Info & Stuff

This blog was formerly named Gaskella, but rechristened Annabel’s House of Books in December 2012.

My Latin Motto: Noli domo egredi, nisi librum habes - Never leave home without a book. (My attempts at schoolgirl Latin were honed to perfection with the help of Dr Ridd, a classics teacher at Abingdon School.)

Contact Me: annabookbel@gmail.com

A Bit About Me: That’s me up above, aged around 3.  Like the rest of my family, I’ve loved books all my life, and I have grown-up into a compulsive book-acquirer. A child of the 1960s and 1970s, I hail from the Surrey/Croydon borders and studied Materials Science at Imperial College, London. Then I worked as a proper scientist in the chemical industry for years, before my biological clock went ping at 39. I took several years off work after having my daughter, and now work part-time as a lab technician in an Oxfordshire prep school. I’m a staunch supporter of literary events in Abingdon, and have hosted three literary quiz nights for charity in the town.

What I Read: Anything and everything really. I try not to be snobby about ‘literature’, so I read from the latest bestsellers to classic novels equally, although I do err on the side of what I call ‘Contemporary Fiction’.
I read widely from genres too – SF, Westerns, Crime, Spec fiction plus a bit of historical, and fantasy, even an occasional romance. I want to learn to appreciate poetry better.
I love children’s classics, ancient and modern, plus I am a big promoter of the best of YA fiction as represented by authors like Philip Reeves, Patrick Ness and Marcus Sedgwick which are just as good for adults.  I’ve had enough of black covers and high-school vampires though!

My blogging guidelines

General Rules
- I will always say if a book was a freebie, whether sent unsolicited or requested by me from a publisher, author, vendor etc.
- All opinions are my own, but I freely admit I may be influenced by research into background information etc.
- I primarily post about books I’ve enjoyed reading and found interesting, but I do post occasional negative reviews too.
- Dear Publishers – I do love receiving books but … I can’t make any promises as to if or when I will write about any books sent. I read a very wide range of books, so please feel free to contact me before sending. email gaskella@hotmail.com Thank you!
- I aim to cross-reference to any info sources used where possible.
- Like everyone else in the blogosphere I download covers etc, and occasionally other images – if you object to their use – do let me know and they’ll be removed pronto. I will credit images used where appropriate.
- Reviews and comments on books I haven’t posted about can be found on my Librarything profile.

Affiliations
- I am affiliated to Amazon and the Book Depository, and will earn commission on sales made if you click through – in four year’s blogging I’ve received £25 – so it’s not a real moneymaker, just a nice bonus!

Ratings -
(10/10) – Truly exceptional with no niggles. A keeper, one to re-read.
(9/10) – Also exceptional, a keeper too, but maybe a minor niggle stops it getting top marks.
(8/10) A super read – well-written; not necessarily a book I’d want to keep or re-read but one I’d definitely recommend to others.
(7/10) An enjoyable read, but not special for me. Generally recommended.
(6.5/10) Better than average – a good read but some reservations.
(6/10) Average, a fair read. OK but maybe derivative or bitty.
(5/10) or less. Below average. A book I really didn’t engage with, badly written, one I had major reservations about.