Kate Vane

Book review: Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash The Flynns are a family in crisis. The parents are embarking on an open relationship, and their children are acting out. From their Catholic high school to the small town where they live, everyone …

A fun read that also has depth and heart - my #PublicationDay review of #LostLambs by Madeline Cash.
#BookSky

Book review: This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin This Is Where the Serpent Lives offers a powerful and insightful account of life in Pakistan from the 1950s the noughts. The four point-of-view characters span different classes but are all connect…

I’ve just had the strange experience of writing a review with lots of criticism of a book which I actually loved.

Not sure what that says about me, but here's what I said about it.

#ThisIsWheretheSerpentLives #booksky

Book review: The Last of Earth by Deepa Anappara In The Last of Earth it is 1869. Tibet is closed to Europeans, but British travellers in two separate parties are trying to gain admission illegally. Balram is a surveyor working for a British capt…

The undoing of certainties in a dramatic landscape. My review of #TheLastofEarth by Deepa Anappara

Cover of Into The Fire by M.J. Arlidge

#BookReview

#IntoTheFire by M.J. Arlidge

A heart-pumping, page-turning stonker of a read with a gutsy protagonist at its centre.

Read my full thoughts:
www.swirlandthread.com/into-the-fir...

#booksky
#bookrecommendation

Book review: Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory I used to be an avid reader of Philippa Gregory’s novels but at some point I went off them. I felt like the novels had become a bit soapy and samey, more about who’s swiving who than the more profo…

A fascinating study of power.

My review of Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory #BookSky #PublicationDay

So I've stopped paying and the blog is now plain old katevane.wordpress.com What I've learnt so far
- Traffic falls off a cliff (expected)
- Categories and tags still work, but your internal links don't (I've just updated the pages + top 10 blog posts)
- No ads have appeared yet (see traffic, above)

That sinking feeling when you think you’ve bought a novel but it’s actually linked short stories.

Moving on If you follow this blog you’ll be aware I haven’t been posting so much recently. I’m still reading as much as ever but not feeling moved to write about it like I used to. So I&#82…

An update on the blog

Book review: The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey It is 1979. Vincent and his fellow triplets Lawrence and William live in the New Forest in a Sycamore Home, one of a network of government-funded children’s homes. They have a comfortingly monotono…

Inventive, funny, devastating. Is it too soon to name my book of the year?

#TheBookofGuilt @catherinechidgey.bsky.social @johnmurrays.bsky.social

Book review: The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey It is 1979. Vincent and his fellow triplets Lawrence and William live in the New Forest in a Sycamore Home, one of a network of government-funded children’s homes. They have a comfortingly monotono…

Book review: The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
via @katevane.bsky.social

katevane.com/2025/05/15/b...

A Snapshot of My Reading #4 - A life in books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

A Snapshot of My Reading #4 alifeinbooks.co.uk/2025/05/a-sn... #Booksky

Cover of Never Look Back by Karen Fitzgibbon

#BookReview

#NeverLookBack by Karen Fitzgibbon
Book 2 feat. Limerick-based P.I. Lana Bowen

Well-paced and satisfying mystery

Out now with Poolbeg Books

www.swirlandthread.com/never-look-b...
#booksky 💙📚

Book review: The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey It is 1979. Vincent and his fellow triplets Lawrence and William live in the New Forest in a Sycamore Home, one of a network of government-funded children’s homes. They have a comfortingly monotono…

Inventive, funny, devastating. Is it too soon to name my book of the year?

#TheBookofGuilt @catherinechidgey.bsky.social @johnmurrays.bsky.social

I've loved Alexander Baron since happening across the haunting There's No Home on my library app.

