26ish books 2025

16 - Us Three - Ruth Jones.

I wanted a lighter read and this worked. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

15 - Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively.

A beautiful, raw book.

14. Nesting - Roisin O'Donnell

Thanks for the recomendation on here. Agreed, really thought provoking.

Not got one lined up next so will look back for inspiration.

9. The Wrestling by Simon Garfield. Non fiction. Account of British wrestling up until slightly after the rise of WWF in America and their style of wrestling changed the scene dramatically. That and it being taken off the telly by ITV. The history is told through interviews with wrestlers, promoters and other connected people with some additions from the author, who is a massive fan. Well structured, easy to dip in and out of and as you'd imagine some eyebrow raising anecdotes.
The cover says it's hilarious but I didn't find it hilarious at all, I found that a strange description because although there are some farcical and laugable things happen, most involved either took it really seriously or were doing it because they were skint and 'hilarious' seems a bit rude.

Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger
A lyrical read about an uncompromising woman whose daughter is missing. The way the author portrays the family members is captivating and the ending was unexpected.

God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Strangely, another book set in America about a missing girl and boy.
It is set in a children’s summer camp in the Adirondacks, somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit.
It deals beautifully with themes of entitlement, misogyny, grief and friendship. I loved it and, again, another unexpected ending.

Just started The Ministry of Time which is based around (surprise!) time travel, my favourite literary subject. So far, it’s excellent.

I sm not doing well!
Book 3 - The answer is no. Frederik Backman. A very very short book.

Just starting The Mercies.

13 - The Sun over the Mountains - Suzie Fletcher.

A strange one to pick as my 'lighter read' as it is the autobiography of the leather worker woman from The Repair Shop and deals with domestic abuse and death. But, it was a lighter read, an easy to read book if you like. Some bits felt a bit cliched, both in the writing style and the content and I found myself rolling my eyes a couple of times but an enjoyable read nontheless and she has had an interesting life. Interestingly, she talks about the support from Jay Blades to write the book and I wonder how she feels now his story has come out.

On a side note, due to me finishing a course that took up a lot of my time and putting a strict time limit on my phone use, I am devouring books. Okay, a lot of time I have swapped one screen (my phone) for another (my kindle) I'm not as easily distracted and certainly not scrolling on here and other time sapping sites. I'm much less distracted when I read on my kindle rather than the kindle app on my phone. (I find real books difficult on my eyes).

12 - The Blackwater Lightship- Colm Tóibín.

Jesus this was an amazing book but it didn't half knock my heart a bit. My mum died at the end of last year and this story, both the interplay of reconciliation and past grievances in family relationships being worked through at the end of one of the character's life and the description of the end is pretty hard hitting.

It was a wonderfully written book and will stay with me.

13 Changing Planes by Ursula le Guin

I've been reading this slowly to DS16 for the last few months. I usually have a book on the go with each child and it's nice dedicated time together even though they're teenagers now. I got a bit bored of the premise and all those made up sci fi words got me a bit bogged down but as a general premise it's interesting. It felt a bit dated especially compared to so much of her other work which I loved. I'd give it a 2.5 but he'd say 3.5

@Yuja So glad to hear a positive comment about Nesting, it is my next TBR.

11 - 10 minutes 38 seconds in this Strange World - Elif Shaak

An interesting and beautiful, in many ways, book (probably not great if you have recently been bereaved though). A Turkish sex worker's death and life - in that order. A story of friendship in hardship.

8 Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell
Brilliant book, really thought provoking

7 - Clear by Cary’s Davies
can’t make up my mind about this. Very well written and engaging but still not sure I liked the premise

Welcome Dracarys1

Can I join please? I'm on my 7th book. I've read:

1. Dreamcatcher - Stephen King
2. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
3. Salems Lot - Stephen King
4. The Hidde Girl - Lucinda Riley
5. Insomnia - Stephen King
6. Raising The Senbetweeners - Lisa Lloyd.

I'm currently reading Eve of Man by Tom and Giovanna Fletcher.

