About

Who Am I?

I am a book addict. In every spare moment I have between working, running and conducting my life, I have my nose in a book. That usually means I finish anywhere between one and three books a week. I read pretty much anything put in front of me and get confused in bookshops because I just don’t know which section to go to first.

I am a 30-something Australian living in the UK with my boyfriend, my two cats and my 1300+ book library. I run two businesses full time managing a team of four. I listen to a lot of podcasts and run a lot of miles every week as I have a passion for running marathons. I have a BA, an MA in Art History and I am also studying for a BSc in Psychology, just in case I didn’t have enough to do.

I am opinionated. I am honest. And I am who I am. If I like a book, I will say so. If I don’t, I won’t hold back. I am happy for you to agree or disagree as I love a great conversation about what I read.

What is this blog about?

This blog started out as a record of the books I have read, but I would also like it to act as a way to help others decide what they want to read. It is like walking into that bookshop and choosing a section – Fiction, Crime Fiction, Business, History, Travel, whatever… and near the shelves you have some recommendations to help you. By changing the format of each post slightly, I thought I could give something back after all the pleasure I have gained from reading.

My taste in books is small-c-catholic to say the least. I read almost anything, from almost anywhere, and will give anything a try at least once. My favourites, however, are crime fiction, historical fiction, science, history, philosophy and art. But I need to make sure there is at least something on each of the shelves, so I will be branching out.

Disclosure – there are Amazon affiliate links on each of the posts on this blog in case anyone wants to buy any of the books that I have reviewed. I don’t expect to cover my book buying costs but it would be nice to cover the blog hosting, so any help would be good.

What and how I review

I am happy to accept books to review, but over the past year I have developed a system which a friend suggested I explain. My system is not infallable and I don’t adhere to it strictly but it is pretty close.

If I have been asked to review a book, I will make a distinction between those books which are self-published and those which have been published via a mainstream, independent or established publisher. For self-published books, I am aware that I am talking directly to the author. In most cases, they won’t have been at the mercy of an editor. As such, I will keep my criticism as positive as I can, and I won’t ever dismiss a self-published book, even if it hasn’t worked for me. I think an author will appreciate constructive criticism more than an outright dismissal. To that end, I won’t put a mark out of ten rating on those reviews.

For those books which have been through the editorial process, I won’t hold back if I don’t like it. I feel then that it is as much the fault of the editor as the author. These reviews will all have a rating, and I reserve the right to not be as contructive in my criticism. I know that not every book in the world will be ‘my kind of book’ but an editor should know better.

I disclose all books that I have been asked to review – they can all be found under the category of Requested Reviews. I don’t get paid to review in any other way other than receiving a free copy of the book, so that gives me the freedom to write honestly.