This, it has to be said, hasn’t been a solid year for career highs. Or highs in general really. We all know that.

It must be almost impossible for anyone with even a passing interest in books not to be aware of Candice Carty-William’s Queenie. When it came out back in March 2019 it appeared in the windows of Waterstones in an eye catching display, the cover art printed in four different colours: pink, blue, minty green and orange. I, like many other book obsessives loved it, and had no idea which one to buy.

There’s an entry in my now long neglected diary which is introduced in such a reverent way that you’d think I was announcing I’d won a Nobel Prize. So, if you were sneaking into my personal journals (don’t do that please) you might feel it a little anticlimactic when the next line announces, “Last night I told my boyfriend I have OCD”.

OK, first up, I have to admit that I’m probably the ideal reader for this novel.

When the theatres closed down they did so in a fog of confusion. At first we had no idea that this virus was really coming for us. It was something we were going to be unscathed by.

Ever since reading Araminta Hall’s previous novel Our Kind of Cruelty, which I thought was a perfect psychological thriller, I’ve been eagerly awaiting her next offering. Here it is, Imperfect Women, a novel told from the viewpoints of its three protaganists: Eleanor, Mary and Nancy, our imperfect women.

I hate to admit it but I’m a sucker for all the cutesy merch that’s generally created nowadays around a movement. Whether it’s feminism, veganism or literature I’m constantly having to stop myself from being wooed into buying some tokenistic symbol that apparently represents my belief system.

It doesn’t matter how many books I buy for myself (and believe me it’s a lot), someone else gifting you a novel will often be the push you need to try something new.

I recently started a podcast. Yes, I’m one of those people now I’m afraid. I’ve wanted to do it for a while but it wasn’t until the delightful Joe Bell of Sideburn Panda hopped on board that it actually happened (probably because he’s simultaneously super hardworking and incredibly calming). So now we have a podcast.

If you’re a regular reader of my book reviews you’ll know that whenever I’m struggling to settle into a read I tend to turn to a thriller.

Over the weekend, walking through Kensington Gardens, I overheard the two elderly ladies behind me having a conversation about what to expect as we come out of lockdown.

Released during lockdown, Exciting Times was a book whose cover I kept seeing but it wasn’t really on my radar and I knew nothing whatsoever about it. I finally read it when a friend listed it as one of their top reads and I spent the first few chapters trying to work out if I loved it or was deeply irritated. In the end the love won out.

I really struggled with this book. It was an easy read and once I was about halfway through I was determined to read through to the end. That said however it wasn't that enjoyable a read for me.

It took me a long time to understand what the word intersectional meant. I’m embarrassed by that because I have no excuse.

I put off reading any Donna Tartt books for years. Not in a boycotting kind of way but they were extremely hyped among friends, hefty and I wasn’t even sure if they were going to be my kind of thing.

Oh man. Deary deary me. Yeah this is a bit of a mess isn’t it. I doubt I have any deeper thoughts on this situation than all the professionals (and non-pros) writing and shouting about this so I won’t go on about it too much. I

I haven’t written one of these entries for a while. Probably because I’m as confused as everyone else as to what’s going on!

After a couple of hefty reads that explored worlds quite different to mine, I was excited for Emma Gannon’s novel, following the story of Olive, a magazine writer and editor who is grappling with the decision of whether or not to have a baby.

Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favourite 'smart thinkers'. I love the way that he takes a seemingly insurmountably complicated issue and breaks it down into digestible facts and figures without oversimplifying.

Hello. It is the 75th anniversary of VE Day today, the day marking the allied victory of WWII. It feels weird to be celebrating such a momentous day in British history while we’re all stuck indoors.