The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

Putting up my umbrella on the sand to begin Beach Week A decade before Silent Spring, this was a best seller. It is one of the most well-written books on natural history I’ve ever read. The lyrical prose is grounded firmly in science, yet conveys the wonder and majesty of the sea. Taking a subject [...]

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Beach Week on Vulpes Libris.

After all the excitement of last week (also known as  ‘Richard Armitage Week’) we all felt in need of a break, so we’re packing the sunshade, the factor 30 (particularly important for the tips of the little pointy vulpine ears), the insect repellent, the gritty sandwiches and the picnic hamper … and heading for the [...]

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Ghosts and Lightning, by Trevor Byrne

This review contains strong language. “What d’yeh do when yer ma’s gone, like?” Denny asks on page 6 of Ghosts and Lightning and in the rest of the book Denny strives to answer this question. Ghosts and Lightning charts Denny’s re-emergence in his home town of Dublin after his mother’s death, where he is reunited [...]

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The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

So, you all know how I feel about a certain series of vampire books, I didn’t pull any punches and the comments are still rolling on in   Following on from these books the floodgates opened and there’s barely a shelf in teen fiction that doesn’t have some sort of Vamp book sitting on it [...]

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Lowboy by John Wray – sifting through the shadows of a very slippery customer …

Early one morning, sixteen-year-old Will Heller is seen heading into the New York subway. With each passing minute he ventures deeper underground and further from the world of light and reason. Meanwhile, above ground, Violet, the boy’s mother, reports Will missing and seeks the help of Detective Ali Lateef. They soon discover that Emily, Will’s [...]

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Not Dancing with Cuba: a Public Autocritique

Comrades, I cannot – as I had hoped – post about Alma Guillermoprieto’s Dancing with Cuba today.  I am afraid that in this case there are no overenthusiastic dogs, no dodgy Argentine internet connections; I can’t even blame the cat Koba, and he can be blamed for most things.  No, the truth is that I [...]

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In Conversation with: Richard Armitage.

In the latest in our occasional series “In Conversation with …” we’re delighted to welcome actor Richard Armitage to Vulpes Libris. After working steadily for many years as an actor – both in the theatre and on television – most notably in Sparkhouse and Cold Feet – Richard came to sudden prominence in 2004 with [...]

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The Borders Book Festival: Special Report

RosyB talks about her first event as a published author at The Borders Book Festival in Melrose and tells us why when it comes to festivals small really can be beautiful. And if you pop over to Strictly Writing, you can read a slightly tweaked version of the talk she gave. *photo copyright Colin Hattersley [...]

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Demagogue by Michael Signer

With a title like that, I was expecting a strident book full of forceful opinions with an array of historical examples. Instead, it was a lot of name dropping and a distinct lack of commitment to all but the core idea. While I did learn stuff, at the end, I was disappointed by the lack [...]

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Coming up on Vulpes Libris? Richard Armitage.

To represent the utter fabulousness of this week’s Book Fox offerings, for today’s image we give you not just any old fox but a Firefox* (yes, it’s more commonly called a Red Panda but for today’s purposes it’s a Firefox). Take a deep breath and be still your beating hearts because we have some amazing [...]

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