L.H. Johnson's Blog, page 25

The Highland Falcon Thief by MG Leonard and Sam Sedgman

The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is such a lot of fun. I went into The Highland Falcon Thief thinking well, I am ancient and absolutely have no interest whatsoever in trains, and I came out and realised that I loved it. There is […]

Animal Farm : The Graphic Novel by Odyr

Animal Farm: The Graphic Novel by Odyr My rating: 5 of 5 stars There’s a part of me that can never quite cope with Animal Farm, having read it as a pony-loving child and immediately bonding with Boxer. For those of you who know the story, you’ll know now why I can’t quite cope with […]

Lorna at Wynyards by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer

Lorna at Wynyards by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer My rating: 4 of 5 stars Lorna at Wynyards by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer is a lot of fun and, I suspect, worth five stars for the fabulously awful “JO BETTANY IS MY FAVOURITE AUTHOR I HAVE ALL HER TITLES AND OH YES SHE IS ALSO A FAMILY FRIEND […]

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’d waited a while to read An American Marriage, forced by a long reservation queue (always a good sign), and I was not disappointed. It’s a novel that I went into a little blind, conscious of the noise about it and the fact […]

Polly Piglet by Enid Blyton

Polly Piglet by Enid Blyton My rating: 1 of 5 stars “And what did you do when you finished reading Polly Piglet by Enid Blyton?” “Well, my imaginary friend who has been invented to help me make a rhetorical point on the internet, I screamed. And then I screamed some more and a little more […]

Children's Picturebooks : The Art of Visual Storytelling by Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles

Children’s Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling by Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles My rating: 4 of 5 stars A revised edition of their original 2012 text, Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles ‘Children Picturebooks : The Art of Visual Storytelling‘ (2019) occupies a space somewhere between academia and coffee table. It offers a general introduction […]

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood My rating: 3 of 5 stars I have had complicated feelings about The Testaments ever since it was announced, ever since it was nominated for the Booker, ever since it shared the prize with Girl, Woman, Other, ever since all of this and more. It is not that I disliked […]

Introducing 'Novel Gazing' – a biweekly litfic podcast

So, I have a piece of exciting news to share with you. Novel Gazing is a biweekly podcast from Book Riot devoted to literary fiction and I am one of the hosts of it. I host alongside the lovely Mary Kay and together we talk about literary fiction. You can subscribe here or wherever you […]

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for being a part of this blog this year! This is a very good corner of the internet and you are one of the lovely community of readers who makes it so. I am very happy that you’re here. I wish you a peaceful and happy Christmas, doing what you love best and […]

In The Grip Of Winter by Colin Dann

In the Grip of Winter by Colin Dann My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve been picking my way through the Farthing Wood series, driven by an urge to revisit these emotionally scarring books of my childhood. Though somebody like Richard Adams will always have the crown of accidentally emotionally traumatising children (Plague Dogs! General […]