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Diane Banks

In July 2020, in an attempt to bring my reading rate in line with my book-buying rate, because books are first and foremost a starting point for debate, and because reading is inherently a social activity, I committed to writing a few words about every book I read.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

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The Riviera Set 1920-1960: The Golden Years of Glamour and Excess by Mary Lovell

Dec 14, 20242 min read

The Riviera Set 1920-1960: The Golden Years of Glamour and Excess by Mary Lovell

Little, Brown 2016; Abacus 2017 Why? Topical reading in advance of a weekend in Nice. And because Mary Lovell is a phenomenal...

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Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Dec 1, 20241 min read

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Penguin paperbacks, 1951 (first published by Chapman & Hall, 1945) Granada Television (ITVX), 1981 Why? I decided on a re-read after...

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Billionaire Nerd Saviour King: The Hidden Truth About Bill Gates and His Power to Shape the World by Anupreeta Das

Oct 13, 20242 min read

Billionaire Nerd Saviour King: The Hidden Truth About Bill Gates and His Power to Shape the World by Anupreeta Das

Simon & Schuster, 2024 Why? I'm always interested in what drives successful business people and politicians and this biography (if it can...

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The First Lady of Fleet Street: The Life, Fortune and Tragedy of Rachel Beer by Eilat Negev and Yehida Koren

Sep 1, 20242 min read

The First Lady of Fleet Street: The Life, Fortune and Tragedy of Rachel Beer by Eilat Negev and Yehida Koren

Robson Press, 2012 Why? During a discussion about Victorian and Edwardian newspaper proprietors, a friend recommended that I look up...

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Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Aug 26, 20241 min read

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Doubleday, 2013; Black Swan paperback, 2014 Why? Having belatedly watched the 2022 BBC adaptation, I was intrigued to know how the story...

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Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Jul 21, 20242 min read

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Sceptre, 2011 Why? I've had this on my Kindle for years, and, with Amor Towles the talk of the town following the Paramount+ adaptation...

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The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley

Jun 23, 20241 min read

The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley

First published by Macmillan, 1984; this edition Vintage paperback Why? I was pretty sure I'd never read it, and as a sucker for...

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An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears

May 27, 20242 min read

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears

Vintage (paperback edition), 1998 Why? I bought my copy of this bestselling, critically-acclaimed novel when it came out in paperback in...

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Read Write Own by Chris Dixon

May 19, 20242 min read

Read Write Own by Chris Dixon

Cornerstone Press, 2024 Why? Like many others, I spent a considerable part of lockdown setting up my Coinbase account and MetaMask...

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The Hotel by Elizabeth Bowen

Mar 30, 20242 min read

The Hotel by Elizabeth Bowen

First published by Jonathan Cape, 1927; this edition Vintage Classics, 2016 Why? The promise of a tight cast of characters, a glamorous...

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The New Political Capitalism: How businesses and societies can thrive in a deeply politicized world by Joe Zammit-Lucia

Mar 10, 20242 min read

The New Political Capitalism: How businesses and societies can thrive in a deeply politicized world by Joe Zammit-Lucia

Bloomsbury Business, 2022 Why? I met Joe Zammit-Lucia at a think tank event a couple of months ago and looked up this book as a...

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Traffic: Genius, Rivalry and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to go Viral by Ben Smith

Jan 21, 20242 min read

Traffic: Genius, Rivalry and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to go Viral by Ben Smith

Penguin Press, 2023 Why? Amidst speculation that BuzzFeed will finally collapse in 2024 - following in the footsteps of its fellow...

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The Jacaranda Tree by HE Bates

Jan 16, 20241 min read

The Jacaranda Tree by HE Bates

Methuen Publishing, 2006 (first published 1949) Why? I've never read HE Bates, and associating him only with the televised version of The...

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Henry 'Chips' Channon: The Diaries 1918-1938 edited by Simon Heffer

Nov 26, 20232 min read

Henry 'Chips' Channon: The Diaries 1918-1938 edited by Simon Heffer

Hutchinson, 2021 Why? Like any afficionado of early twentieth-century British social and political history, I diligently purchased all...

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The Rector's Daughter by FM Mayor

Nov 4, 20232 min read

The Rector's Daughter by FM Mayor

First published by The Hogarth Press, 1924; this edition Virago, 1987 Why? Continuing with the theme of twentieth-century novels about...

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Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

Sep 24, 20231 min read

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

Hutchinson Heinemann, 2023 Why? I love a bit of glitz and glamour, but that has most definitely been out of vogue in fiction for the last...

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The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien

Sep 3, 20231 min read

The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien

Originally published Hutchinson, 1960; this edition Penguin Books 1963 Why? It was on the bookshelf where we were staying on holiday and...

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Hungry Hill by Daphne du Maurier

Aug 28, 20232 min read

Hungry Hill by Daphne du Maurier

Gollancz, 1943; subsequent Penguin paperback Why? Always a pleasure to discover an unread Daphne du Maurier on your own bookshelf. This...

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Frost in May by Antonia White

Jul 16, 20232 min read

Frost in May by Antonia White

Virago Modern Classics, 1978 (reprinted 1971); first published 1933 Why? Whilst discussing mid-twentieth-century novels with a friend, we...

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Father by Elizabeth von Armin

Jul 10, 20232 min read

Father by Elizabeth von Armin

British Library Women Writers, 2020 (first published 1931) Why? I’m always interested in examinations of women living unconventional...

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