Sarah Matthews
@sarahmatthews.bsky.social
Reader, Braille tutor, interested in assistive tech, publishing and accessible art.
Trying to use this new place while totally blind so please be patient with me and add alt text to your photos
Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/
Trying to use this new place while totally blind so please be patient with me and add alt text to your photos
Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/
The boys have just left for a footie match and are anxious for a win, so good luck to them, and I’m settling down to a much needed morning of rest and reading! I’ve got Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton on my Braille display and Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner on audio. Happy Sunday 😆
November 30, 2025 at 8:55 AM
The boys have just left for a footie match and are anxious for a win, so good luck to them, and I’m settling down to a much needed morning of rest and reading! I’ve got Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton on my Braille display and Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner on audio. Happy Sunday 😆
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
Here’s my contribution to #NovellasInNovember - Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark, 1981, a wonderfully clever story where life imitates art in the literary world 💙📚 #NovNov25 #BookReview #BookSky #audiobook
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3a9743bc-7c35-4d09-8fca-498307955f20?redirect=true
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3a9743bc-7c35-4d09-8fca-498307955f20?redirect=true
Review by sarahmatthews - Loitering With Intent
Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark
Read on audio
Narrator: Marjorie Anderson
RNIB Talking...
app.thestorygraph.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Here’s my contribution to #NovellasInNovember - Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark, 1981, a wonderfully clever story where life imitates art in the literary world 💙📚 #NovNov25 #BookReview #BookSky #audiobook
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3a9743bc-7c35-4d09-8fca-498307955f20?redirect=true
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3a9743bc-7c35-4d09-8fca-498307955f20?redirect=true
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
Four novellas for Novellas in November #NovNov25
The Highwayman by Craig Johnson (2016) Not available in French. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (2023) French title: Misogynie. Wanted by Philippe Claudel. (2025) Not available in English. Two Old Women by Velda Wallis (1993) French title:…
The Highwayman by Craig Johnson (2016) Not available in French. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (2023) French title: Misogynie. Wanted by Philippe Claudel. (2025) Not available in English. Two Old Women by Velda Wallis (1993) French title:…
Four novellas for Novellas in November #NovNov25
The Highwayman by Craig Johnson (2016) Not available in French. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (2023) French title: Misogynie. Wanted by Philippe Claudel. (2025) Not available in English. Two Old Women by Velda Wallis (1993) French title: Seules dans le Grand Nord. Translated by Françoise Torchiana. Illustrated by Christophe Chabouté. It’s the end of the month and I’m still on time to post this billet about four novellas I read this week.
bookaroundthecorner.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Four novellas for Novellas in November #NovNov25
The Highwayman by Craig Johnson (2016) Not available in French. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (2023) French title: Misogynie. Wanted by Philippe Claudel. (2025) Not available in English. Two Old Women by Velda Wallis (1993) French title:…
The Highwayman by Craig Johnson (2016) Not available in French. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (2023) French title: Misogynie. Wanted by Philippe Claudel. (2025) Not available in English. Two Old Women by Velda Wallis (1993) French title:…
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
From the archive for Alberto Moravia, #BornOnThisDay in 1907, my thoughts on AGOSTINO (tr. Michael F. Moore).
One of my favourite novellas about the loss of innocence. Spare, insightful and beautifully written - a rediscovered gem for #NovNov25 #BOTD 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/a...
One of my favourite novellas about the loss of innocence. Spare, insightful and beautifully written - a rediscovered gem for #NovNov25 #BOTD 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/a...
Agostino by Alberto Moravia (tr. Michael F. Moore)
First published in the mid-1940s, Alberto Moravia’s novella, Agostino, is a striking portrayal of young boy’s loss of innocence over the course of a seemingly idyllic summer. Thirteen-year-old Agos…
jacquiwine.wordpress.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:52 AM
From the archive for Alberto Moravia, #BornOnThisDay in 1907, my thoughts on AGOSTINO (tr. Michael F. Moore).
One of my favourite novellas about the loss of innocence. Spare, insightful and beautifully written - a rediscovered gem for #NovNov25 #BOTD 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/a...
