News

October has drawn to a close and the first few nights of November have been cold and wild, with storm Babet and storm Ciarán lashing the country recently in the past few weeks. We're taking the clocks changing as a big hint to spend more time reading, or at least curled up snugly with extra blankets surrounded by books...  Here's what the Willoughby Book Club team have been reading recently.   Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver A re-telling of Charles Dickens David Copperfield, this book follows Damon, soon to be known as Demon Copperhead, born to an alcoholic, drug addicted...

Halloween is the perfect time of year for moody, atmospheric reading. The weather is on the turn, the nights are drawing in and the cold, frosty mornings either keep us tightly tucked up indoors or drive us to nature, seeking magic in the changing of the seasons. When we think of spooky, creeping stories for Halloween, we often leap to the classics- Stephen King, Clive Barker, Shirley Jackson, and MR James. In recent years though, there has been a resurgence in interest in the horror and ghost story genres. We just love to be scared, apparently! Historical fiction, spooky stories,...

Well, it feels as though life has been on fast-forward for the past month, September was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scenario, and so far October has been the same. However busy the month, there's always time to squeeze in a few minutes with a good book here and there. Here are some of the titles the Willoughby team have been reading recently.   Seven Steeples by Sara Baume I loved this book, and I don't really know how to describe it. It's thoughtful, transporting, meditative... strange. The story follows Bell and Sigh over seven years of their relationship, as they escape to...

If there is anything we love as much as reading in the Willoughby office, it’s listening to music. We’re always compiling playlists of our favourite songs and our individual tastes diverge as widely as our literary ones! It’s always a great day though when we discover a song with a literary reference, whether it be fleeting and obscure, or more obvious in its themes. A lot of bands and artists take inspiration from the books and poetry they consume, be it a classical reference, a nod to Gatsby, or even a Shakespeare play. Song lyrics can be very underrated as...