Gabrielle Williams
Gabrielle Williams was a bookseller at Readings Malvern, grants officer for the Readings Foundation, and manager of the Readings Prize. She was also the author of many books for young adults, including My Life as a Hashtag and It's Not You, It's Me.
Review — 2 Feb 2023
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell & Patrick Benson (illus.)
The familiarity of a repetitive refrain is very comforting to children, and Owl Babies does this so very, very well. Sarah, Percy and Bill are owl babies, huddling close together…
Review — 30 Jan 2023
Compulsion by Kate Scott
From the first page of this debut novel, the reader is hurled at breakneck speed into the machinations, romances and compelling compulsivity of Lucy Luxe and her friends. Lucy is…
Review — 2 Nov 2022
A Year with Wendy Whiteley by Ashleigh Wilson
There’s something about those cool girls who hang out with dangerous boys: think Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg, and of course, Wendy Whiteley. Wild, smart, stylish, artistic and hypnotic, they were…
Review — 30 Aug 2022
The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
This will be a one-word review. Wow. That’s it. Thank you and goodnight. There are no other words that will adequately express my awe and wonder at the sheer mastery…
Review — 28 Jul 2022
Desire: A Reckoning by Jessie Cole
A person could be forgiven for assuming a memoir with the title ‘Desire’ would be a no-holds-barred peek behind bedroom doors, especially when the back-cover blurb asks thequestion, ‘What does…
Review — 28 Jul 2022
Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
If you want to know why I love my job, I have two words for you: Sloane Crosley. Working at Readings means I got the inside word on Sloane Crosley…
Review — 30 May 2022
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Geraldine Brooks is famous for having brought us her owndistinctive take on the Black Plague, the life of King David,and the search for a rare manuscript during the Bosnian War,among…
Review — 28 Mar 2022
Other Houses by Paddy O’Reilly
Other Houses is a beautifully nuanced book about hardship, family and the impossible decisions some people are faced with, especially when they’re living from one pay cheque to the next.
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Review — 2 Mar 2022
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
Karen Joy Fowler has ruined the next few books for me – whatever I pick up next, it can’t possibly measure up to the sprawling, ambitious, captivating saga of her…
Review — 27 Jan 2022
The Competition by Katherine Collette
Following up her popular debut, The Helpline, Katherine Collette is back in fine form with The Competition, proving (in case anyone was in any doubt) that she is…
