Crime and Pentominoes

by Sarah

By some strange synchronicity, Lucy (my partner in crime here at Hard Book Habit) and I, have both ended up working night shifts for the council (albeit in different corners of the UK).… Continue reading →

A Masterclass in Dealing with Noisy Neighbours by Marcel Proust

by Sarah

I was given this slim volume of Marcel Proust’s Letters to the Lady Upstairs for Christmas, and have been keeping it for a rainy day. With the heatwave we’ve been experiencing I can hardly… Continue reading →

Agatha Christie, a duck, and nightshift knitting

by Lucy

I’m still working so much I’m not sure of my own age (I told someone I was 43, when I’m 42) and with all the heat simmering my brain until soft(er), I actually… Continue reading →

We’re going to need a bigger handbag…

by Lucy

My brain is currently the consistency of a lukewarm bowl of Angel Delight (and not even butterscotch, the only good flavour, but some putrid crap like strawberry). As I’m currently doing the zero… Continue reading →

Would I run for new books? Hell yeah!

by Sarah

An unexpected boon of getting up early on a Saturday morning to run 3 miles at my local parkrun (the very lovely Colby Gardens) is being able to pop into Narberth on my… Continue reading →

#20BooksofSummer : June in Review

by Sarah

One month down in my #20BooksofSummer reading challenge (hosted by Cathy at 746 Books) and – surprise, surprise, – I’m more or less on schedule! My first book was Meena Kandasamy’s When I Hit… Continue reading →

Is it a Kind of Dream?

by Sarah

I might miss how easy it is to score a cultural fix in the city, and the silky smooth tarmac beneath my feet, but at this time of year the countryside wins hands… Continue reading →

Enid Blyton, a split lip, and the Reformation

by Lucy

When I was five years old and waiting at the bus stop after school, a bigger boy called Simon (names have not been changed to protect the innocent as he was proper guilty)… Continue reading →

Amanda Craig ‘The Lie of the Land’

by Sarah

Amanda Craig’s The Lie of The Land was last month’s book group read. I must admit, the initial premise of the novel – London-based Lottie and Quentin Bredon postponing their divorce and downsizing… Continue reading →

In celebration of British summertime, my thoughts on ‘Winter’ by Ali Smith.

by Sarah

They say timing is everything, and so it is that after the balmiest weather we’ve had in the UK for a long time, I’ve finally got around to write about Winter by Ali… Continue reading →