Vahida's word box 

 

 

Hello, 

thanks for stopping by. My website reflects my interests - books, writing, education, history. 

If you have similar interests, welcome!

If not, have a look around before you leave us.

In any case, happy browsing!

All photography provided by Vahida Berberovic and publicly available images

 

 
 

WRITING HACKS

The problem with writing is similar to the problem of parenting: there is no one right way to do it. Which is, of course, beautiful, but also hard. We cannot simply sit down and learn the rules and apply them. We have to try out suggestions, apply, modify, improvise. Until we find something that works for us. This time. But not necessarily the next time round. 

This is an attempt to share what I’ve learnt from others by trying, failing, modifying, improvising. 

BOOK REVIEWS

Here you can find some reviews of books I have read and liked (mostly).

This is my second read for zone 12 for the #1world12books challenge And it couldn’t be more different to my first read. It is a short story collection of stories focussing on mixed Hawaiian-Japanese women who are blazing through the 21st ce
This book has been analysed to death, spawned two sequels and a tv series. Also winning all the major prizes and accolades from critics and regular readers. There is not much I can add, except - I agree. When it was published, I was, frankly, sic
Hello, my name is Lorrie, and I’m the newest member of the Berberovic family. No one knows where I come from but we all know where I belong!
My #april #tbr Half-way through Wolf Hall - engrossing read (but it will still take another ten days or so to finish)
Geraldine Brooks tells two stories in parallel. One is the story of possibly the most famous horse in US horse racing history, Lexington, whose skeleton lay forgotten in an attic at the Smithsonian, simply labelled ‘horse.’ The story ta
My non-fiction piece ‘The Parlour Stove’ has been published by Academy of the Heart and Mind. It is about how I almost killed myself and my brother. If you are a Gen X-er, you will relate to lovingly neglectful parents and the mischie
My book this month for the #1world12books challenge is in zone 4 - SOUTH ASIA (India, including Nepal and Bhutan). It is Chinaman by the Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka. It’s all about cricket. But also not. If you have a very basic u
The Fraud is based on a 19th century court case of a man claiming to be the missing heir to a fortune. This is the setting for an exploration of London’s literary scene of that period and the issue of slavery, most notably in Jamaica. The sto
TOP TEN SHORT STORIES I’ve been wanting to do a Top Ten about short stories for a long time. I love and I hate short stories. When they are done right, they are perfect. They reveal to you a world you did not know existed. They are, as Jacquel