26ish books 2025

1. I haven't been entirely honest with you, Miranda Hart
2. The Cracked Mirror, Chris Brookmyre
3. Fairy Tale, Stephen King
4. Storm Child, Michael Robotham

Storm Child was a tough subject but very easy to read and the ending was good too. Would recommend it.

@Citygirlrurallife it’s a great film. The London parts are more vivid than the book but equally there is a certain low key-ness about it, that reflects the book really well.

@cromwell44 oh I love The Outrun, super keen to see the film

@Citygirlrurallife that's on my list after I heard the author talking about it snd thought it sounded interesting - glad it's not a dissappoinment

7 Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding. Read this after seeing the film - I actually preferred the book though the Magic Man Tree was hilarious and not in the book.

1. The Safekeep by Yale van der Wouden
2. Fire by John Boyne.
3. Birnham Wood by Eleanor Catton
4. Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson.
5. The Outrun by Amy Liptrot

5. And finally: Matters of life and death by Henry Marsh.

Henry Marsh is a retired neurosurgeon and this is his third book. A musing on life, aging, death. A fusion of science and philosophy with a heavy dose of realism due to the experience of being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.

As an HCP and one that use to work in the same hospital at Mr Marsh ( albeit a very much criticised hospital by him... and justifiably so) I have a bias choosing to read his books. However I would thoroughly recommend them, all of them. Very insightful, well written with a lot of analysis. Also neurosurgeons have a rep as being the most arrogant of all medics. He has a refreshing dose of self awareness that many of his books confront with good humour.

7 - My Friends, Hisham Matar

story of exile, friendship and the Arab Spring Upfising and consequential civil war in Libya told from the perspective of a young man who, after getting shot at a protest at the Libyan embassy in London, remains stuck for decades feeling it’s impossible to return home

beautifully written, so bleak in a very “small” and internal way, political as much in the small ways of what does an enforced and then self imposed exile do to a person. Highly recommended

I tried to listen to Burial Rites but decided pretty quickly that I need to read it instead. I generally find that I don't get on with fiction audio books as I find it too easy to drift off and lose the plot, whereas I can pick up the thread of non-fiction more easily.

Having said that, I did get Rivers of London on BorrowBox from the library and like the narrator so will stick with it.

Finished book 6 yesterday - Onyx Storm - enjoyed it, really looking forward to the next book.
Started book 7 - The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton.
Ive read the sequel & enjoyed it, but found this in a charity shop & happy to read the previous book. It's a bit Jane Austen meets Streampunk meets pirates.

1.	Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
2.	Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch 
3.	Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
4.	Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
5.	Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
6.	Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros 
7.	The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

@rosyvalentine Burial Rites is also excellent

@Orangebadger Yes, I read Burial Rites years ago and loved it. There were definitely similarities between that and The Mercies. You've reminded me that I have The Good People (also by Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites) on my Kindle for ages. Might give that a go next!

It’s debateable I think whether there are really supernatural elements at play….

i second Marriage Portrait to follow Hamnet

Lots of suggestions for the next Maggie Farrell book, thank you. Will see what is there on my next charity shop round! Will be adding The Kings witches to my to be read list as also loved The Mercies. Would also recommend Burial Rites for anyone who enjoyed The Mercies.

@rosyvalentine
I'm about halfway through The Mercies and loving it..I didn't realise it would have supernatural elements, which I'm not usually keen on.

@Tinkhasflown
I loved The Distance Between Us but I think I'm in the minority.

I also read I Am, I Am, I Am. Her memoir. It was quite enjoyable but nothing like the mighty Hamnet!

I know! I've started The Kings Witches by Kate Foster which is in a similar vein.

1. How to kill your family. Good grief what a SLOG I found this!! I know lots of people liked it, so I don't know if it's just my attention span having been ruined by social media, or because I read on my kindle, the characters did nothing for me. I just didn't care what happened at all. I hate giving up on a book but I rather wish I had on this one.

Anyway...onwards! I'm yet to choose book 3. I have a large tbr pile

5: Songbirds by Christy Lefteri a quick read for me, and I liked the storyline. It started off with me thinking it was quite formulaic but it turned out much better than expected.

6: The Valley of the Tone by David Rabson an interesting non-fiction book on the river near me. Totally not my cup of tea, but the fact that it was about something on my doorstep made it pretty fascinating.

Annoyingly, Goodreads doesn't have this last one in it's database so won't let me log it 😲!

@rosyvalentine The Mercies was the first book I finished this year and I'm worried that I've peaked too soon and nothing else will be as good!

Can I join you all here? Had an ambition to read 26 books last year and was following this thread, but only managed 17. I'm determined to get through 26 this year and am doing well, with 5 down so far.

1. This Strange Eventful History - Claire Messud. Long listed for the Booker 2024, the writing was undoubtedly good, but I struggled to get through this as I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting or likeable. It also jumped around a lot in terms of timelines so was sometimes hard to follow.

1. The Boyfriend - Freida McFadden. An escapist read which really stretched credibility! Mildly enjoyable but it was very, very far fetched!

1. Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell. Loved this book but not quite as much as The Wedding Portrait.

1. Him - Clare Empson. An unusual story with quite a tragic ending. Portrays upper class, privileged British life in the 80's/90's quite well, I think. Worth a read.

1. The Mercies - Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Had been meaning to read this for ages and raced through it in 3 days. I love fiction based on actual historical events and like many other PPs, I really enjoyed this story, while finding certain aspects of it quite shocking. The author conjures up the arctic landscape and the tough lives of the characters so well.

I've also just finished Hamnet and really enjoyed it too, but I actually preferred The Marriage Portrait. Well worth reading!

4. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Loved, loved, loved this! The story, so clever, beautifully written, almost magical.

This is my first book my Maggie O'Farrell so looking for recommendations to read another.