Archive by Author
Book review: The Brightest Star in the Sky, Marian Keyes
Posted on30. Mar, 2010 by Rachael.
If you read my previous blog about Marian Keyes then you’ll know I like her, I like her a lot. I was foaming at the mouth with excitement when The Brightest Star in the Sky was released.
Having read every one of Keyes’ books I know what I’m in for, tears of both laughter and sorrow. [...]
Continue Reading
Marian Keyes – chuckles and tears
Posted on05. Mar, 2010 by Rachael.
First of all let me just tell you that I’m a HUGE fan of Marian Keyes. I have read all her books, read every* interview, I make sure I see any telly programme she appears on and I subscribe to her monthly blog. Have I convinced you yet? If not, then you should also know [...]
Continue Reading
Single this Valentine’s Day? Reasons to be cheerful.
Posted on12. Feb, 2010 by Rachael.
A couple years ago a friend of mine and I got into the habit of meeting fortnightly for an informal dinner and a couple of drinks. We’d discuss the highs and, more often, lows of dating in your thirties – when it felt like we were rolling from one mess to another and everybody else [...]
Continue Reading
The Lost Man Booker Prize – Novels from 1970 finally get their day.
Posted on05. Feb, 2010 by Rachael.
This year we have two Man Booker Prizes to look forward to – the annual Man Booker Prize and the recently announced one-off Lost Man Booker Prize.
In 1971 it was decided that the prize should only be awarded to novels published in the current year and not retrospectively. At the same time, the date of [...]
Continue Reading
Poetry on Friday – Robbie Burns
Posted on22. Jan, 2010 by Rachael.
On 25th January, Scotland and many Scots around the world will be celebrating the life and works of national Bard, Robert Burns with A Burns’ Night Supper.
Sparkle’s Poetry on Friday spot is a perfect opportunity to share some of his wonderful poems.
The first Burns poem I read was Tam o’Shanter, at school in an English [...]
Continue Reading
Poetry on Friday – Late by Christopher Reid
Posted on15. Jan, 2010 by Rachael.
Christopher Reid’s touchingly beautiful tribute to his late wife recently won a Costa Book Award in the ‘Poetry’ category. A Scattering is made up of four sequences and covers the heartbreak of watching his beloved wife die and his life afterwards[...]
Continue Reading
The Costa Book Awards
Posted on12. Jan, 2010 by Rachael.
As a lover of all things ‘Books’ I always like to keep a keen eye on the nominations and winners of The Costa Book Awards, formerly the Whitbread Book Awards. It’s a great opportunity for wonderful books to be showcased and get some well deserved publicity. Over the years I have found some gems that [...]
Continue Reading
Poetry on Friday – Winter and Snow by Walter de le Mare
Posted on08. Jan, 2010 by Rachael.
Unless you’ve been on the Moon or locked in a floatation tank this week, you’ll know that the UK is pretty much all white, icy and cold. I think us Brits are already all a bit mad – but throw some snow into the mix and everyone seems to be in a total tiz. It [...]
Continue Reading
Reading resolutions and my ‘Noughties’ negligence
Posted on04. Jan, 2010 by Rachael.
Now it’s that dreaded time of making resolutions, beating yourself up for doing so badly at last year’s lot. You’re promising yourself that you’ll do more of the ‘good’ things and hardly any ‘bad’ things. I don’t know about you, but I always find that New Year’s Resolutions are a bit like a child saying a prayer with one eye open[...]
Continue Reading
Poetry on Friday – New Beginnings and O Tell Me The Truth About Love
Posted on01. Jan, 2010 by Rachael.
As the sun rose over a new day, new year and new decade this Friday I thought it only right to share with you a poem about new beginnings, shaking off the old and being positive about the new. I’ve added O Tell Me The Truth About Love by WH Auden just because it always [...]
Continue Reading
What is Sparkle?
It's a busy community, it's a lively chat forum, it's friendship, it's speed dating, it's romance, it's finding mates, it's arranging events - it's Sparkle..
Sparkle takes social networking and online communities to a new level, letting you find people with shared interests and engage in captivating online activities.
