alifeinbooks

Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic When I was young, this old French classic was still — though in a quiet way — very much in vogue. I dare to say it was because the novelty of using so many garlic cloves had not worn off; it seemed so...

I’m always excited to announce that my take on that French classic, Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, is #RecipeOfTheDay! Do make sure you have some good bread to go with it, though mashed potatoes could also be given serious consideration. www.nigella.com/recipes/chic...

Six Degrees of Separation – Wuthering Heights to The Sound of One Hand Clapping - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Six Degrees of Separation – Wuthering Heights to The Sound of One Hand Clapping alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/six-...
via @alifeinbooks.bsky.social

Deeply unsettling...

'poignant, gripping and darkly humorous'
writes @karlou72.bsky.social

February – a marvellous month of #ReadIndies! February has been quite a month, and I have so enjoyed hosting Reading Independent Publishers Month. This is the sixth time the event has taken place, and I missed having my lovely co-host Lizzy th…

kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/02/28/f...

A monochrome ‘spot the mistake’ scene featuring a postman cycling along a lane besides a half timbered thatched cottage

An observation test for your inner 8-year-old.
Can you spot 12 deliberate mistakes?

From Treasure magazine, 1965
Official answers coming soon

(Even if you don’t reply, could you please ‘like’ or share this one?)

#SixOnSaturday – Six things happening in my garden this week Six on Saturday is a weekly meme originally hosted by The Propagator but now in the tender care of Jim at Garden Ruminations. It’s been another week with some dry and sunny days here in Berks…

#SixOnSaturday - Six things happening in my garden this week whatcathyreadnext.co.uk/2026/03/07/s...

TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for March 7, 2026. From “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë to “The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax” by Dorothy Gillman. This is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. E…

TCL's #6Degrees of Separation for March 7, 2026. tcl-bookreviews.com/2026/03/07/t...

A Private Man by Stephanie Sy-Quia: ‘There are many different ways to have an affair.’ - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

A Private Man by Stephanie Sy-Quia: ‘There are many different ways to have an affair.’ alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/a-pr... #BookSky

#6Degrees of Separation – A book chain from Wuthering Heights to The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for 6 Degrees of Separation. Here’s how it works: a book is chosen as a starting point by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best&nbs…

#6Degrees of Separation - A book chain from Wuthering Heights to The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte whatcathyreadnext.co.uk/2026/03/07/6...

Blasts from the Past: The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998) - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Blasts from the Past: The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998) alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/blas... #BookSky

Six Degrees of Separation: From Wuthering Heights to Back in the Day I gave Six Degrees a miss for several months, feeling as though I’d lost my way with it. But it’s rather addictive – so I’m back. On the first Saturday of every month, a boo…

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Winding Up the Week #462 This week, as International Women’s Day approaches, I look at books read and reviewed, highlight some of the finest literary writing from across the blogosphere, mark a host of notable anniversarie…

bookjotter.com/2026/03/07/w...

Six Degrees of Separation – Wuthering Heights to The Sound of One Hand Clapping - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Six Degrees of Separation – Wuthering Heights to The Sound of One Hand Clapping alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/six-... #BookSky

@norfolkbookworm.bsky.social @maireadhearne.bsky.social Many thanks for sharing my post. Happy reading!

Blasts from the Past: The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998) - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

Blasts from the Past: The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998) alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/blas...
via @alifeinbooks.bsky.social

My Top 3 February 2026 Reads February was a slow reading month (only five books finished) because I was concentrating on rereading the books shortlisted for the Winston Graham Historical Prize ahead of the meeting with my fell…

My Top 3 February 2026 Reads whatcathyreadnext.co.uk/2026/03/06/m...

It's a stunner if it's the one I'm thinking of. The two further up the towpath near the bridge are gorgeous too. They can be seen from Alexandra Park!

Why do we call them tax exiles? They have chosen not to pay tax in their own country not been exiled by it.

The Gordon Burn Prize, 2026 I don’t normally follow the Gordon Burn Prize, even though it’s administered by New Writing North and always awarded in Newcastle! This year, however, the longlist caught my eye. The Go…

Wonderful to be at Northern Stage last night to see the Gordon Burn Prize awarded to a visibly thrilled Maria Reva for her debut novel ENDLING! I wrote about the ceremony here, as well as my thoughts on the six books from the longlist I've read: drlauratisdall.wordpress.com/2026/03/06/t... #booksky

#BookReview: The Killer Question by Janice Hallett @viperbooks.bsky.social #TheKillerQuestion #BookTwitter #booktwt #BookSky #damppebbles “The answer is murder. The question is whodunnit? A quiet country pub stands empty, its windows boarded up. And its kindly landlords, Mal and Sue Eastwood, are missing. What could have happen…

'a highly engaging, superbly written mystery'
via @damppebbles.bsky.social

#BookReview: The Killer Question by Janice Hallett @viperbooks.bsky.social #TheKillerQuestion #BookTwitter #booktwt #BookSky #damppebbles damppebbles.com/2026/03/05/b...

Monochrome photograph featuring a white woman riding a bicycle with feet on the handlebars moving fast, smiling

Cate Blanchett on a bike, 2004 by US photographer Annie Leibovitz #womensart

Lovely photos. Spring buds plus a newborn lamb, spotted on Wednesday, are keeping me going.

100 Books Bucket List Challenge | Audiobooks Reviews - Swirl and Thread For Christmas I received this fun gift of the 100 Books Scratch Off Bucket List poster. I immediately scratched off any book I had read over the years but soon realised that they were so many I had ye...

100 Books Bucket List Challenge | Audiobooks Reviews www.swirlandthread.com/100-books-bu...

Then & Now: Kate O’Brien and Sally Rooney #readingirelandmonth26 Irish writing has a habit of circling back to the same questions, generation after generation, and few pairings show this as clearly as Kate O’Brien and Sally Rooney. Born almost a century apart, b…

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Blasts from the Past: The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998) - A Life in Books Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

New on my blog - Blasts from the Past: The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998) alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/03/blas... #BookSky

#FridayFun: Loft Conversions I’m pretty sure I’ve handled this topic before, because at some point I was contemplating doing a loft conversion in my house in Maidenhead – I wanted to have my office and librar…

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Review: Shroud of Darkness (Inspector Macdonald 40) by ECR Lorac | Vintage Crime A dense London fog brings the city to a standstill as a train from Devon crawls toward Paddington. In one carriage, five strangers share the slow, uneasy journey: a young woman returning from holid…

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White snowdrop like flowers but much taller.

Blue scillas

A pink rhododendron- variety with no leaves.

White magnolia with bright blue sky.

NEW ANALYSIS: UK emissions fell 2.4% in 2025 as coal fell to a 400-year low. Incredibly, we used less coal last year than than in 1600, when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and Shakespeare was writing Hamlet.

All the details in our article: www.carbonbrief.org/...