One of my favourite novellas about the loss of innocence. Spare, insightful and beautifully written - a rediscovered gem for #NovNov25 #BOTD 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/a...
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
A little girl peeks inside a tuba during the National Band Festival at Crystal Palace, London, 1923
November 28, 2025 at 9:49 AM
A little girl peeks inside a tuba during the National Band Festival at Crystal Palace, London, 1923
‘she lived in a Victorian terrace in Camden Town, where visitors entering had to negotiate their way past the four-feet-wide horns of Eric the stuffed buffalo in the hall, & would later find a carnival of bric-a-brac cramming the house from wall to wall, including a number of life-sized mannequins’
And here's my own tribute to Beryl Bainbridge (and her 1973 novel The Dressmaker in particular).
She should have won the Booker "three or four times," said her friend Paul Bailey* after her death. "Hers were better than the junk that did win."
*they used to watch Corrie and compare notes by phone
She should have won the Booker "three or four times," said her friend Paul Bailey* after her death. "Hers were better than the junk that did win."
*they used to watch Corrie and compare notes by phone
The Dressmaker at 50: a novel that encapsulates Beryl Bainbridge’s idiosyncrasies | The Booker Prizes
An uncompromising and funny story of love and death, The Dressmaker was the first of five novels by Beryl Bainbridge to be shortlisted for the Booker.
thebookerprizes.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:10 PM
‘she lived in a Victorian terrace in Camden Town, where visitors entering had to negotiate their way past the four-feet-wide horns of Eric the stuffed buffalo in the hall, & would later find a carnival of bric-a-brac cramming the house from wall to wall, including a number of life-sized mannequins’
Haha, sounds incredibly creepy, and weirdly fabulous!
If anyone's still stuck for a Christmas gift for someone they want to terrify, this vintage German circus set is currently for sale on eBay and it looks absolutely cursed.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23645365...
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23645365...
November 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Haha, sounds incredibly creepy, and weirdly fabulous!
I had to drag myself out of bed this morning to go swimming! I’m out of the flat and on the bus now so That’s a win for Thursday! 🥶 #winter
November 27, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I had to drag myself out of bed this morning to go swimming! I’m out of the flat and on the bus now so That’s a win for Thursday! 🥶 #winter
Here’s my contribution to #NovellasInNovember - Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark, 1981, a wonderfully clever story where life imitates art in the literary world 💙📚 #NovNov25 #BookReview #BookSky #audiobook
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3a9743bc-7c35-4d09-8fca-498307955f20?redirect=true
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3a9743bc-7c35-4d09-8fca-498307955f20?redirect=true
Review by sarahmatthews - Loitering With Intent
Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark
Read on audio
Narrator: Marjorie Anderson
RNIB Talking...
app.thestorygraph.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Here’s my contribution to #NovellasInNovember - Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark, 1981, a wonderfully clever story where life imitates art in the literary world 💙📚 #NovNov25 #BookReview #BookSky #audiobook
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3a9743bc-7c35-4d09-8fca-498307955f20?redirect=true
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3a9743bc-7c35-4d09-8fca-498307955f20?redirect=true
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
All My Precious Madness by Mark Bowles JUST WON best audiobook fiction at The Speakies! This is delightful! So pleased for @markabowles.bsky.social , @spiracleaudiobooks.bsky.social , wonderful reader Paul Hilton. And for us! www.thebookseller.com/british-audi...
Best Audiobook: Fiction Shortlist | The British Audio Awards
The shortlist for the Best Audiobook: Fiction category at The British Audio Awards 2025
www.thebookseller.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:47 PM
All My Precious Madness by Mark Bowles JUST WON best audiobook fiction at The Speakies! This is delightful! So pleased for @markabowles.bsky.social , @spiracleaudiobooks.bsky.social , wonderful reader Paul Hilton. And for us! www.thebookseller.com/british-audi...
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
Goodnight.
🖼️ Tove Jansson
🖼️ Tove Jansson
November 24, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Goodnight.
