Book news, reviews and recommendations
This meme’s an old favourite of mine. Someone usually pips me to the post and this year it was Bookdout who has her own version which Cathy used for hers. Like Karen and Cathy746, I’m using the same prompts as in previous years, drawing on the titles of books I’ve read in 2025 with links to […]
My Year in Books (2025 Edition) Read More »
We’re racing towards the end of the year although I spent several weeks of 2025’s last quarter going nowhere very much thanks to plantar fasciitis. Several absorbing novels kept me going, beginning with one which grew out of a social media post during the pandemic. Damian Barr’s The Two Roberts is about Robert MacBryde and
Books of the Year 2025: Part Four Read More »
In contrast to 2024’s damp squib, this year’s summer seemed to stretch from April to October. A great one for reading as well as sun, too, beginning with three very different favourites in quick succession in July. Benjamin Wood’s Seascraper spans a single day which sees Thomas Flett lifted out of his hardscrabble life for
Books of the Year 2025: Part Three Read More »
April marks the real start of spring here in the UK although it appears on my horizon when the herons start doing a bit of DIY on their nests which I always stop to watch on one of my regular walks. This year, I found myself packing for summer for our Ghent break in late
Books of the Year 2025: Part Two Read More »
I’m feeling very pleased with myself having kept my books of the year to twenty for the third time running. A long, dry summer probably helped, offering opportunities for getting out and about. Even at the start of the year, H and I had sunshine for our London break, much of which we spent outside.
Books of the Year 2025: Part One Read More »
Not my favourite prize but, for some reason, I can’t resist putting together a wish list for the Booker. To be eligible for this year’s prize all books must be published in the UK or Ireland between 1st October 2024 and 30th September 2025 and have been written in English. The judges usually stick to
My 2025 Booker Wish List Read More »
It’s almost longlist time for the Women’s Prize for Fiction which will be celebrating its thirtieth year this time around. Tuesday March 4th is the date to add your diary. Only novels written by women in English published between April 1st 2024 and March 31st 2025 qualify. I’ve followed the same format as previous years,
My Women’s Prize for Fiction 2025 Wish List Read More »
I ended 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 2022 and 2023 with this meme having been prompted by a post from at least one blogger, usually Annabel who started the ball rolling again this year, followed not long after by Cathy then Karen. I’m using the same prompts as Annabel, drawing on the titles of books I’ve
My Life in Books (2024 edition) Read More »
Much of October was taken up with a trip to Portugal where we were lucky enough to snatch a last blast of summer. Hard to leave Lisbon on a balmy blue-skyed day but a standout book in my first week back eased the pain. Set on his beloved Shetland, singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack’s That Beautiful Atlantic
Books of the Year 2024: Part Four Read More »
Summer still hadn’t got off the ground by August. Very little time was spent on our new deck, reading or otherwise, and only one book stood out that month, too. Written in spare, crisp prose, Sarah Manguso’s Very Cold People was one of my books of 2022. Liars is the equally bleak story of a
Books of the Year 2024: Part Three Read More »
April marks the real start of spring although I tend to be on the lookout for it from the beginning of March. I certainly felt it had finally arrived sitting in the gardens around Manchester Cathedral when we visited the city for the second time in three years. Just one title stood out for me
Books of the Year 2024: Part Two Read More »