Welcome
I hope you enjoy browsing this site and if you wish to comment on anything you find here either use the comment box at the bottom of each post or email me from the information links at the top of the right-hand column.
A Common Reader
A Common Reader is an independent book review site published from England. The site contains an emphasis on literary fiction, biography, history and current affairs with a particular interest in 20th century European books in translation.
Biography
I live with my wife Margaret in East Sussex, having managed to return to God’s own county after many years in exile. A couple of years ago I managed to get early retirement after a lengthy career in I.T. and am now able to devote myself to many of my interests including reading, walking and playing the guitar and mandolin. I retain a vestige of usefulness by running websites for a couple of local organisations and fixing computer problems for friends and family (a never-ending task!).
Why do I write this book blog?
I have always been unable to live without books and for example, the thought of a train journey without a book to hand fills me with anxiety. Some years ago I realised that by reading so many books I was actually forgetting most of them within a few weeks (or even days) of finishing them, so I started to write reviews, firstly for Amazon and then for my own website.
Having now retired from a career in which I ended up writing reports for government ministers and H.M. Treasury on the latest I.T. debacles it is a pleasure to be able to write about one of the things I love – books – without needing to submit the results to consultation, quality assurance and political correctness reviews.
Some featured articles
I have written reviews of a few books by Gregor Von Rezzori and have brought them together with some biographical information here.
I have become interested in the life of Jan Karski, a major figure in the Polish Resistance in World War 2. Links can be found here.
I have written a study guide to W G Sebald’s novel Austerlitz.
I live in the county of Sussex and publish reviews of books by or about writers who lived in the county such as Hillaire Belloc and Rudyard Kipling.
What do I most get out of it?
My latest venture is A Common Reader, which I feel is about as good as it gets in terms of what I at least can achieve in terms of presentation and content. I love updating the website and watching the use it gets via Google Analytics. I also enjoy the act of self-publishing, and get a great deal of satisfaction from narcisistically looking at my creation and the way I have developed it.
My tag line is “writing for my own pleasure rather than to impart knowledge or to correct the opinions of others”. I do this because I enjoy it and have few expectations that it will be of any great use to anyone else – if people find it of value, then that is a welcome bonus to me.
Technical details
This website is run on WordPress blogging software, which I host on computers in the USA owned by the highly competent and value-for-money GoDaddy, who also provide my domain registration services. The appearance of the blog is largely governed by the Atahualpa theme provided by BytesForAll and allows me to customise the features of the website to my own specifications with the minimum of fuss.
[...] About A Common Reader [...]
I just happened by chance onto your web page – lovely mandolin music – I was looking up a review of Shadow of the Silk Road for The Debden Reading Group. Some of us visited been the British Museum’s exhibition, Treasures of Afghanistan, the Silk Route was mentioned and shown in the exhibition.
We have read other travel books by Thubron, I have many of his books on my shelves.
Thank you for the review which I have copied to read out to the ladies, we are all of a certain age, love books and can’t live wthout them.
Emelie Buckner
Hi Tom, what a great site! I came across it today after visiting East Dean for the first time and trying to find out more about the house with the blue plaque saying Sherlock Holmes retired here. I am also an addicted reader – average 80 a year – so do appreciate your reviews, thanks.
Git my blog address wrong, it’s new…
What a lovely site you’ve got here Tom. Like the reader above I stumbled across it by accident whilst looking for some English reviews on Pawel Huelle. I’m an ex-pat based in Poland and my partner is currently doing a PhD in modern Polish Fiction translation. If you’d like some Polish fiction recommends I could put together a list for you.
Keep up the great work.
I was looking to see what happened to A Common Reader–a little catalog of books for sale–eclectic and interesting. But I found YOU! I am thrilled after reading about you, the books you reviewed and all. Thank you for giving all of us everywhere, a friend in books.
Kate
Hello Tom,
I am myself fairly new to blogging (6 months now) about books; mostly those I truly love and admire, but sometimes ones I only hoped to feel so about. I have been monitoring your site for some time now, both for the shear joy of the reviews and in hopes of learning a thing or two. Your modesty is becoming, but your selections are bold and interesting. Thanks for that.
I have taken the liberty of including a link to your blog through my site. If this is in any way, or for any reason, unacceptable to you, please don’t hesitate to say so.
Respectfully,
Kevin (@ reviews and responses)
Hi Kevin – thanks for the link – I’ll add you to mine. Good luck with the blog!
Hi Tom,
Upon looking up one of Fallada’s books, google pointed me to your blog. I was so impressed that I immediately subscribed to your blog. Your book reviews are thorough and very interesting. Your selection of books overlaps with my reading interests.
Wishing you great health so that you can read for a very long time, and so that you can review very many books …
Sincerely,
Quirina
German-English translator
http://minervatranslations.wordpress.com
Quirina – you are too kind! I also hope to live a long time to come!
What a great readers’ resource you’ve made. I love your site because we seem to share an opinion on quite a few books that I do know, so I immediately trust your reviews to point me to ones I haven’t read. I shall check in often!
Hi Tom,
It’s me again. The person who wrote to you about The Orphan Master’s Son. I was reading About A Common Reader and was intrigued to learn of your interest in Jan Karski. A cousin of mine was similarly interested in Jan Karski and wanted to produce a documentary about him. Through a mutual friend in Washington I hooked him up with Kaya Ploss, who was/is head of the Jan Karski Institute. Would you like me to put you in touch with any of these individuals? Perhaps you know Kaya and the Institute already and are far ahead of me. It’s a small world.
Ellen Berman
Hi Ellen – thanks for that, but I think I’ll leave it for now. I published some personal accounts at the time but have other projects on at the moment. Karski’s book is about to be republished here in the UK by Penguin and that should make quite a splash.