Author Archives: Beth Wren
Review: Strange the Dreamer, Laini Taylor
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in […]
The London Diaries: Romeo + Juliet at the Backyard Cinema
A few weeks ago for my friend’s birthday, I took her to the Backyard Cinema screening of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. The idea behind Backyard Cinema is to offer a more immersive cinema experience, and that was something we totally felt from the moment we stepped inside the beautiful London church. Taking inspiration from Luhrmann’s […]
Poetry Corner | Poem #32
I’ll happily drown if you’ll be there too.
Review: Everyone Brave is Forgiven, Chris Cleave
When war is declared, Mary North leaves finishing school unfinished, goes straight to the War Office, and signs up. Tom Shaw decides to give it a miss – until his flatmate Alistair unexpectedly enlists, and the conflict can no longer be avoided. Young, bright and brave, Mary is certain she’d be a marvelous spy. When […]
The London Diaries: Horniman Museum and Gardens
If you’re anything like me and the thought of visiting London’s V&A, or the Natural History Museum on a Saturday afternoon fills you with fear, you might like to try the quieter and smaller Horniman Museum and Gardens, tucked away in SE London. The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a 5 minute walk from Forest Hill […]
Review: Three Daughters of Eve, Elif Shafak
Is it cheating to listen to a book instead of reading it? I’ve always somehow counted it as morally wrong in typical snooty bookworm style. But I had a deadline to read this book, and with a free Audible credit and a lot of time commuting and pottering where I liked to listen to […]
Poetry Corner | Poem #31
And I was always told that there was a permanence in change.
The Diary of an Unpublished Author #8
Dear Diary, This one is all about rejections. Dum, dum, dum. I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t received any rejections from literary agents in the quest for a book publishing deal… Don’t worry, people will tell you. [Insert famous author name here] received hundreds of rejections before they finally got published. That’s all well and good, and […]
Review: The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. The black sign, painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, reads: Opens at Nightfall Closes at Dawn As the sun disappears beyond the horizon, all over the tents small lights begin to flicker, as though […]
Poetry Corner | Poem #30: Stargazing
I looked up and saw the Milky Way painted across the sky like it wasn’t real and it made me feel like, really, neither was I.
Bethany Wren 