WHAT I'M READING | 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.

All Posts

A Notable Woman by Jean Lucey Pratt (ed Simon Garfield)

Diane Banks

Dec 29, 2020
7 min

A Notable Woman by Jean Lucey Pratt (ed Simon Garfield)

Canongate, 2015 (pb 2016) This diary of an ostensibly unremarkable woman is the most extraordinary book I’ve read this year. Prolific wri...

45 views0 comments

Diane Banks

Nov 23, 2020
4 min

The Card by Arnold Bennett

Public Domain Books (originally Methuen, February 1911) I have a penchant for that particular genre of turn-of-the-(twentieth)-century no...

25 views0 comments

Diane Banks

Oct 25, 2020
3 min

For the Record by David Cameron

William Collins, October 2020 A year after publication, three years since it was supposed to be published, a month after the paperback, a...

358 views0 comments

Diane Banks

Aug 3, 2020
3 min

The Brideship Wife by Leslie Howard

Simon & Schuster Canada, May 2020 This debut set in 19th century British Columba intrigued me as I’ve spent some time researching the his...

36 views0 comments

Diane Banks

Jul 12, 2020
4 min

Hagar of Homerton by Alice Dudeney

C Arthur Pearson, 1898 I first came across Alice Dudeney whilst working with Damian Collins on his biography of Sir Philip Sassoon five y...

40 views0 comments

Dressed for War: the Story of Audrey Withers, Vogue Editor Extraordinaire by Julie Summers

Diane Banks

Jul 5, 2020
4 min

Dressed for War: the Story of Audrey Withers, Vogue Editor Extraordinaire by Julie Summers

Simon & Schuster, February 2020 This is another excellent biography of a woman who was pivotal to history but whose contribution has been...

97 views0 comments

{"items":["5feb5eb07f66120017e4dbcb","5fbc17c5169cb7001796c2c7","5f95c63bbaffe20017583edd","5f286b577fe489001871e44d","5f0b75a08a794600188a209d","5e948ffdfb44de0018a65c89"],"styles":{"galleryType":"Columns","groupSize":1,"showArrows":true,"cubeImages":true,"cubeType":"fill","cubeRatio":1.3333333333333333,"isVertical":true,"gallerySize":30,"collageAmount":0,"collageDensity":0,"groupTypes":"1","oneRow":false,"imageMargin":32,"galleryMargin":0,"scatter":0,"rotatingScatter":"","chooseBestGroup":true,"smartCrop":false,"hasThumbnails":false,"enableScroll":true,"isGrid":true,"isSlider":false,"isColumns":false,"isSlideshow":false,"cropOnlyFill":false,"fixedColumns":1,"enableInfiniteScroll":true,"isRTL":false,"minItemSize":50,"rotatingGroupTypes":"","rotatingCropRatios":"","columnWidths":"","gallerySliderImageRatio":1.7777777777777777,"numberOfImagesPerRow":1,"numberOfImagesPerCol":1,"groupsPerStrip":0,"borderRadius":0,"boxShadow":0,"gridStyle":1,"mobilePanorama":false,"placeGroupsLtr":false,"viewMode":"preview","thumbnailSpacings":4,"galleryThumbnailsAlignment":"bottom","isMasonry":false,"isAutoSlideshow":false,"slideshowLoop":false,"autoSlideshowInterval":4,"bottomInfoHeight":0,"titlePlacement":"SHOW_ON_THE_RIGHT","galleryTextAlign":"center","scrollSnap":false,"itemClick":"nothing","fullscreen":true,"videoPlay":"hover","scrollAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","slideAnimation":"SCROLL","scrollDirection":0,"scrollDuration":400,"overlayAnimation":"FADE_IN","arrowsPosition":0,"arrowsSize":23,"watermarkOpacity":40,"watermarkSize":40,"useWatermark":true,"watermarkDock":{"top":"auto","left":"auto","right":0,"bottom":0,"transform":"translate3d(0,0,0)"},"loadMoreAmount":"all","defaultShowInfoExpand":1,"allowLinkExpand":true,"expandInfoPosition":0,"allowFullscreenExpand":true,"fullscreenLoop":false,"galleryAlignExpand":"left","addToCartBorderWidth":1,"addToCartButtonText":"","slideshowInfoSize":200,"playButtonForAutoSlideShow":false,"allowSlideshowCounter":false,"hoveringBehaviour":"NEVER_SHOW","thumbnailSize":120,"magicLayoutSeed":1,"imageHoverAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imagePlacementAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","calculateTextBoxWidthMode":"PERCENT","textBoxHeight":0,"textBoxWidth":200,"textBoxWidthPercent":50,"textImageSpace":10,"textBoxBorderRadius":0,"textBoxBorderWidth":0,"loadMoreButtonText":"","loadMoreButtonBorderWidth":1,"loadMoreButtonBorderRadius":0,"imageInfoType":"ATTACHED_BACKGROUND","itemBorderWidth":1,"itemBorderRadius":0,"itemEnableShadow":false,"itemShadowBlur":20,"itemShadowDirection":135,"itemShadowSize":10,"imageLoadingMode":"BLUR","expandAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imageQuality":90,"usmToggle":false,"usm_a":0,"usm_r":0,"usm_t":0,"videoSound":false,"videoSpeed":"1","videoLoop":true,"jsonStyleParams":"","gallerySizeType":"px","gallerySizePx":770,"allowTitle":true,"allowContextMenu":true,"textsHorizontalPadding":-30,"itemBorderColor":{"value":"rgba(227,227,227,0.38)"},"showVideoPlayButton":true,"galleryLayout":2,"targetItemSize":770,"selectedLayout":"2|bottom|1|fill|true|0|true","layoutsVersion":2,"selectedLayoutV2":2,"isSlideshowFont":false,"externalInfoHeight":0,"externalInfoWidth":0.5},"container":{"width":770,"galleryWidth":802,"galleryHeight":0,"scrollBase":0,"height":null}}

Join my mailing list