🖼️ Tove Jansson
🖼️ Tove Jansson
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
"Lady L. hated yellow and she wondered how the flowers had found their way into the Ming vase. There had been a time when every bouquet in the house had first to be presented to her for inspection and approval." #NovNov25 #BookSky 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/23/l...
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/23/l...
Lady L. by Romain Gary
Twice winner of the Prix Goncourt (once under a pen name), Romain Gary was a French writer, diplomat, film director and WW2 pilot of great repute. His highly engaging memoir, Promise at Dawn, is by…
jacquiwine.wordpress.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:54 AM
"Lady L. hated yellow and she wondered how the flowers had found their way into the Ming vase. There had been a time when every bouquet in the house had first to be presented to her for inspection and approval." #NovNov25 #BookSky 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/23/l...
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/23/l...
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
On the Ramblings today, another book which counts for two reading events - #NovNov25 and #NonFictionNovember. The book tells of Mary and Percy Shelley's travels in post-Revolutionary Europe - more here! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/a...
“…an aspect of tranquillity and peculiar beauty…” #novnov25 #maryshelley
Today’s post is about another book which qualifies for two November events – Non Fiction November and Novellas in November (as we are allowed to include short non fiction works). I̵…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:26 AM
On the Ramblings today, another book which counts for two reading events - #NovNov25 and #NonFictionNovember. The book tells of Mary and Percy Shelley's travels in post-Revolutionary Europe - more here! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/a...
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
3 more novella reviews for #NovNov25 for you. annabookbel.net/three-more-n...
Three more novellas for #NovNov25: Hesion,Wood and Keun
Three more reviews of very different novellas for you. Rónán Hession’s follow-up to the lovely Leonard and Hungry Paul, the buddy read for #NovNov25 and a German classic from the 1930s which …
annabookbel.net
November 22, 2025 at 11:01 AM
3 more novella reviews for #NovNov25 for you. annabookbel.net/three-more-n...
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
New on the blog today, I've written about CHILD OF ALL NATIONS by Irmgard Keun (tr. Michael Hofmann).
An eye-opening window into the uncertain existence of a family of German refugees, forced to leave their homeland for political reasons. #GermanLitMonth 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/c...
An eye-opening window into the uncertain existence of a family of German refugees, forced to leave their homeland for political reasons. #GermanLitMonth 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/c...
Child of All Nations by Irmgard Keun (tr. Michael Hofmann)
Born in Berlin in 1905, the German writer Irmgard Keun rose to prominence in the early 1930s with her striking novels Gilgi, One of Us (1931) and The Artificial Silk Girl (1932), both of which I lo…
jacquiwine.wordpress.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:14 AM
New on the blog today, I've written about CHILD OF ALL NATIONS by Irmgard Keun (tr. Michael Hofmann).
An eye-opening window into the uncertain existence of a family of German refugees, forced to leave their homeland for political reasons. #GermanLitMonth 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/c...
An eye-opening window into the uncertain existence of a family of German refugees, forced to leave their homeland for political reasons. #GermanLitMonth 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/c...
I’ve written a few thoughts on The Artist by Lucy Steeds, 2025, one of the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlisted titles that appealed to me this year 💙📚 #BookSky #BookReview #audiobook https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/89ab9704-f5ff-443b-b401-0de4122b4dc5
Review by sarahmatthews - The Artist
The Artist by Lucy Steeds
Read on audioNarrator: Tanya ReynoldsJohn Murray Press
Pub. 2025, 2...
app.thestorygraph.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:20 AM
I’ve written a few thoughts on The Artist by Lucy Steeds, 2025, one of the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlisted titles that appealed to me this year 💙📚 #BookSky #BookReview #audiobook https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/89ab9704-f5ff-443b-b401-0de4122b4dc5
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
My new blog post on Alexander Baron's brilliant, entertaining boarding-house novel, THE LOWLIFE.
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/t...
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/t...
