Author Archives: Joanna Nadin
Build it up, build it up, build it high…
Mankind is myriad in its forms. There are the bold, the brave, the meek, the mild, the lonely, the lost, the beloved, the boastful, the humble, the athletic, the academic. I could go on. But like some colossal, invisible Venn … Continue reading
That’s Not My Mother
Something odd happens in the summer. Something I feel uneasy about. Something that, come July, I am really not sure I can cope with, yet somehow, by around this time in August, I have managed to drag myself through (albeit … Continue reading
Little White (Ham) Lies
Lying is an art. As a child, I had yet to perfect this. To learn to tread the fine line between screeching fib (“It wasn’t me, it was LARRY THE LAMB”) to potential truth (“It wasn’t me, it was JAMES.”) … Continue reading
Bonnie Scotland
Remember when I said I was going to be at a famous book thing in Scotland a while back. Then I had to hastily retract that statement for fear of self-imploding by the end of the sentence etc? Well, now … Continue reading
The Greatest Show on Earth
When I was about eight, so Nadin legend has it, I turned to my father, whilst watching Derek Griffiths perform Fagin in the Plymouth Royal’s production of “Oliver!” that “that” was what I wanted to be when I grew up. … Continue reading
Here comes (more) trouble
No more sleeps! It’s publication day for Penny Dreadful! This time her BRILLIANT IDEAS™ include turning over a NEW LEAF i.e. sawing Bridget Grimes in half, making a cake that is cooked with LOVE (and organic things and a plastic … Continue reading
‘Cheekbones like geometry…’
There are countless songs inspired by great works of literature. Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ (Animal Farm), and Dylan’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’ (Frankenstein) for starters, while The Smiths’ ‘Cemetery Gates’ name checks a whole anthology of poets. But does it work … Continue reading
When John Hughes closes a door…
There’s a line in Paul Murray’s high school epic Skippy Dies that, on first reading, is less a lightbulb moment and more like being hit over the head with a giant hammer of the blindingly obvious, and, on subsequent examination, … Continue reading
These books will save your life
OK. So that’s a slight exaggeration. What I really meant to say was “these books will make you laugh / cry and thus fill an afternoon that would otherwise have to be spent nodding as Auntie Felicity shows your 400 … Continue reading
Back to the start…
So, it’s New Year. And there’s the usual rash of ill-thought-out resolutions and promises e.g. I absolutely will use that pink step machine I bought in a fit of crisp-induced madness for at least fifteen minutes every day. But for … Continue reading