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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Aug 26

Shiny Ed Harriet reviews The Enigma of Muriel Spark by Frances Wilson @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/electric-spa...

Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark by Frances Wilson

Reviewed by Harriet It has always been my intention to practice the arts of pretence and counterfeit on the reader. So wrote Muriel Spark in an unpublished Author’s Note to The Prime of

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Aug 12

And I've now got a copy after posting your review! (Shiny Ed @annabookbel.bsky.social )

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Aug 12

On a Sweltering Shiny Tuesday: @maxdunbar1.bsky.social reviews Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson @faberbooks.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/kill-your-da...

Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson

Review by Max Dunbar A Wrong in Time At a literary festival in 1993 Thom Graves watches an author being interviewed. It's slow going: Toward the end of the hourlong interview the discus

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Jul 29

It's a damp Shiny Tuesday - somewhat apposite for today's review by @peterreason.bsky.social of Thirst: In search of freshwater, ed Ellen Johl, foreword by
‪@robgmacfarlane.bsky.social‬ to go with the latest exhibition from the @wellcomecollection.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/thirst-in-se...

Thirst: In search of freshwater – Wellcome Collection 2025, ed. Ellen Johl

Review by Peter Reason This slender collection of writing around the theme of freshwater is published by the Wellcome Collection to accompany its current exhibition of the same name, which ‘

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Jul 24

Shiny #TranslationThursday -
@annabookbel.bsky.social reviews two volumes from Penguin's new Maigret Capsule Collection shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-penguin-...

The Penguin Maigret Capsule Collection – Maigret’s Holiday and Maigret’s Pickpocket – by Georges Simenon

Review by Annabel Starting back in 2013, Penguin began reissuing the novels of Georges Simenon in new or recent translations with distinctive photographic details on the covers. All 75 Maigrets ar

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Jul 17

Shiny #TranslationThursday and @annabookbel.bsky.social reviews Barbara isn't Dying by Alina Bronsky, trans. @timmohr.bsky.social from @europaeditions.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/barbara-isnt...

Barbara isn’t Dying by Alina Bronsky

Translated by Tim Mohr Review by Annabel The main theme of this novel is not new, but Bronsky has such a refreshing take on it that I couldn’t help but devour it from the first page. It o

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Jun 26

Today at Shiny, @annabookbel.bsky.social reviews Universality by Natasha Brown @faberbooks.bsky.social lhttps://shinynewbooks.co.uk/universality-by-natasha-brown

Universality by Natasha Brown

Review by Annabel It's been a four-year wait for this, Natasha Brown's second novel. Her first, Assembly, was stunning, winning many plaudits. It's a moving and beautifully written novella tol

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Jun 17

Shiny Tuesday: @peterreason.bsky.social reviews Bird School by Adam Nicolson. 'Throughout, the writing is gorgeous – elegant yet unfussy, richly descriptive without over-doing it, ' shinynewbooks.co.uk/bird-school-...

Bird School: A beginner in the wood by Adam Nicolson

Review by Peter Reason ‘The first time I met a bird close-up, it was dead. A raven.’ From this grab-your-attention first line and the evocative description of this encounter, I am ho

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · May 27

Is a River Alive? @peterreason reviews Robert Macfarlane pub Hamish Hamilton. shinynewbooks.co.uk/is-a-river-a...

Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

Review by Peter Reason It is very unlikely that many readers of Shiny New Books have missed Robert Macfarlane’s new book. It has been reviewed in most of the major periodicals; chosen as ‘

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Apr 30

New post: @lyzzybee.bsky.social reviews Becoming a Good Relative by Hilary Giovale shinynewbooks.co.uk/becoming-a-g...

Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers Toward Truth, Healing, and Repair, by Hilary Giovale

Review by Liz Dexter I was immersed in a white settler myth that had always allowed me to perceive them [her ancestors] as innocent bystanders rather than oppressors. I’ve been interest

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Apr 22

Shiny Tuesday: @kaggsy59.bsky.social reviews Emile Zola: Writing Modern Life by Rachel Bowlby pub @oupacademic.bsky.social in their 'My Reading' series shinynewbooks.co.uk/emile-zola-w...

Emile Zola: Writing Modern Life by Rachel Bowlby

Reviewed by Karen Langley The My Reading series from Oxford University Press takes as its premise that the best book recommendations come from someone who cares for the work in question; books

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Apr 17

Shiny #TranslationThursday: @spencro.bsky.social reviews The Brittle Age by Donatella Di Pietrantonio, translated by Ann Goldstein pub @europaeditions.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-brittle-...

The Brittle Age, by Donatella Di Pietrantonio

Translated by Ann Goldstein Review by Rob Spence In the mountainous rural region of Abruzzo, a local community is blighted by an event of brutal savagery. Thirty years later, its effects ar

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Apr 15

Shiny Tuesday: @hejparry.bsky.social reviews When William Came by Saki in a new reprint from @mikewalmer.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/when-william...

