Balsam Karam, with translator Saskia Vogel, discussing her new novel Event Horizon at Toppings Edinburgh tonight.

Mr Wrong by Elizabeth Jane Howard While Elizabeth Jane Howard is best known for her multigenerational family epic, The Cazalet Chronicles, in 1975, she published a collection of short stories, Mr Wrong, which demonstrates a darker,…

New on the blog today, I've written about MR WRONG by Elizabeth Jane Howard.

Unnerving, beautifully written stories that showcase Howard's ability to mine the more disquieting aspects of human nature, especially where sexual relationships are involved. 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/04/21/m...

The Old Man at the Zoo Angus Wilson was a novelist at his peak in 1961 when The Old Men at the Zoo was published having won the James Tait Memorial Prize for his previous novel, The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot. He wrote a fu…

A disappointing reading experience for the #1961Club - Angus Wilson's The Old Men at the Zoo sounded great in theory...
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/04/19/t...

Trudge is exactly the word - I was so disappointed!

The Old Man at the Zoo Angus Wilson was a novelist at his peak in 1961 when The Old Men at the Zoo was published having won the James Tait Memorial Prize for his previous novel, The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot. He wrote a fu…

A disappointing reading experience for the #1961Club - Angus Wilson's The Old Men at the Zoo sounded great in theory...
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/04/19/t...

I almost read this but the first few pages convinced me not to commit. (But I did read another terrible novel so did not entirely escape!)

The Use of Man by Aleksandar Tisma and The Old Man by Yuri Trifonov

Gwendoline Riley mentions a couple of influences I haven't read and before you know it...

Clock Without Hands I read Carson McCuller’s debut, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, for the 1940 Club so it only seems appropriate that I take the chance to read her final novel, Clock Without Hands, when the featured y…

My second review for the #1961Club, Carson McCullers' final novel Clock Without Hands:
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/04/18/c...

Clock Without Hands I read Carson McCuller’s debut, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, for the 1940 Club so it only seems appropriate that I take the chance to read her final novel, Clock Without Hands, when the featured y…

My second review for the #1961Club, Carson McCullers' final novel Clock Without Hands:
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/04/18/c...

Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seichō Matsumoto (tr. Beth Cary) Born in Fukuoka in 1909, Seichō Matsumoto was one of Japan’s most acclaimed crime writers, publishing over thirty novels and several short stories during the course of his prolific career. His book…

New on the blog today, I've written about INSPECTOR IMANISHI INVESTIGATES by Seichō Matsumoto (tr. Jesse Kirkwood).

An absorbing, slow-burning mystery from the author of TOKYO EXPRESS. Some fascinating insights into 1960s Japan here! #1961Club #BookSky 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/04/16/i...

The Madman by Henning Mankell

A translation of an early Henning Mankell novel (though I cannot identify the translator) coming from Mountain Leopard press in July.

The Madman by Henning Mankell

A translation of an early Henning Mankell novel (though I cannot identify the translator) coming from Mountain Leopard press in July.

Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal

We Were Forbidden by Jacqueline Harpman

Things by Georges Perec

Young at the Time by Eileen Chang

Some more covers from the Vintage Classics Brief Encounters series. The Chang and Harpman are promoted as new translations.

“The world was changing…” #1961Club #Simenon #AgathaChristie I’ve got into the habit of starting our Club Reading Weeks with some Golden Age crime; it’s often the case that there’s an Agatha Christie or one of Simenon’s Maigret titles…

"The world was changing..." #1961Club #Simenon #AgathaChristie kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/04/13/t...

The Day of the Owl Leonardo Sciascia was one of Italy’s most famous writers during the second half of the twentieth century. The Day of the Owl was the first in a series of novels to use the crime genre to reveal the…

An early entry for @kaggsy59.bsky.social and @stuckinabook.bsky.social #1961club, Leonardo Sciascia's The Day of the Owl, translated by Archibald Colquhoun and Arthur Oliver:
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/04/12/t...

The Day of the Owl Leonardo Sciascia was one of Italy’s most famous writers during the second half of the twentieth century. The Day of the Owl was the first in a series of novels to use the crime genre to reveal the…

An early entry for @kaggsy59.bsky.social and @stuckinabook.bsky.social #1961club, Leonardo Sciascia's The Day of the Owl, translated by Archibald Colquhoun and Arthur Oliver:
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/04/12/t...

The Ha-Ha by Jennifer Dawson As I have mentioned before, there is a long tradition of women writers depicting crushing mental health conditions in fiction, from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s unforgettable short story The Yellow W…

New on the blog today, I've written about THE HA-HA by Jennifer Dawson.

A striking modernist novella which explores issues of mental health and society’s treatment of a young woman who simply doesn’t fit in. An early entry for the #1961Club! #BookSky 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/04/12/t...

The Recollections by Christopher Priest

Very excited to have received this today from @briardenebooks.bsky.social !

Where to start with: Muriel Spark From an extraordinary debut inspired by a real-life breakdown to a creepy masterpiece, here’s a guide to the Scottish novelist’s works

A great introduction to Muriel Spark by James Bailey, author of the just published Like a Cat Loves a Bird:
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...

Ah, that makes sense.

Weirdly, there's something there that makes the subjects look like prisoners.

The Witch It is a pleasure to see Marie Ndiaye on the shortlist for the International Booker Prize, particularly as it is only a couple of years since she missed out on being selected at all for Vengeance is…

My review of the #InternationalBookerPrize2026 shortlisted The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump (which was only published after the shortlist was announced):
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/04/08/t...

Sadly, I can't look at pictures 2 and 3 without thinking of Tunnock's tea cakes!

As long as it doesn't end with Bobby Ewing coming out of the shower.

Or linear time is no more...

Currently reading Herve le Tellier's The Name on the Wall. Surprised no UK publisher has seen fit to publish it, or his back catalogue, after the success of The Anomaly.

The Witch It is a pleasure to see Marie Ndiaye on the shortlist for the International Booker Prize, particularly as it is only a couple of years since she missed out on being selected at all for Vengeance is…

My review of the #InternationalBookerPrize2026 shortlisted The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump (which was only published after the shortlist was announced):
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/04/08/t...

“There are as many way to collect books as there are books to collect.” #finderskeepers #nicholasroyle One of the best things for a reader is when a favourite author produces a new book (or at least I think so!) I was therefore very excited to discover that Salt Publishing were bringing out a new no…

On the Ramblings today my thoughts on the third in a series of books about books by @nicholasroyle.bsky.social from @saltpublishing.com Hint: it’s brilliant! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/04/08/t...

The Deserters – Mathias Énard (tr. Charlotte Mandell) Mathias Enard’s The Deserters is an excellent novel with two distinct storylines linked by a common theme of war, violence, and disrupted lives.

My new blog post on Mathias Énard's excellent novel, THE DESERTERS. Wonderfully translated as ever by @avecsesdoigts.bsky.social.
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2026/04/07/t...

Miss Buncle’s Book by D. E. Stevenson Unashamedly charming and cosy, Miss Buncle’s Book is an ideal comfort read – a throwback to simpler times when life was less complex and demanding than it is today while also presenting its own par…

New on the blog today, I've written about MISS BUNCLE'S BOOK by D. E. Stevenson, an utterly delightful novel set in a small, picturesque village seething with discontent.

Huge thanks to @backlisted.bsky.social for prompting me to read it! #BookSky 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/04/07/m...