual themes, including semiotics. This month Emma @ Words and Peace and I are joined by Lin @ Lin’s Perspective for…
Six Degrees of Separation: From Wuthering Heights to Tintin in Tibet (March 2026)
March 2026 and its first Saturday, the 7th, time for Six Degrees of Separation--one of my favourite memes to participate in. Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme hosted by Kate at Books are My Favourite and Best. Inspired by the concept of 'six degrees of separation', originally set out in a short story…
Blog Tour and Book Review: Murder at the Homecoming (2026) by Merryn Allingham
I’m delighted once again to be participating in the blog tour for the newest instalment in the Flora Steele mysteries, Murder at the Homecoming for which it is my stop today. Many thanks to Sarah Hardy at Bookouture for the invitation to join. The decade is changing and so are lives but all we love…
Buddy Read: The Chinese Maze Murders (1956) by Robert van Gulik: Chapters 14-19
Today I’m sharing the third part of Emma @Words and Peace and my discussion of The Chinese Maze Murders (1956) by Robert van Gulik. In case you missed the previous parts (Part I and Part II), this is a book written in the form of traditional Chinese detective fiction around the adventures of the real-life…
Author Interview: Venkataraman Sheshashayee ‘Shesh’
Today (as mentioned a little over a week ago), I have on the blog, Venkataraman Sheshashayee or ‘Shesh’, author of the Corporate Assassin series. Shesh has spent the past four decades working in shipping and management and is now a semi-retired CEO who still consults in the corporate world. He made his fiction debut in…
Buddy Read: The Chinese Maze Murders (1956) by Robert van Gulik: Chapters 1-7
It’s time again for Emma @ Words and Peace and I to share our discussion of this month’s buddy read: The Chinese Maze Murders (1956) by Robert van Gulik. After translating a set of mysteries featuring the real-life Judge Dee or Di Renjie from 18th century Chinese detective fiction, van Gulik tried his own hand…
Literary Potpourri 