AvidBards
Books

Book Review – Normal People by Sally Rooney

Another book straight off the 2018 Man Booker long list, Sally Rooney, the author of Conversation with Friends, bring the long during and complex friendship between Connell and Marianne to life in Normal People. I had heard so many praises for Conversation with Friends over the years that when Rooney’s latest novel, and her first one since Conversation, came out I immediately knew I wanted to pick it up. Additionally, as a general rule, I am a huge fan of any and all popular guy/girl galls for the unpopular guy/girl. Not entirely sure why, but the dynamics and challenges that…

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TV Shows

5 Best Period Dramas for Valentine’s Day

It’s that time of the year again when we see flowers everywhere and the price of chocolate is blasphemously high again. Last year, I did a list of my favourite unconventional Valentine’s Day movies to watch. This year, I’m feeling a little more old-fashioned, feeling the nostalgia for the kind of romance that my grandparents or great grandparents would have experienced. It’s easy to feel romanced by the quiet desires and subtle interactions that have you feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside just because of a slight hand graze. Sure, it’s not realistic, and it’s definitely not the world…

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Books

D. I. Jackman & D. S. Evans Audiobook Series Mini-Review

When it comes to thrillers and detective novels, I have always struggled to find ones that I enjoy. Particularly when it comes to thriller series. So much seems to become formulaic and eventually, incredibly predictable to the point that there is very little of interest left. And usually, this is completely separate from the way that the novel is written. It could be the best writing I’ve ever read and I will still find it difficult to enjoy. So when I first saw adverts for Joy Ellis’ D. I. Jackman & D. S. Evans series on audible, I was highly…

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Books

2018 Man Booker Prize Winner

Giving up the standards of literary prizes At the end of 2018, on October 16th, the 2018 Man Booker Prize was announced, and by a unanimous vote was awarded to Anna Burns for Milkman. Now you might be thinking that the end of February might be slightly late to talk about the award winner. And to be perfectly honest, I have been putting off this post. Simply because, while the novel received many praises, I could not and did not finish it. The experimental novel tells the story of an unnamed middle sister who is harassed by an older married…

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Books

Mezmerising Bookshelves Part 2

January has been a month of transitions for me. From moving countries, to a return to being a student, and moving into a new apartment, it has been incredibly hectic. So much so that it has been slow going on the AvidBards social media pages (which I totally apologise for). But no matter how busy I am, and how much work I have to do for school or life admin as an “adult”, one thing I seem to find time for is scrolling Pinterest. Specifically, aesthetic bookshelves on Pinterest. Moving to a new country has meant that I was not…

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Books

“The Haunting of Hill House”: Haunting and Tragic

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson – Book Review The name “Hill House” has definitely become more popular in the last year, in part thanks to the release of the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. But before it was a 10 part series, it was a book by Shirley Jackson. Moreover, it was considered one of the scariest horror novels of the 1950s and 60s. Shirley Jackson was an American author who doubled as a housewife. Stories were her way of keeping herself entertained. And not only did she succeed to keep herself entertained but so too the countless of readers…

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