Lovely Blogs and useful links

Blogs that I love reading:


Beffy is an author who deserves more recognition; her blog ramblings are great.

Useful sites if you are new (like me) to blogging:

An opportunity to read books before they are published and additionally not pay for them.  I've lived in Yorkshire a while now.......

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I write this sitting in the kitchen sink; what is a classic?

My new discovery of  I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith  led me to wonder what other classics I had missed and additionally what is a classic?  In my mind it is a book that was around when I was child that my mum or penguin told me I should read, or perhaps was part of the A level English Lit syllabus.  Richard Davies ( 50 classic books ) defines as  “ If people are still reading the book 50 years after it was published then it's probably on its way to being a classic.”   I have to agree with him though, the pressure of reading books because you should disappears after the end of our formal study of English Literature.  I hated Austen's "Emma" although I was brave enough to read "Pride and Prejudice and actually enjoyed it but this forced reading of Austen put me off classics for a long time.   It has to be something more than just note-worthy, it has to be enjoyable and still resonate however many years after publication.  I think this can definitely be said
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To review or not to review?

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When I started the blog, I did a bit of research about the art of the review.  The words of Jessica Parker rang in my ears "When it comes to love and life, why do we always believe our worst reviews?".  The google searches and Netgalley advice all pointed to the always see the positive approach.  My mum's favourite saying seemed to be at the forefront: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?".  Looking back, this did explain the long drawn out silences in our house.  Particularly when I got a new haircut...... I cannot always see the positive though.  I'm a real person.  And books that I do not enjoy make me angry.  I feel like I have wasted my time.  In the wise words of a psychoanalyst though, I cannot control the book but I can control my reaction to it.  This public reviewing lark should be a good exercise for life methinks. So.  I got asked to do a review.  I was so excited.  I say "asked" it was more like an
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"You can never get a cup of tea large enough, or a book long enough to suit me"

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The words of C S Lewis and so true.  I love reading and write very succinct reviews in my bullet journal just to remind me if I loved the book and will be returning to its magic, if it will be lost in the echoes of my mind or if I just stopped (I do not believe I have time to waste on books that do not give me joy).  This is going to be an online version of my what, why and when with a few words to support.  I hope maybe it helps someone else find some books to read. Give me a shout (comments or   rustybooklove@gmail.com ) if you have any recommendations or book chat.  I'm a  kindle lover but currently returned to real books just because they feel good.  Below is my current pile to be consumed. We'll find out as we go on how discriminatory I am in terms of genre.......
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