It's paperback publication day for my book THE LIE OF THE LAND - an exposé of what the 'custodians of the countryside' have done to nature in Britain! 🔥💥🌳

Order yours here: lnkfi.re/JhxHno

Tour dates here: lnkfi.re/PkfOhd

There's been some BIG policy wins since the hardback was published - a 🧵⬇️

Book review: The Lowlife by Alexander Baron In this reissued classic, a tragicomic East End gambler makes his play I do love an unreliable narrator. Of course, all first-person narrators should be approached with scepticism, because they are…

The insidious charm of the unreliable narrator - my #BookReview of the reissued classic #TheLowlife by Alexander Baron @faberbooks.bsky.social

Book review: The Pretender by Jo Harkin Jo Harkin has turned from speculative to historical fiction to explore memory and identity through the story of Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne of Henry VII.

Conspiracy and deception - my #BookReview of The Pretender by Jo Harkin

#HistoricalFiction #PublicationDay

Book review: The Pretender by Jo Harkin Jo Harkin has turned from speculative to historical fiction to explore memory and identity through the story of Lambert Simnel, a usurper to the throne of Henry VII.

Atmospheric, bawdy and profound - my #PublicationDay review of The Pretender by Jo Harkin

#HistFic #NetGalley

Librarians in UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads Anecdotal evidence suggests a rise in requests to take books off shelves, particularly LGBTQ+ titles

Evidence from our members suggests that requests to remove books from public #Libraries are increasing, our President @edjewell.bsky.social notes in this @theguardian.com piece. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

This is high art

Hey @jessphillipsmp.bsky.social next time you have Keir’s ear could you remind him, the British automotive industry contributes £22bn to the UK economy, while the creative industries contribute £124bn.

Stop AI copyright theft.

Yours, a constituent.

A hand-painted placard saying Get The Zuck Off Our Books

Some great railway staff asked about my placard and wished us luck! #DoTheWriteThing @societyofauthors.bsky.social

SoA day of action following allegations of Meta’s mass theft of authors’ work  – The Society of Authors On Thursday 20 March, The Atlantic broke the story of how Meta has used the Library Genesis (LIbGen) dataset, which is full of pirated material, to develop their AI systems.

We’ll be protesting at the Meta offices today, at 13:30, against the unlicenced use of authors works to train AI. If you can’t make it, make some noise online! Downloadable assets can be found here 👇#DoTheWriteThing #MetaBookThieves societyofauthors.org/2025/04/01/s...

Great to see World Editions on Bluesky!

LibGuides: Archives and Special Collections: Ronald Duncan Stipend for Southwest Writing LibGuides: Archives and Special Collections: Ronald Duncan Stipend for Southwest Writing

Calling all writers - Ronald Duncan Stipend for Southwest Writing now open! 🎉
3 x £2000 stipends available to use our incredible archives to inspire your writing
Learn more & apply: libguides.exeter.ac.uk/archives/Dun...
@exetercityoflit.bsky.social
#WritingOpportunity #CreativeWriting #Archives

Crime and Corruption in 1960’s Glasgow: The Weekenders by David F Ross @dfr10 @OrendaBooks Source: Review copyPublication: 27 February 2025 from Orenda BooksPP: 300ISBN-13: 978-1916788305 My thanks to Orenda Books for an advance copy for review Glasgow, 1966: Stevie ‘Minto’ Milloy, former star footballer-turned-rookie reporter, finds himself trailing the story of a young Eastern European student whose body has been found on remote moorland outside the city. How did she get there from her hostel at the Sovereign Grace Mission, and why does Stevie find obstacles at every turn?

The Weekenders is a fabulous blend of historical fiction, crime thriller, and social commentary. David F. Ross delivers a novel that is both compelling and thought-provoking, with richly drawn characters, a strong sense of place, and a gripping narrative structure.

Great to learn that Scott Preston is working on a second novel - The Borrowed Hills was one of my favourite books of last year.

Some days you just wanna give up , let everything go and follow the light inside of a red cabbage

Book review: The Implausible Rewilding of the Pyrenees by Steve Cracknell http://ow.ly/DBy850GoW9C

This is a very good book. The author talks to 'both sides' in the conflict between bears/wolves and pastoralism.