The title of this blog is a homage to The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, which inspired me back in 2012 to think about what I love doing. That was reading and writing and I started this blog to bring these two things together. As the years since have sped past ever more quickly, the blog reminds me what I’ve read, and is a reflection of my life at any point in time. I also love taking photos, so all the photos on the site are my own. But really this blog is here because I’ve always loved recommending books just as much as reading them.
I have fairly eclectic taste. When I’m reading non-fiction I enjoy reading biographies, diving into politics and learning about the science of happiness. When reading fiction, I like to escape into a good murder, historical drama or inter-generational tale. Sharing a good book choice really is as good as reading a fantastic book and I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy writing them.
Since starting this blog in 2012, my love of books led me to finally make the time to write my debut novel, which I completed after graduating from the MA in Creative Writing and Publishing from West Dean College in 2023. Seahouses is based on the stories my step-grandfather told me of the forgotten war in Italy, the wartime letters sent by my biological grandfather from the Middle East and North Africa, and on my grandmother who lived to 101, in love with her second husband but never forgetting her first. My family originates from Northumberland, the inspiration for the book, and I have used my training as a Geographer and the skills honed in my twenty-five-year research career to strongly ground the novel in place and time. If you’d like to know more please get in touch with me on X @jocasebourne.
