Hello, I’m Nora

I was a school librarian for eleven years. The best part of the job was the five minutes after the bell, when a student would come back to the desk and say “Have you got another one like that?” This site is my attempt to keep having that conversation.

I read about sixty books a year. Most of them are literary fiction, quieter fantasy, essays and the occasional slim book of poems. I don’t review everything I read; you can see the full list, abandoned books included, in my reading log.

How I rate books

• 5 A book I’ll press into people’s hands. Rare: about one a year.
• 4 Excellent, with a flaw or two I could name.
• 3 Good company. Glad I read it, unlikely to reread it.
• 2 Something didn’t work for me, and I’ll say what.
• 1 I finished it so you don’t have to. I almost never post these.

Review copies

I’m happy to receive review copies, but I can’t promise a review, and I’ll always say when a book was sent to me. I don’t accept payment for reviews, and I don’t run sponsored posts.

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

A line I had pinned above the library desk for years. I’ve since stopped worrying about who said it first.

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Say hello

Recommendations, disagreements and photos of your own teetering piles are all welcome at nora@example.com.