Kassabova, Kapka (2024) Anima: A Wild Pastoral. Cape. In Kassabova's final book in her Balkan quartet we experience the ancient activity of transhumance - the seasonal movement of herds of sheep, with shepherds, horses and dogs, in search of summer pasture. Anima tells of Kassabova's time with some of the last pastoralists in Europe, on… Continue reading January Picks
Category: Top new books
December Picks
Nicholls, David (2024) You are Here. Harper. Michael, after separating from his wife, takes solitary walks in the English Countryside. Marnie is a work-from-home recluse avoiding contact with others. When a mutual friend initiates a hike on the Coast to Coast Walkway Michael is keen but Marnie is initially reluctant. What happens next is uplifting.… Continue reading December Picks
Best Picks 2024
My 2024 best picks are books that so resonated with me that months on they still feel familiar. They represent titles that I not only enjoyed, but also informed, educated and entertained me. Reading remains my greatest joy. I trust that you will find some of the books on this list just as rewarding! "I… Continue reading Best Picks 2024
November Picks
Strout, Elizabeth (2024) Tell Me Everything. Penguin/Viking. We meet Strout's ensemble of leading actors who have now all converged on coastal Maine with their interlocking narratives. Although Bob Burgess is the leading man, Lucy Barton is once again a key player, with Olive Kitteridge, now 90 years old, on the side. Lucy, on the verge… Continue reading November Picks
October Picks
Lea, Catherine (2024) Better Left Dead. David Bateman. When Lizzy Bean is found dead in her rundown and rubbish strewn beach house, garrotted with a piece of wire, DI Nyree Bradshaw and her team of Northland detectives set out to solve the case. As they follow the clues they uncover a series of linked crimes… Continue reading October Picks
September Picks
Fearnley, Laurence (2024) At The Grand Glacier Hotel. Penguin. Libby and her husband Curtis are fulfilling a long held dream to stay at the once majestic Grand Glacier Hotel, on the West Coast of New Zealand. Libby is recovering from cancer. When Curtis leaves on a short quest she finds herself stranded and alone but… Continue reading September Picks
August Picks
Swisher, Kara (2024) Burn Book: A Tech Love Story. Piatkus. Renowned tech-business journalist and podcaster, Kara Swisher, in her memoir-history, takes down the US giants of big tech. She claims it is a love story that has gone wrong. As well as telling her own story she focuses on the tech titans, including calling out… Continue reading August Picks
July Picks
Haynes, Natalie (2023) Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth. Picador. Haynes returns with her female-centred exploration of the role of goddesses in Greek myth. She has found that goddesses, often maligned or reduced to supporting roles in literature and records, are just as complex and destructive as their male counterparts. We meet Athene, goddess of… Continue reading July Picks
May-June Picks
Tóibín, Colm (2024) Long Island. Picador. This sequel to Brooklyn is set twenty years on. Eilis Fiorello, now in her forties, has created a happy life with her Italian-American plumber husband Tony, with two children, living in close proximity to her in-laws in Lindenhurst, Long Island. One day a stranger comes knocking at her door… Continue reading May-June Picks
April Picks
McTiernan, Dervla (2024) What Happened to Nina? HarperCollins. When Simon returns home without Nina, his longterm girlfriend, after a weekend stay at his family's rural property in Vermont, Nina's parents become anxious and call in the police. Simon's explanation doesn't make any sense. What has happened to Nina? Simon's affluent parents rush to protect him,… Continue reading April Picks
7:30 Bookclub 