Shirley library is hosting an evening with Southampton-based dark comedy writer J.S. Morton, best known for winning Bronze at The Readers’ Favourite Awards, later this month. Morton is the award-winning author of You’re Gone and has published eight books in total, including the popular series ‘The Arthur Norman trilogy’. ...
Books
Book review: Neurodivergent Moments: Sex, Sunscreen, Turtles & How (Not) to Pack a Suitcase by Joe Wells and Abigoliah Schamaun
Why “Normal” Starts to Look a Bit Suspicious… By Rachel Jones @HMP_SHE. I have spent a significant portion of my life answering “How are you?” incorrectly. Neurodivergent Moments: Insights into the Lived Experience of Autism and ADHD by Joe Wells and Abigoliah Schamaun is the first book that suggests...
Poetry collection review: Suburban Locust by Antosh Wojcik
By Anita Foxall. For anyone familiar with Antosh Wojcik’s central presence on the poetry scene, the arrival of his debut collection Suburban Locust has been highly anticipated. Antosh is an incredibly skilled poet and these poems are undoubtedly masterfully crafted. The collection unfolds as a surreal, storm-ridden family chronicle...
Review: Wuthering Heights? More like Withering Whites
By books editor Laura McCarthy. Emerald Fennel’s latest film has garnered controversy since before it was even released. In a way, the controversy surrounding the film makes it like Brontȅ’s original novel, which also sparked public outcry… but this would be perhaps the only similarity between the text and...
Books: Series Retrospective -The Laundry Files by Charles Stross (2004-2026)
By Chris Taylor. ‘I asked why we had to leave the EU, in one of those informal breakout sessions at Number 10. … “Can’t bring back the death penalty without ditching the ECHR,” he replied. “Also, we need to get rid of free movement. Stop the blighters emigrating.” I...
Books – ‘Romantasy’ deserves respect, not derision
By Annabelle Clare. I talk a lot about books. They’re the cornerstone of my life, the start and the end of every day. They’re my primary form of escape and my absolute favourite hobby. But whenever I start talking about some of my favourite series, I feel almost embarrassed....
Review: Love, Death and the Crucial Three by Will Vigar
By Anita Foxall. Will Vigar’s Love, Death and the Crucial Three is a unique and touching novel that manages to be intimate and expansive at the same time; a story rooted in the life of Jake, which resonates with the universal truths of friendship, trauma, love, and the families...
Book review: Moving the ghost out the haunted house – thoughts on Michelle Paver’s novel Rainforest
By Laura McCarthy. In Rainforest, Michelle Paver leaves the classic ghost story setting behind in favour of something altogether different – no prizes for guessing where. She says “so long” to the spectral woman in black of Eel Marsh House and “good riddance” to the ominous presence of Hill...
Book Review: Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite
By Laura McCarthy. I touch my face and my hand is damp. That’s unexpected. This dark tale of a family curse has more substance than I presumed. For October (with it being both Black History Month and spooky season), I wanted to find a disturbing new release from a...
Art of Climbing Trees book launch at October Books
One year, 365 trees, ten countries, 80 ‘co-climbers’. Described as ‘a radical manifesto from the branches, new book Art of Climbing Trees was, fifteen years in the making – a crowd-funder delivers more than a decade late! Art of Climbing Trees (A.C.T.) is a beautifully illustrated, genre-bending book; a...