Christmas Break. See you on the other side…

Well, it’s that time of year again. The Book Foxes are off to their respective dens for a spot of rest and recuperation. We’ll return bright-eyed and bushy-tailed* on the 3rd of January 2011. We hope you’ve enjoyed Vulpes Libris in 2010. There have been many ups and a few memorable downs, but even the [...]

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Christmas Books for Kids

So, we’re nearing the end of 2010.  Good year?  Bad year? I don’t know if I’m weird (okay, I am generally weird but I’m being more specific here) but I have a tendency to prefer even numbered years.  I get a bit antsy when I’m heading into an odd one.  Looking back over 2010 I [...]

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The Thousand Nights and One Night by Jan Pienkowski and David Walser

“There is something I want to hear …” Aladdin.  Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.  Sinbad the Sailor.  They’re the stories many of us grew up with and are so much part of our mental luggage that most of us have probably long since stopped thinking about them as anything other than ‘fairy tales’ – [...]

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Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot – fun and frolics in fabulous France

Lizzie Nichols has a problem, and it isn’t that she’s blowing her college graduation money on a trip to visit her long-distance boyfriend Andy in London. She just can’t keep anything to herself, including her indignation at finding out her beloved boyfriend hasn’t been completely faithful to her during their separation. She’s now out on [...]

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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Revisiting a VL Classic, originally posted in December 2007 I am always startled by how short this book is. A cultural icon ought to be the size of Micheangelo’s David or at least, War and Peace. But this story that has been on stage and screen from cartoons (Mr. Magoo, The Muppets) to a modern [...]

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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

To an adult reader, the plot of this book is clear. During World War II nine-year-old Bruno and his older sister Gretel – the Hopeless Case, as Bruno calls her – have to leave Berlin with their parents. Not for their safety but because their father has been given a new position by the “Fury.” [...]

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Christmas Books for Grown-ups

There are a LOT of Christmas books out there! They aren’t like the classics, which are separate stories from the author’s usual works, usually with a reverent attitude. Nowadays, they are just as likely to be adjunct to already existing characters and contain as much comedy and suspense as tree ornaments. Here is a selection [...]

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Coming Up This Week

As we rush down the hill towards Christmas, the Foxes set aside their cups of egg nog and present a few seasonal books, as well as a few for any time of year.There’s Classics and moderns, kid’s books and a serious one, but all are worthy enough to squeeze between shopping and gift wrapping and [...]

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The Soul Of Kindness, by Elizabeth Taylor

There are some books and writers that I love so much that I buttonhole people and thrust the works into their hands, insisting that they will like them, and irritatingly checking up on them later. Elizabeth Taylor is one such writer, and The Soul of Kindness a work of brilliance, so prepare to be buttonholed. [...]

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A festive interview with author Tom Vowler

Regular readers might remember that Vulpes Libris recently reviewed Tom Vowler’s excellent short story collection, The Method and Other Stories. Today we welcome Tom to Vulpes Libris for a festive-themed chat. Lisa: Welcome to Vulpes Libris and let’s get started on this Christmassy-themed author interview. Are you one of those boozy authors likely to spend [...]

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