BPS Bookclub, Feb 2023 : The End of the World is a Cul De Sac, Louise Kennedy

All agreed that Kennedy has an amazing command of the language, not least in her culinary and botanical knowledge, but with a nod to Irish myth and history.  These details make for a rich reading experience.
April 15, 2023 by Books Scissors

BPS Bookclub Review : Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr ( January 2023)

The entire structure of the book has been likened to a jigsaw puzzle.  Some readers went along for the ride, confident that the puzzle would be solved in due course. Some actively enjoyed looking for clues and connections. For others it triggered way too much anxiety and irritation about what the heck was going on.
April 15, 2023 by Books Scissors

BPS Bookclub, March 2023 : The Spy and the Traitor

It is a readable, page turning route into history, with great insights into the Cold War and as such really recommended for anyone seeking to engage a bit more with history lessons!  It was also a good book club choice with so many details to ponder.
April 15, 2023 by Books Scissors

BPS Review: The Book of Form and Emptiness, Ruth Ozeki ( October 2022)

A couple of weeks after the book is closed and I’m sure many of you are still thinking about it (well, those of you who haven’t burned it to cut down on your gas bills anyway).

(PS. just in case you’re wondering, 17% gave it a terrible score, 35% okay, and 48% good or great)

November 12, 2022 by Books Scissors

Review of Sorrow And Bliss, Meg Mason ( June 2022)

 All in all a more complex story than first perceived, which I guess is often the reality of mental illness.
October 17, 2022 by Books Scissors

BPS Review of Assembly, Natasha Brown ( reviewed Sept 2022)

What is also worthy of discussion is how this small tale, full of micro aggressions and tiny everyday detail, can also reflect an entire history of post colonialism, racial integration or assimilation, and post generational trauma.
October 17, 2022 by Books Scissors

BPS Book Club ; review of The Promise, Damon Galgut ( May 2022)

Galgut has found a compelling way of dealing with complex situations – and the weight of politics and history – in a subtle, engaging way. The scalpel-sharp precision of his writing ensures that readers are drawn in and stay the course.
June 15, 2022 by Books Scissors
Snowflake : A raw, funny coming of age story

Best of the new Paperbacks from Northern Ireland, Summer 2022

New in Paperback : Best of Northern Irish Books Spring Summer 2022

Snowflake : Louise O'Neill 

A startling, honest, laugh and cry novel about growing up and leaving home, only to find that you've taken it with you, Snowflake is a novel for a generation, and for everyone who's taken those first, terrifying steps towards adulthood.

 

The Troubles with Us : Alix O'Neill 

A hilarious memoir about growing up in Northern Ireland in the 90s towards the end of the Troubles and a brilliantly propelling narrative of the extraordinary background story of her mother. Her mother's vivid personality and witty colloquialisms dominate the book and help to give a social history of life in Belfast from the 1950s onwards.

Out in Paperback from June 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All available via www.bookspaperscissors.co.uk

May 16, 2022 by Books Scissors

BPS BookClub : Review of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote ( March 2022)

Well. What a book for discussion. What an author. Full of controversy and ‘grey areas’ of morality and opinion.
May 14, 2022 by Books Scissors
BPS review, The Road Home by Rose Tremain ( April 2022)

BPS review, The Road Home by Rose Tremain ( April 2022)

 It’s an engrossing read, a sense of ‘what’s going to happen to Lev, and Lydia?’ which kept us reading in a ‘block out the everyday’ pleasurable way. Tremain has an ability to write a scene with visual immediacy and depth, and sketch interesting detail into her characters.
May 14, 2022 by Books Scissors