Notes on books, reading and the shelf

Notes on books, reading and the shelf

Everything here is one reader's working notes — what to read next, which order to read it in, and where to find it for less than the cover price.

001
An e-reader held open in one hand, its screen showing a page of text

Paperback or Screen

After a decade of the argument, the honest position is that it depends entirely on the book.

Filed The ShelfAdded 28 July 2026
002
A dark shelf lined with crime and thriller hardbacks

Crime Fiction as Comfort Reading

Murder should not be soothing. For a great many readers it reliably is, and the reason is structural.

Filed ReadingAdded 9 July 2026
004
Three people talking across a library table with books open in front of them

A Book Club That Actually Works

Most book clubs die in the fourth month. The ones that last have three rules and ignore almost everything else.

Filed ReadingAdded 3 June 2026
005
A heavily worn old book, its boards softened by rereading

In Defence of Re-Reading

You are not the person who read it the first time, which is the entire point.

Filed ReadingAdded 16 May 2026
006
Cloth-bound hardbacks stacked against a warm orange wall

Why Anyone Still Buys Hardbacks

Three times the price, twice the weight, impossible to read in the bath. And still worth it for a specific and narrow set of books.

Filed The ShelfAdded 29 April 2026
007
A bedside table with a stack of unfinished books and an alarm clock

The Fifty Page Rule

Giving up on a book is a skill, not a failure, and most readers learn it far too late.

Filed ReadingAdded 11 April 2026
008
A shopper leaning over a table piled with second-hand books

The Art of the Charity Shop Shelf

Two minutes per shop, in the right order, and you will find more than the person browsing for twenty.

Filed Second-handAdded 24 March 2026
009
A neat stack of coloured paperbacks laid flat, spines out

Series Order or Publication Order

Chronological or as-written? The answer is different for crime, fantasy and everything else, and it matters more than people think.

Filed ReadingAdded 7 March 2026
010
Rows of colourful paperback spines packed along a shelf

Where to Start With Discworld

Forty-one novels and no obvious front door. The honest answer is that you should not start at the beginning.

Filed ReadingAdded 19 February 2026