Having a bit of a passion for Stephen King at the moment and only fairly light reading due to being exhausted from small children. But I love reading, always have to read before I sleep.

6 The Silence Project - Carole Hailey this was great, a real page turner I’ve binged it in one sitting with a day off work today!

4: World Without End - Ken Follett. A sequel to Pillars of the Earth, another saga set in the fictional city of Kingsbridge in the 14thC, earls, serfs, monks, nuns, the story starts with four children meeting a stranger in a woods and follows them into middle age as their paths cross time and time again in love and hate amidst the Black Death. 45 hours long, but a great listen, perhaps not quite as good as PotE, a bit less dramatic and a bit less real history background but I really enjoyed it. Going to have a break from the series now and try something shorter.

exactly how I felt about it

10 : Orbital - Samantha Harvey

I also loved this. It felt almost like poetry, it summoned up great visions of what they saw and what was happening to the Earth. I kind of feel like I was cocooned in it and would happily see if I can get the audio version on Spotify and be read it. I'd quite like to be in bed and have someone read it to me.

I do think I need to read it again at some point and absorb more of it. Slow down and take in each word. I thought it was beautiful.

9 : My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier

I was gripped from start to finish as I was by Rebecca. Loved it.

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner

I don't think I'm intelligent enough to 'get' this book?! I found it pretty hard going and ended up skim reading parts of it just to get through it. (It's only short and I didn't notice want to finish it). It reads like a fable or a myth - magical and mysterious, about a young boy and a rag n bone man. It was longlisted for the Booker Prize so there must he something in it... just not for me. 2 out of 5.

@Breathmiller Oh I loved Other Side of the Bridge, I keeping to read more of her books

I'm sorry for your loss @Totorosfluffytummy I know one or two people who found a helpful book when in a similar situation but of course everyone's different and you can always come back to it.

I just had 4 nights away totally on my own which included 7 hours of train travel there and back to worked through 3 short books

Book 10: Orbital - Samantha Harvey.
I think this has been a bit divisive on this thread so far but I really loved it, I actually wish I hadn't read it on the journey and had dedicated solid sitting down with a view of the waves to read it in one sitting

Book 11: The Instant - Amy Liptrot
Such a disappointment after The Outrun, just really self indulgent and navel gazing

Book 12: Child of God - Cormac McCarthy
Awful but brilliant, I haven't read a McCarthy in a few years and I love what he does with language and place, his books always feel so claustrophobic, but this is one of the most disturbed of all his characters. Took me a minute to get into it but I read it all on the journey home so wasn't too distracted!

8 The Ghost Road by Pat Barker. Third in the Regeneration Trilogy, read straight after second book because I enjoyed that and wanted to know what's next, I wanted more...but I really didn't get on with this at all. It kept going off into big sort of reveries about one of the two main characters past and it just did not work for me. It was when he was off spending time with a tribe of head hunters and I don't think any of that was referred to in the earlier books, which were all set around hospital / army / war and British society such as class. These in the past sections just felt wedged in for the sake of it and the remaining present day narratives were unsatisfactory. I got a bit cross and started skipping the memories bits so possibly I am doing the book a big disservice, given I didn't read every word...and it won the Booker Prize so some people liked it.
To me it felt like losts of ideas that didn't hang together very well and plot points that were worked in to bring the trilogy to a neat conclusion but loudly clanged "I'm a neat plot point" as they did so.

Thanks @Breathmiller
I’ve not read Off the Road, but will add it to my list. I loved On the Road, it will be interesting to hear from a Woman’s perspective. It’s been over 25 years since I read On the Road!!

Sorry to hear you are grieving Totoro if you need to shelve a book til later then nothing wrong with that.

i am interested in the Jack Kerouac book, I've never read it although I was a bit obsessed with all thing Beat in my early twenties. Have you read Off the Road by Carolyn Cassidy? I had the opportunity to meet her through a book researcher and I was too shy and said no. I was a little in awe of her and couldn't quite bring myself to go. One of my biggest regrets.