A life in books » Kate Atkinson

Jackson Brodie’s last outing came after a gap of nine long years so I was delighted when Death at the Sign of the Rook popped up on Netgalley a mere three years after Big Sky was published. For...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2024/08/death-at-the-sign-of-the-rook-by-kate-atkinson-fact-and-fiction-were-now-hopelessly-entangled/

This second batch of August’s new fiction begins and ends with slight disappointments from two of my favourite authors. Heart, Be at Peace returns to the setting of Donal Ryan’s A Spinning He...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2024/07/books-to-look-out-for-out-for-in-august-2024-part-two/

Some very tempting paperbacks to look out for as we head into proper spring in my part of the world, beginning with one of my books of last year. Caleb Azumah Nelson’s achingly beautiful Small ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2024/03/paperbacks-to-look-out-for-in-april-2024-part-one/

Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six others to form a ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2023/11/six-degrees-of-separation-western-lane-to-water/

We’re in summer reading territory for this preview with the holiday season in full swing but there are still some gems to be found in the schedules starting with a big shiny one. I knew there w...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2023/07/books-to-look-out-for-out-for-in-august-2023/

I’ve read all but one of the first instalment of April paperback goodies, several of which turned up on my books of 2022 list beginning with acclaimed short story writer Louise Kennedy’s firs...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2023/03/paperbacks-to-look-out-for-in-april-2023-part-one/

Every year I post two literary prize wishlists in the sure fire knowledge that few if any of those wishes will be fulfilled. That said, they’re fun to do and I always like to see what other rea...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2023/03/my-womens-prize-for-fiction-2023-wishlist/

This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy into as many hands as I could. Hard ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2023/02/blasts-from-the-past-behind-the-scenes-at-the-museum-by-kate-atkinson-1995/

July was spent alternately taking refuge from our builders, lovely as they are, and the heat which seemed to go on forever. Having the sort of skin that needs dousing in factor 50, I spent less t...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2022/12/books-of-the-year-2022-part-three/

I’m always delighted to see a new Kate Atkinson in the publishing schedules, a treat to look forward to. Loosely based on the life of Kate Meyrick, Shrines of Gaiety takes us back to Soho in 19...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2022/09/shrines-of-gaiety-by-kate-atkinson-decadence-piled-upon-decadence/

Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six others to form a ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2022/09/six-degrees-of-separation-bridget-joness-diary-to-the-devils-of-loudun/