The Lowlife – Alexander Baron
I have read some wonderful books published by Faber Editions in the past – The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford, Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks, and The Glass Pearls by Emeric Pressburger, to name a…
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:02 PM
My new blog post on Alexander Baron's brilliant, entertaining boarding-house novel, THE LOWLIFE.
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/t...
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/t...
Unusually for me I’ve got 2 rereads on the go… I fancied reading F Scott Fitzgerald again (for the 1st time in #Braille), so I’m enjoying Tender is the Night + as I’ve just received Colm Toibin’s Long Island I’ve started the #audiobook of Brooklyn, which it follows on from, to refresh my memory
November 17, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Unusually for me I’ve got 2 rereads on the go… I fancied reading F Scott Fitzgerald again (for the 1st time in #Braille), so I’m enjoying Tender is the Night + as I’ve just received Colm Toibin’s Long Island I’ve started the #audiobook of Brooklyn, which it follows on from, to refresh my memory
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
A new project to research and reveal 50 years of stories behind the rise of the disability arts movement has been awarded nearly £250,000 of National Lottery funding.
#DisabilityArts #HeritageFund
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/new-project-...
#DisabilityArts #HeritageFund
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/new-project-...
New project will research and reveal stories behind half a century of the disability arts movement
A new project to research and reveal 50 years of stories behind the rise of the disability arts movement has been awarded nearly £250,000 of National Lottery funding. Disability Arts Online (DAO) i…
www.disabilitynewsservice.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:45 AM
A new project to research and reveal 50 years of stories behind the rise of the disability arts movement has been awarded nearly £250,000 of National Lottery funding.
#DisabilityArts #HeritageFund
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/new-project-...
#DisabilityArts #HeritageFund
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/new-project-...
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
A woman on the Tube tries to open her M&S packet of cashew nuts. She pulls at it with her hands, and tears at it with her teeth. It remains completely impenetrable. With a small sigh, she puts the packet back in her bag.
November 14, 2025 at 5:50 PM
A woman on the Tube tries to open her M&S packet of cashew nuts. She pulls at it with her hands, and tears at it with her teeth. It remains completely impenetrable. With a small sigh, she puts the packet back in her bag.
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’
—Alice Wong
—Alice Wong
November 15, 2025 at 6:12 AM
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’
—Alice Wong
—Alice Wong
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
New on my blog - Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy: A bleakly funny novella alifeinbooks.co.uk/2025/11/flat... #BookSky
Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy: A bleakly funny novella - A Life in Books
Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.
alifeinbooks.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 8:27 AM
New on my blog - Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy: A bleakly funny novella alifeinbooks.co.uk/2025/11/flat... #BookSky
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
We are delighted to announce the shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation in 2025! "Each of these books arrives in English in expert and accessible translations that honour the art and voice of their original authors."
tinyurl.com/f9sccz4v
tinyurl.com/f9sccz4v
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 PM
We are delighted to announce the shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation in 2025! "Each of these books arrives in English in expert and accessible translations that honour the art and voice of their original authors."
tinyurl.com/f9sccz4v
tinyurl.com/f9sccz4v
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
Blurring the boundaries between prose and poetry, THE BOAT IN THE EVENING by Tarjei Vesaas explores the mysteries of the natural world and man's relationship with landscape. Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan. My new post here:
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/t...
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/t...
November 12, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Blurring the boundaries between prose and poetry, THE BOAT IN THE EVENING by Tarjei Vesaas explores the mysteries of the natural world and man's relationship with landscape. Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan. My new post here:
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/t...
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/t...
Reposted by Sarah Matthews
I reviewed Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix tr. Helen Stevenson but mostly just noticed that I interpreted it a little differently that most reading-in-bed.com/2025/11/12/s... #NovNov
Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated by Helen Stevenson
Welcome to Novellas in November 2025, in which I try to catch up on reviews by tackling the novellas I’ve read so far this year. This novella stuck with me, not only because it is so good, but bec…
reading-in-bed.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:23 AM
I reviewed Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix tr. Helen Stevenson but mostly just noticed that I interpreted it a little differently that most reading-in-bed.com/2025/11/12/s... #NovNov