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I am plannig to read these four books this month. My Name Is Red. Orhan PAMUK The heftiest by far is Orhan PAMUK's My Name Is Red published in 2001 by Faber&Faber. We are holidaying in Turkey soon and as I like to read literature from the country I am visiting I thought this would hit the spot. Mind you, I'll have to be mindful of baggage allowances and so perhaps an e-version or audiobook might be more practical for carrying around. Here's some info on the book from Faber&Faber This train is for. Bernie McGill It's Book Week NI later this month and local writer Bernie McGill will be sharing some readings and reflections at Suffolk Library where I attend a monthly reading group. I've already started this one having picked it up at the library last week. The book, a collection of short stories, was published by No Alibis Press in 2022. Here's some details from the publisher and information from the author herself here. There are plenty of even...

Three men on an island - James MacIntyre

By Chris Tracey - December 18, 2025

Really enjoyed this memoir from the reserved shelves of Libraries NI. An account of three artists, George Campbell, Gerard Dillon and James MacIntyre spending the summer of 1951 on the Island of Inishlacken on the western coast of Ireland across from Roundstone, County Galway. James was the youngest of the three and the author of the memoir. Gerard died in 1971, George in 1979 and James in 2015. What I liked about this memoir was the sense of comradeship and adventure back in the early 1950s. The stories of the artistic community in Belfast of the time and the familiar (to me) places mentioned all combined to keep me turning the pages. There are delightful pen portraits of the characters and islanders. The observations on the work of artists developing their style were fascinating. I went in search of this book having heard about it through the publicity for an event in the FE McWilliam Gallery in Banbridge. Back in November 2025 the Friends of the Gallery hosted an artist talk b...

September 2025 Reading. Scheduling my TBR stack

By Chris Tracey - September 01, 2025

The plan has been a while in the making. It is to address my ToBeRead (TBR) stack which gets bigger by the week. Have you a similar pile? You know, the one that sits on a shelf or at the side of your bed. Yes that one! You pass a bookshop and something new catches your eye. Okay then, let's get that. Or you've been to a book launch, met the author and because it was a free event (maybe with a glass of wine) you felt it was just downright rude not to buy a copy of their latest. Don't even think of the book programmes on TV and Radio when listening in inevitably leads to another purchase. So yes, I welcome all those opportunities for the new but feel the need to balance the flow and make room for them. The way I'm doing that is through a reading planner. I'll share this on another post but essentially I have created a specific calendar on my phone to schedule a month's reading in advance. What's the saying? Those who fail to plan are planning to fail. ...

Chris's bookshelf: read

Politics On the Edge: A Memoir From Within

But What Can I Do?: Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It

Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and the Art of Living

Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words

17: Your Ultimate Guide to a Better, Brilliant You

Kiki Man Ray: Art, Love, and Rivalry in 1920s Paris

The Turn of the Screw (Everyman's Library

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World

What Went Wrong With Brexit: And What We Can Do About It

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