“Go back to your books, to your armchair. Plant your trees, watch them grow. If more people valued home above gold, this world would be a merrier place.”

— Thorin Oakenshield

Latest Posts


  • The End of the Road

    Well, I’ve come to the end of Carrie K’s Ireland Reading Challenge and loved every minute of it. A latecomer (I’m new to reading challenges), I read six books in seven weeks, and started out quite confident about my ability to… Continue reading

  • Flawed Judgement – or Failing Memory?

    This is the final leg of my Irish reading tour for Carrie K’s Ireland Reading Challenge and, sadly, things didn’t go according to plan. I wanted to read the Flann O’Brien collection, The Best of Myles, but had trouble locating a copy… Continue reading

  • Poetic chains that link past and present

    Can someone tell me how have I managed to miss Seamus Heaney for so long? Why didn’t I make the effort to read his poetry years ago? Now I have discovered him I can look forward to exploring – and… Continue reading

  • A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

    “Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nice little boy named baby tuckoo…” Those opening… Continue reading

  • A Classics Challenge

    My mother always tells me I should finish one thing before starting another, and if I followed her advice I would post my three remaining reviews in the Ireland Reading Challenge being run by CarrieK at http://booksandmovies.colvilleblogger.com before committing to another reading challenge –… Continue reading