282 ratings | 233 reviews | avg rating:4.00

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Colette Coen

Goodreads Author

Born

Glasgow

Website

http://colettecoen.wordpress.com

Twitter

colettecoen

Genre

Fiction

Influences

Muriel spark; Margaret Atwood; Oscar Wilde; Scottish weather

Member Since

March 2012

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Glasgow University and Faber Academy graduate, Colette Coen has eBooks of short stories called The Chocolate Refuge and Five a Day and her first novel All the Places I’ve Ever Been. She won the Waterstones Crime in the City competition in 2013 and was shortlisted for the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. She has been a librarian and literacy lecturer, but now works in a supermarket to allow time and head-space for writing. She loves Muriel Spark, Margaret Atwood and INXS. She lives in Glasgow with her husband and three kids. Follow http://colettecoen.wordpress.com for regular posts of new fiction.
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Combine Editions
Colette Coen’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 14 ratings · 3 reviews · 9 distinct works

	All the Places I've Ever Been 3.89 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Five Glasgow Stories by Charlie Gracie, Donal McLaughlin, Christine Appleward it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Chocolate Refuge really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All the Places I've Ever Been it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Five a Day 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Five a Day: Short Stories and Flash Fiction 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	St Antony's Tongue: Short Stories and Flash Fiction 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Write Away: A Quick Guide to Get you Writing 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Forgotten Dreams: and other stories 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2023 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Colette Coen…

238 posts
Colette Coen's Blog

Aye Write: FedFolk and Postbox 12 Launch

FedFolk@AyeWrite

Friday was an absolute blast. I’ve read at Aye Write with the Federation of Writers (Scotland) a couple of times before but it was lovely to be back at the Mitchell Library with such a lovely bunch of folk reading their work.

Photograph of members of the Federation of Writers (Scotland) at Aye Write 2025

Colette Coen reading at FedFolk@AyeWrite 2025

Postbox Launch

What I’ve always dreamed about, though, is having my own event, and that happened too, directly after FedFolk. I was taken to the green

Colette is Currently Reading

Colette Coen is currently reading

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life

by George Saunders

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Feb 02, 2023 08:31AM

Colette Coen is currently reading

The Dinner Party and Other Stories

by Joshua Ferris (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Feb 11, 2020 03:45AM

Colette Coen is currently reading

Normal People

by Sally Rooney (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 12, 2019 04:08AM

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Colette’s Recent Updates

Colette Coen wrote a new blog post Postbox Launch @ Aye Write It’s wonderful to see the Aye Write festival back in Glasgow after a short funding-related hiatus. I’m attending events by Graeme Macrea Burnett and F Read more of this blog post »
Nov 14, 2025 03:48AM · like
Colette Coen rated a book it was amazing Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I have spent the last few weeks dotting in and out of art galleries and in one (Manchester) I picked up this book - basically it is an idiot's guide to contemporary art, and I am that idiot. I love Grayson Perry's presenting style and this is written ...more
Dec 31, 2024 07:51AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Colette Coen rated a book really liked it Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar by Olga Wojtas	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
There was a lot to recommend this book to me - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (The Book! that originated Miss Blaine) is one of my favourites, and the protagonist, Shona, is a librarian (as I once was). Moreover, Olga Wojtas is a past Scriever for the ...more
Dec 31, 2024 07:26AM · like · see review
Colette Coen rated a book liked it The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This was undoubtedly a very clever book with an interesting premise but it was not an easy book to get into, Harriet/Harry Burden is an artist who feels that her gender has been a barrier (or burden) to her, so she choses three young male artists to ...more
Dec 31, 2024 07:20AM · like · see review
Colette Coen rated a book really liked it The wren, the wren by Anne Enright	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
When you pick up a book with a Women's Prize Shortlisted sticker on it, particularly one by Anne Enright, you have very high expectations. Did it live up to them? Partly. The first few chapters had me laughing out loud and them squirming in my seat a ...more
Nov 04, 2024 02:22AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The wren, the wren by Anne Enright. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The wren, the wren by Anne Enright <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Colette Coen rated a book it was amazing The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line by Ruth Thomas	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sometimes books get hyped and you can't really see why, other times gems like this one get overlooked. Ruth Thomas writes the lives of ordinary people struggling with ordinary issues in a way that is anything but ordinary. In this novel, Sybil has to ...more
Oct 23, 2024 08:25AM · like · see review
Colette Coen rated a book it was ok The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I found this book really self-absorbed and self-indulgent. Her parents and other people who were clearly a large part of her life and recovery barely get a mention. The Orkney landscape is described well, but I found myself trudging through in search ...more
Oct 06, 2024 12:42PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Outrun by Amy Liptrot <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Colette Coen rated a book it was amazing Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I have spent the last few weeks dotting in and out of art galleries and in one (Manchester) I picked up this book - basically it is an idiot's guide to contemporary art, and I am that idiot. I love Grayson Perry's presenting style and this is written ...more
Sep 17, 2024 06:47AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Colette Coen rated a book liked it Adèle by Leïla Slimani	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Yeah, it's difficult to like a book when all the characters are so unlikable and damaged. Adele wanders round Paris at night shagging anything that moves and gives little thought to her husband and toddler at home. As the book progresses the reasons ...more
Sep 12, 2024 04:57AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Adèle by Leïla Slimani. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Adèle by Leïla Slimani <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Colette Coen rated a book really liked it The Bee Sting by Paul Murray	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Well, what a ride this book is. The Bee Sting tells the stories of four members of the same family - each with their own secrets and things that the other members of the family just don't understand. It is told from the four different perspectives, s ...more
Sep 04, 2024 06:15AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Bee Sting by Paul Murray <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">