A few weeks ago, I received a message asking for travel book recommendations. Hardly surprising given that summer is undoubtedly the season for spur of the moment backpacking trips. I empathise completely with the itchy feet syndrome - a depleting bank account is all that prevents me from taking myself off to some unknown location. … Continue reading Review: Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
The Book Habit is about more than just book reviews. It is a celebration of literary lifestyle. For those of us who spend 80% of our time with our heads stuck in books, social situations can undoubtedly present a strange array of obstacles. I still find it personally confusing as to why clubs have somehow … Continue reading Just For Fun Friday: Literary Pick-Up Lines
It is extremely rare for me to actively avoid a certain novel on the basis of difficulty. I enjoy a challenge and believe, for the most part, that reading should require us to push certain boundaries. In my view, those books that we steer away from because of personal prejudices or concerns are those we … Continue reading Review: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
In last week's edition of The Weekly Reader, I mentioned an interesting article about demands from Britain's independent bookstores for government assistance in combating Amazon's market dominance. I also declared my intention to forgo Amazon book purchases in favour of supporting the nation's bookstores (one week later and I am still going strong). I was … Continue reading A Book Buyer’s Guide To Bookshops
Hello friends! Well, exams are officially over and I have emerged with mind relatively intact. Regular posting schedule now to resume, with a small backlog of book reviews to work my way through. But more of that later (once I have had a proper night's sleep and feel able to communicate in a somewhat coherent … Continue reading Monday Musing: I’m ALIVE
I have a deep and abiding affection for facts. Any facts really - I am not particularly discriminating. Hence why QI is one of my all time favourite telly programmes, and why I can churn out fascinating (and I use this term loosely) facts on demand. Did you know, for instance, that British cows moo … Continue reading Just for Fun Friday: Weird and Wonderful Facts
Hello my dears! The weekend is here, gifting many of us (by this I mean the non-students) with an extra bonus day off on Monday. Since my Just for Fun Friday: Throwing Insults Like Shakespeare post met with some great feedback (and was also a lot of fun to put together), I thought that I would … Continue reading Just for Fun Friday: Wilde’s Wisdom
We are wonderfully lucky here in the UK to have access to a huge number of historical artefacts and, for a bibliophile like me, there are just so many opportunities to come face-to-face with British literary history. Inevitably, however, acting as a custodian of historical relics is not an easy task. Working at Knebworth House … Continue reading Literary Excursion: Championing Conservation at Wimpole Hall
Since my previous Roald Dahl-themed Just for Fun Friday met with such a positive response, I felt it was time bring back the joy. It is no lie when I tell you that I spent much of my childhood listening to a cassette of Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts basically on a loop, to a point at … Continue reading Just for Fun Friday: Roald’s Return
Happy Wednesday chaps! Officially halfway through the week and already halfway through May. Having finally made it to some semblance of summer weather in London, we have suddenly regressed. A fact not helped by having a brother in Florida and parents in Missouri, both locations currently experiencing 30 degree weather (Celsius, that is). The oppressive … Continue reading What I’m Reading Wednesday: 15/05/13
The Book Habit 