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Author Archives: jenny
The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
The Magic Pudding is a delightful Australian Children’s Classic by Norman Lindsay about puddin’-owners, puddin’-thieves and, of course, a cantankerous puddin’ that answers to the name of Albert. It’s basically an excuse for food, fighting and nonsense poetry. Thanks to … Continue reading
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Persuasion is probably my favourite Jane Austen novel. It lacks the bright humour of Pride and Prejudice, but both book and heroine share a lovely, gentle pensiveness. It explores ideas of regret and duty, as well as the difference between being … Continue reading
Posted in British, Fiction, General adult audience, Novel, Novel of Manners, Pre-Victorian
Tagged 19th Century, British, classic, fiction, good out loud, Jane Austen, novel of manners
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Joined-up Life by Andrew Cameron
Joined-up Life provides a Christian framework for ethics. It encourages ethical thinking rather than quick or simplistic answers. It’s readable and thought-provoking. It provides an overview of approaches to ethics before suggesting a framework for considering a topic from the perspectives … Continue reading
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a delightful book set just after WWII and featuring an unlikely group of people who learn to love reading under the Nazi occupation of the British Channel Isles. It is an … Continue reading
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
All Quiet on the Western Front provides a great insightinto the human cost of World War I as it portrays a generation of men whose formative years are spent in the trenches. Remarque weaves narrative together with reflections on the … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Classics, Fiction, General adult audience, Novel, Realism, War Story
Tagged 20th Century, classic, fiction, German, war novel, wartime, WWI
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Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Three Men in a Boat (to Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome is an amusing account of a boating trip up the Thames. Rich in hypochondria, satire and altercations with tents and pineapple tins, it is a … Continue reading
Posted in British, Comedy, Fiction, General adult audience, Light Fiction, Novel, Travel Fiction, Victorian
Tagged animals, boats, British, classic, fiction, good out loud, humour, travel
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Peter Pan and Wendy by J. M. Barrie
My sister gave me Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie, illustrated by Robert Ingpen, for my 20th birthday and warned me that although I might not be excited to receive it, she had got it for me anyway. K’s … Continue reading
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons is an hilarious 1930s novel about Flora Post, a young woman with no useful skills but a strong desire for tidiness. She goes to live with the very untidy Starkadder family at Cold Comfort … Continue reading
Alone Together by Sherry Turkle
Alone Together is by a psychologist who has spent thirty years researching the effects of technology on human relating. Her findings: we are expecting more of technology and less of each other. The first half of the book is about … Continue reading →