Author Archives: Beth Wren
Review: Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
“Who are you? What have we done to each other? These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it […]
Exploring Dresden: Zwinger
After having lived in Dresden for nearly a month, and having visited the Zwinger a couple of times, I have to admit that I am still a little unsure exactly what it is. The best way to describe it would probably be a sort of palace/garden hybrid built in the Rococo style by Augustus the […]
Review: The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton
“It is 1866, and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a whore has tried to end her life, and […]
Exploring Dresden: The Elbe
Last week we were graced with a couple of days of lovely warm weather here in Dresden, and I used the opportunity to explore some of the city’s beautiful outside spaces. The river Elbe winds it way through the heart of the city, and with cycle and footpaths close to both sides of the river banks, and […]
Exploring Dresden: Großer Garten
Just when I was beginning to fear that winter had decided to throw caution to the wind and jump forwards a couple of months, today thankfully proved me wrong, and the entire city has been bathing in a glorious autumnal sunshine. With more good weather promised to come, I decided to make the most of it and […]
Exploring Dresden: Frauenkirche
So I am now a resident of Dresden, complete with host German family, real German children to look after, and an official residency confirmation from the town hall. It’s not even been a week yet, but I’ve already found plenty of time to to learn how to say important words like ‘blueberry muffin’ and ‘mole’ […]
Packing for Dresden
The essentials: 1. Vans, mint green coloured. 2. Oversized comfy jumper from H&M. 3. Notebooks and pen. 4. Cute cards from friends. 5. Cath Kidston luggage tag, a present from a friend. 6. Passport. 7. Kindle. 8. German dictionary, old and battered. 9. PROPER TEA.
An Ode to York
On Saturday I am moving to Dresden and in this way I will be starting a new chapter in my life. But before I turn these new pages, I must first finish an old chapter. A dusty old chapter full of Medieval architecture, cobbled streets, cosy coffee shops, and a huge Gothic cathedral. I am, […]
Review: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway
Boy, did it take me a long time to finish this one. I really knew absolutely nothing about this book, or Hemingway, before I picked it up and it subsequently took me a while to get into Hemingway’s style of war narrative, including frequent phrases and sentences kept in untranslated Spanish. Set during the Spanish […]
Graduating and Other Grown Up Things
Hello! Where have I been? You may be wondering. Probably not actually. Rather than indulge myself with thoughts of teary-eyed readers weeping at my lack of online presence, the happenings of my shall hereby be recorded in this post for cathartic purposes only. Things what I did after I had to read a lot of books. […]
Bethany Wren 