Beatrice Holloway

A Poor topic

A Poor Topic Deciding what to call this post was rather a challenge – it was inspired by reading The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge but isn’t fully a review of the book....

Books are DOORS to another world

Books are DOORS to another world – are you brave enough to open one and read it?

Do you like books set pre-20th century?

If you enjoy reading books set in the days and years before 1900, here are a few you might want to consider:

Names in Titles

To what extent are you attracted to a book by the name of a person or place in the title? Here are some names of people in titles by TSL authors…

Discovering unknown stories of the past greatly appeals, and while novels and non-fiction books, including memoirs, are most prevalent, there are a few creative types who have adapted the accounts for the stage. We...

Doth quoth the Raven…

I had to look up where ‘Doth quoth the Raven’ came from – only to discover it was a poem by Edgar Allen Poe called The Raven. Literature influences our language – a quick...

Travel with a book

I don’t need to tell you that there are various ways of travelling. And with concern about the climate and environment, more people are looking to stay local where possible. Irrespective of your views...

Twists in the plot

Telling someone there’s a twist in the plot of a book is nearly, in my opinion, as bad as giving away the ending of a book. However, how else can I let potential readers...

Cartoon Covers – don’t assume…

The jury is still out, as far as I’m concerned, about the role a cover plays in whether a book is bought or not. Is it the cover, is it the title or something...

Dogs, Cats and Horses

You either love animals or you don’t… and of those who love animals, some have a preference for a particular kind or breed. Here at TSL, we don’t discern… as seen in our collection...

Factually-based titles featuring ‘and’

What can I say? … the word ‘and’ is well used in these non-fiction books, not least in the title. Criminals and Crocodiles – Arnold Woolley Dunn and Dusted – Keith Howard The Protestant...

National Poetry Day – did you miss it?

28 September is designated National Poetry Day – at least in the UK. At TSL, we don’t see one day as a special day – all days are special, so below are the our...

short stories AND poetry

Have you ever noticed how many compilations or anthologies have the word ‘AND’ in their titles? Here’s a selection from TSL slightly under a quarter of our short story and poetry titles. Ravelled and...

Growing pains

Good Books which deal with growing pains are actually quite rare, I think. But here are a few which have had an impact on me: Leslie Tate – Heaven’s Rage Louisa May Alcott –...

Horses and donkeys

In days gone by, horses and donkeys were important for transport. Today in many rural settings, they can still be found performing similar functions whilst in more affluent areas, horses are a hobby and...