Dave Appleby

Othello On 4th March 2026, I watched Othello, recorded live in a west end theatre and beamed to the Cineworld screen at the Beacon cinema in Eastbou...

Saw the Trafalgar theatre production of Othello as a screencast last night. Wonderful! My full review:
daja57.blogspot.com/2026/03/othe...

"Trumpet" by Jackie Kay When Joss Moody, a famous jazz trumpeter, dies, it is discovered that 'he' was a woman, who lived as a man. His grieving widow, the only one...

Just finished 'Trumpet' by Jackie Kay (yes, I'm late to this party) a fascinating novel exploring the identity of a cross-dressing jazzman. My full review: bit.ly/4rVXvje

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"The Snow Ball" by Brigid Brophy Elegant. Glittering. Intoxicating. But is this account of a costume party at a rich man's house, with overtones of Mozart's Don Giovanni, ...

During a fabulous New Year's Eve party, three couples absent themselves from the festivities to copulate. Here is my review of 'The Snow Ball' by Brigid Brophy: bit.ly/3OQOsRJ

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"Gently Does It" by Alan Hunter The book that introduced Chief Inspector George Gently who went on to solve crime in another 46 novels, not to mention a TV drama starring ...

Thought I'd try an Inspector George Gently novel, the first of 46! My review: bit.ly/4aZbY6q

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"Model Behavior" by Jay McInerney In Bright Lights, Big City the 2nd person narrator works for a New York magazine as a fact-checker although his employment seems precarious...

I've just finished my second Jay McInerney book, 'Model Behavior' and in subject matter it is almost identical to the first one I read 'Bright Lights, Big City'. Write what you know but come on!

My full review: bit.ly/4aAvo2I

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"The Devil's Elixirs" bt E T A Hoffmann This Gothic novel is heavy on plot, if you can call this convoluted picaresque a plot, but light on character. Having drunk a wine associate...

I struggled to finish this extravagantly Gothic classic from the inspiration behind Offenbach's Tales from Hoffman

bit.ly/46o4B7e

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"All the Days I Did Not Live" by Anna Vaught The trope of the husband who controls the wife, so she has a less than fulfilled life, is now so common it has become a genre. It has a long...

Just completed 'All the Days I did not Live' by @bookwormvaught.bsky.social published by @renardpress.com An interesting and gently lyrical read.

My review: bit.ly/4tQjrNT

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If only Woking was in Wales ...

Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.

Breaking News: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor becomes eligible for his senior bus pass today. This entitles him to free travel on local buses in England and Wales (between 9.30 AM and 11 PM). Including Woking.

I'm too greedy. If I want to read a book I can't wait.

"Four Letters of Love" by Niall Williams “ When I was twelve years old God spoke to my father for the first time. God didn't say much .” This is the opening of a debut novel of extr...

I've just completed the remarkable 'Four Letters of Love' by Niall Williams. Wow!

My full review: bit.ly/4tJDwp5

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"Bright Lights, Big City" by Jay McInerney Naturalistic contemporary literary fiction narrated in the 2nd person (which is extremely unusual in a novel) and the present tense. The n...

I've just finished 'Bright Lights, Big City' by Jay McInerney, a novel unusual for being written in the 2nd person, which chronicles the hero's descent into drug-fuelled hell. Some fantastic lines (and not just the ones he snorts).

My review: bit.ly/4tFjDiV

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So evocative.

"The House in Paris" by Elizabeth Bowen I struggled to enjoy this book. Two children, Henrietta Leopold, meet at a house in Paris. The Fishers, mother and daughter, are acting as c...

I've just finished The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen and I am looking forward to my reading group explaining to me why it is actually so much better than I think it is.

My review: bit.ly/466aPZr

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"The Names" by Florence Knapp The prologue shows Cora going to register the birth of her newborn son. What should she call him? Her husband insists on Gordon, his name a...

Just finished 'The Names' by Florence Knapp, an interesting debut novel (Sunday Times bestseller) about domestic abuse.

My review: bit.ly/4kpUIMa

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On no! Another earworm. Ba ba ba-baaa

Delighted to discover that the 'Someone Special' card at Card Factory is priced at 99p. Not that special, then.

"Do What Thou Wilt" by Aleister Crowley A biography of Aleister Crowley, creator of the Thelema rite of ceremonial magic, dubbed by the British press: the most evil man in the wo...

I've just finished 'Do What Thou Wilt', a biography of occultist Aleister Crowley. It's strange how the life of a man once called 'the wickedest man in the world' should be so sad and wearisome.
bit.ly/4kfqGue

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"To Love and Be Wise" by Josephine Tey Salcott St Mary is an English village beloved by writers: it is an artist's colony containing three novelists, a broadcaster, a playwright,...

Just finished another Josephine Tey crime novel: 'To Love and Be Wise'. Very enjoyable, clever solution. My full review: bit.ly/4a6IFOX

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Apparently Virginia Woolf thought it was Charlotte Bronte's best novel.

Inexplicable

"Villette" by Charlotte Bronte A preposterous plot told by the world's most miserable narrator in prolix and hysterical language. And French. Imagine that when you are you...

The best thing about having finished 'Villette' by Charlotte Bronte is that I'll never read it again. I look forward to my reading group to try to understand why anyone can enjoy this dreadful book. My review: bit.ly/4a7z1f8

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Remembering my dad, who would have been 104 today.

all the time

Love seeing Tey get love, that crisp plotting and moral gray areas still hit. As a writer it nudges me to keep scenes tight, congrats on finishing and sharing. #Booksky

"The Franchise Affair" by Josephine Tey An elderly woman and her middle-aged daughter are accused of having abducted and beaten a girl who went missing from her home for four weeks...

Just finished 'The Franchise Affair' by Josephine Tey, ranked 11th in the Crime Writers' Association' 100 best crime novels of all time.

My review: bit.ly/4q2gbMa

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"The Man in the Queue" by Josephine Tey Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time was chosen by the Crime Writer's Association as the best crime novel of all time; she also was ranke...

As a dweller in that great town, I was delighted to see Eastbourne (complete with Holywell and Beachy Head) feature in Josephine Tey's first murder mystery, The Man in the Queue.

And it's a great read!

My review: bit.ly/4acEYsd

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"Hackenfeller's Ape" by Brigid Brophy In this novel, London Zoo houses a pair of Hackenfeller's Apes, the nearest primates to humans. The Professor is studying them, hoping to be...

Just finished my first Brigid Brophy book 'Hackenfeller's Ape' ... 73 years after it was published. Better late than never! Excited to explore more by this author.

Here's my review:
bit.ly/49Qo7Kl

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"One of Us" by Elizabeth Day Ben, a politician transparently based on Boris Johnson, intends to bid for the premiership. But will he be destroyed by the murky secrets in...

Once again I am struggling to understand how a poorly written book with stereotyped characters and a predictable plot can become a best-seller. My review of Elizabeth Day's 'One of Us': bit.ly/49L17N6

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"Laurels are Poison" by Gladys Mitchell A whodunnit set in a Teacher Training College for Young Ladies. It seems to be paying homage to Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers, a murder...

Just finished 'Laurels are Poison' written in 1942 by Gladys Mitchell. Apparently Larkin called her 'the great Gladys'. Why? Trigger warnings to include racism and the advocacy of rape as a courtship strategy. My full review: bit.ly/3LD40r9

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