At the end of July 2013, I left my job as a library assistant to set up as a freelance book reviewer. For just over a year and a half, then, I’ve been writing reviews and other book-related articles on a self-employed basis.

I nearly laughed aloud that summer when a friend introduced me with “This is Rebecca. She writes about books for a living.” It seemed ironic to me because, especially back then, I wasn’t ‘making a living,’ not by any stretch of the imagination. However, I’ve come to think about what I’m doing in a slightly different way. I might not be making a living as such, but I’m making a life – one based around books. I must never forget what a privilege that is.

I’ll be focusing on a number of different print and online writing venues (see my About page for a fairly comprehensive list). Recently I’ve also started editing academic journal articles; the work may be less creative, but it plays to my strengths of close observation and perfectionism in writing.

My goal with this blog is to make a shopfront for all my online writing as well as a place to post personal musings on recent books and the state of literature today. I’d be delighted for any of you who are interested to join me here and/or on Twitter: @bookishbeck. I also welcome friend requests from readers with similar tastes on Goodreads.

All the best, and happy reading!