Into the Read

In the beginning, Echostains, my art blog, featured art history, design, film, book reviews – in short a pot pouri of art/arts related topics. I then decided to transfer the book and film reviews and subjects to another blog. Thus Bookstains was born. Content on Bookstains has been sporadic, to say the least over the

Great Lines: Charlotte Bronte

Great lines ; Charlotte delivers

Happy Birthday Thomas Hardy!

English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy (2nd June 1840 – 11th January 1928) Dorset, England focused his work on the decline of rural society. He was a great fan of Charles Dickens and George Elliot. His romantic poetry was influenced by William Wordsworth. Hardy regarded himself foremost, as a poet. His first poetry collection was published in

The Bronte, Pooh, Poe, Briggs birthday party!

No sooner do I begin writing about one author whose birthday it is, –  another pops up!   Over the past three days Anne Bronte, A.A. Milne, Raymond Briggs and Edgar Allen Poe have all celebrated  birthdays, or to be exact, they have had their birthdays celebrated for them – apart from Raymond Briggs who at 78, is still

Book Review ‘London Belongs to Me’ by Norman Collins

Just finished ‘London belongs to me’ by Norman Collins, and it’s took me quite a while to read it (just saving it for bedtime reading).  I enjoyed it very much.  On the face of it looked like it may have mirrored Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square’, but apart from it being set in a shared house in

Authors I’ve read: Daphne Du Maurier ‘Rebecca

  I’ve read such a lot of Daphne Du Maurier books – some good and some better,  If I had to rate them, number one would surely be Rebecca.  The  first line sets the mood  of the book, as we are whisked away back in time to the mysterious Manderley and the equally mysterious Max De Winter.