Raynor Reads Stuff

Raynor reads stuff:

The random musings of a bookworm

REVIEW: Collected Poems Volume One

Where I live in Nottingham, trams and buses can be named after people from the city who have done great things. One of the buses is called Henry Normal. If you’ve seen The Mrs Merton Show, The Royle Family or Coogan’s Run, or you’re a fan of Gavin and Stacey, Red Dwarf, The Might Boosh…

January 22, 2023
REVIEW: Heatwave

January 21, 2023
REVIEW: Begars Abbey

It’s January, the nights are long and cold and the days are grey. What better time of year to curl up with a gothic-style ghost story? Begars Abbey is by VL Valentine and was published by Viper in 2022. It is set in 1953/4. Our protagonist Sam Cooper is down and out in Brooklyn and…

January 19, 2023
What is it with the Japanese and cats?

I am a big fan of Japanese literature. Last year, among Japanese authors I enjoyed reading included Natsuko Imamura, Meiko Kawakami, Natsu Miyashita, Durian Sukigawa, Emi Yagi, Seishi Yokomizo and Banana Yoshimoto. And then, of course, there is one of my favourite authors and probably Japan’s biggest literary export Haruki Murakami. I have at least…

January 17, 2023
REVIEW: Red Sky at Night

If you have ever tried and failed to race a ferret then Red Sky at Night is probably just what you need to improve your training techniques. This book is a little like a Schott’s Miscellany for the British countryside, containing a wealth of information compiled in an orderly manner that you can dip into…

January 16, 2023
REVIEW: Adventures in Moominland

I came across this beautiful boxed set of Moomin books by Tove Jansson, published by Puffin, in a charity shop last year. This collection was published in 1975 and the set of eight books cost me £7. To say I was delighted is a huge understatement. I read the majority of them last year and…

January 15, 2023
REVIEW: A Fool’s Alphabet

I’m a big fan of Sebastian Faulks. I’ve read Birdsong, Charlotte Gray and Engleby and thoroughly enjoyed them and I have Paris Echo, Snow Country, The Girl at the Lion D’Or, Where My Heart Used to Beat and On Green Dolphin Street sitting on various bookshelves waiting to be read. This one, however, is A…

January 13, 2023
REVIEW: Demos Rising

Cards on the table, I ordered Demos Rising, published by Fly on the Wall Press in 2022, solely because a friend and former colleague of mine, Rachel Swabey, is one of the 29 international creatives whose work is featured in this anthology. If it wasn’t because I wanted to read Rachel’s work, I would probably…

January 12, 2023
REVIEW: The Anthology of English Folk Tales

I’ve always been interested in folk tales, their origins, the art of oral storytelling etc etc, in fact I start a 10-week course next week – An Introduction to English Folklore – so when I saw this little beauty, I couldn’t resist buying it. First published in 2016 (my edition is 2019) and published by…

January 10, 2023
REVIEW: Exit

January 9, 2023