When William Came, by Saki

Review by Helen Parry Suppose Germany and Britain went to war and Britain lost and was absorbed into the German empire? What would British people do? What would you do? This is the basis of Sa

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Annabookbel @annabookbel.bsky.social · Apr 10

On my blog today - my review of another great spec fiction medical thriller from @evesmithauthor.bsky.social @orendabooks.bsky.social annabookbel.net/the-cure-by-...

The Cure by Eve Smith – blog tour

My first encounter with Eve Smith was with her second novel, Off Target, in which genetic engineering of children is normal. I very much enjoyed it – spec fiction being my favourite type of g…

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Apr 10

Shiny Thursday: Max Dunbar reviews The Bureau by Eoin McNamee shinynewbooks.co.uk/this-is-the-...

This Is The Border by Eoin McNamee

Review by Max Dunbar There's lots of historical fiction around but generally it doesn't work for me. I feel like the author is bludgeoning you with their research, having worked so hard on it,

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Apr 9

shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-golden-r...

The Golden Road by William Dalrymple

Reviewed by Harriet India has always had a great attraction for me. I didn’t manage to go there until I was in my thirties, but I’ve visited countless times since then and hope I’ll do s

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Apr 1

At Shiny today: @kaggsy59.bsky.social reviews Nothing Grows by Moonlight by Torborg Nedreaas, translated by Bibbi Lee, pub Penguin Classics shinynewbooks.co.uk/nothing-grow...

Nothing Grows by Moonlight by Torborg Nedreaas

Translated by Bibbi Lee Review by Karen Langley Recent years have seen a spate of newly translated fictions being made available by Penguin Classics in their ‘Demy’ series; these works

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Mar 26

Shiny Wednesday: Harriet reviews The Dancer and the Dance by Janet Burroway in a new edition from @mikewalmer.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-dancer-a...

The Dancer and the Dance by Janet Burroway

Reviewed by Harriet I had never heard of Janet Burroway until Mike Walmer recently republished her 1965 novel, The Dancer and the Dance. It was the second of her eight novels. Considering that

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Mar 20

It's a Shiny #TranslationThursday and @spencro.bsky.social reviews Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida pub @europaeditions.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/goodnight-to...

Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida

Translated by Hayden Trowell Review by Rob Spence Quirky Japanese literature seems to be all the rage these days. Every British bookshop seems well-stocked with Tokyo-based stories about ca

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Mar 1

In a new edition from @mikewalmer.bsky.social books, @spencro reviews The Last of the Aldinis by George Sand. shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-last-of-...

The Last of the Aldinis by George Sand

Translated by George Burnham Ives Review by Rob Spence Version 1.0.0 Opposite the title page of this new edition of George Sand’s novel is a list of her works of fiction. It contains 76 no

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Feb 15

This week at Shiny, Helen Parry reviewed Otherland: Nine Tales of Wonder and Romance from Medieval Ireland, by Lisa M. Bitel pub OUP. shinynewbooks.co.uk/otherworld-n...

Otherworld: Nine Tales of Wonder and Romance from Medieval Ireland, by Lisa M. Bitel

Review by Helen Parry A king’s son pines for a beautiful woman who only he can see. A god’s jealous wife turns a princess into a puddle of water, which grows into a worm, then a scarlet fly, and is…

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Feb 15

This week at Shiny: Victoria Best reviewed Colette, My Literary Mother by Michele Roberts pub. OUP shinynewbooks.co.uk/colette-my-l...

Colette, My Literary Mother by Michèle Roberts

Reviewed by Victoria Best, 13 Feb 2025 Colette is, I think, a very special writer. She writes with such beguiling charm, such seductive cleverness that she gets under your skin. To read her is to e…

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Annabookbel @annabookbel.bsky.social · Feb 1

Just changed my header pic to show off my Paul Auster collection as #AusterRW25 begins on Monday on my blog.

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Jan 10

Also this week, Shiny Ed Harriet reviewed Shakespeare's Borrowed Feathers by @freeburian.bsky.social from @manchesterup.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/shakespeares...

Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers by Darren Freebury-Jones

Reviewed by Harriet, 7 Jan 2025 When I was young, I spent several summers in Stratford-upon-Avon. My parents were working at the theatre there, so I was fortunate to be allowed to sit quietly at th…

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ShinyNewBooks @shinynewbooks.bsky.social · Jan 10

We're back after our Christmas break. This week, @spencro.bsky.social reviews Pictures on the Wall by Hugo Charteris in a new reprint from Michael Walmer Books shinynewbooks.co.uk/pictures-on-...

Pictures on the Wall by Hugo Charteris

Review by Rob Spence, 9 Jan 2025 This book, by the strangely neglected author of a number of novels in the fifties and sixties, is another welcome publication from the UK’s northernmost publisher, …

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