• Current Reading Header

    I’ve been reading

    Below are some of the books I’ve been reading.
    For an in-depth review of each book, please click on the cover image.

  • READING WITH PATRICK

    Reading With Patrick

    reading with patrick

    Michelle Kuo
    English teacher Michelle Kuo temporarily forgoes a legal career to resume teaching a former pupil, Patrick, to read, after Patrick lands in jail charged with murder. A deeply moving, true account of the friendship that grows between the two, and of the power of books to change lives. The memoir resonated with me, particularly for some of the parallels with one of my novels, The Last Time We Spoke.

  • ALL THE BROKEN PLACES

    All The Broken Places

    all the broken places

    John Boyne
    In this compelling sequel to ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’, the now 91-year-old daughter of a former SS commandant at Auschwitz is forced to confront her past, after spending a lifetime trying to escape it. A powerful and thought-provoking exploration of guilt, complicity, and grief.

  • IN MY TIME OF DYING

    In My Time of Dying

    in my time of dying

    Sebastian Junger
    When his dead father appears to him while he is bleeding out from a ruptured aortic aneurysm, former war reporter Sebastian Junger is forced to confront his beliefs about an afterlife. In this book he explores both physical and metaphysical explanations for a phenomenon commonly described by those who have survived a near-death experience – namely the visitation of close family members from beyond the grave. A poignant, intelligent, and powerful meditation on human life, as set against the unknown of death.

  • QUESTION 7

    Question 7

    question 7

    Richard Flanagan
    This deeply affecting book by Richard Flanagan defies easy description. Flanagan grapples with the enigma that is the human condition, with man’s tendency to do terrible things, with cause and effect, anchoring these huge concepts in his own heritage and history. Highly recommend.

  • NOVELIST AS VOCATION

    Novelist As Vocation

    novelist as vocation

    Haruki Murakami
    In this memoir-style work, Haruki Murakami reflects on his journey as a novelist. The book affords insights into the seminal moments in his writing life, his writing rituals, and the reception his work has received both at ‘home’ in Japan and abroad. A largely personal exploration of his vocation, peppered with some more universally applicable wisdoms.

  • A PLACE FOR US

    A Place For Us

    a place for us

    Fatima Farheen Mirza
    Beautiful, heartrending, powerful – the story about a devout Muslim family in the US straddling two very different worlds, and the consequences of trying to reconcile contrasting customs in a bid to find a place to call home.

  • THE LITTLE VIRTUES

    The Little Virtues

    the little virtues

    Natalia Ginsburg
    An astounding collection of essays by Italian writer Natalia Ginsburg, written between 1944-1962 on life’s big themes: marriage, grief, politics, parenthood, having a vocation . . . Dense with wisdom and astute insight, they are surely as pertinent now as they were then.