Reactions to Reading

The world needs another blog about books. Doesn’t it?

OK maybe not, but I need to write about something I enjoy and feel passionate about as a counter balance to my working days which are spent writing about bureaucratic nonsense. Ugh.

I learned to read long before I went to school and when I finally arrived there I drove my teachers mad with my hunger for more books. 35-odd years later I still love to read more than just about anything else.

I love the escape. I love the infinite way words can be put together. I love the worlds that books show me. I love the anticipation I feel when I’m about to start a new book. I love the way great books and fabulous characters make me feel.

I have a preference for crime fiction which will be reflected in this blog. Of late I’ve been experimenting with new-to-me authors due to my growing disappointment with the latest offerings from the authors I’ve been reading for years. I’ve started searching out Australian authors (I’m Australian) and have, like most of the mystery reading world, also become fascinated by Scandinavian crime fiction.

There will be occasional forays into biography, historical fiction, sci-fi and anything else that takes my fancy. In fact my favourite author, Douglas Adams, is not a crime writer at all. But his words make me laugh ’til I hurt and he had a unique, beautiful way of observing our crazy world.

If this particular mish-mash of subject matter doesn’t appeal to you I won’t be offended if you don’t follow my blog. Frankly, I’m doing this more for me than for you anyway.

You can contact me by leaving a comment on any post or via email at bsquaredinoz [at] gmail [dot] com.

Copies of most reviews from this site are also published at Fair Dinkum Book Reviews (book reviews by Australian readers) and also at my Good Reads account.

My Review Policy

The majority of books reviewed here are books from my own collection or books borrowed from local libraries. Where I have received a book directly or indirectly from a publisher or author for the specific purpose of providing a review I will identify that clearly on the relevant review post.

I review every book I finish reading, regardless of whether I liked the book or not.

If authors or publishers wish to provide me with a copy of a book for review please note:

• If I finish the book I will publish a review of the book, regardless of whether I like it or not
• I read mostly crime fiction as well as some thrillers, literary fiction, historical fiction. I don’t read fantasy, romance or sci-fi and don’t read a lot of non-fiction although occasionally dabble in biography and history.
• I only review books in hard copy or audio book format. I don’t read or review e-books.
• After I have posted a review I will email you a permalink of the review. I will not provide you with an advance copy of the review nor will I submit a review for approval before publishing.
• I am happy for you to use text from my review(s) in promotional material, but I do like to be notified.
• I reserve the right to decide not to read a book. I can’t predict when I will get around to the book you have supplied although I will make every effort to publish a review in line with the publishing schedule of the book.
• I do not sell my used books but do swap them via bookswapping sites and otherwise donate them to other readers.