"My God, its full of books"
This is one of my favourite books on gardening for nature (in the UK), a big, glossy, beautifully illustrated volume, tremendously informative and very inspiring. It is a book I have used repeatedly for reference over the years, while planning my own garden. I would also recommend the author's two sister volumes to this, Plant a Natural Woodland, and Portrait of a Woodland: Biodiversity in 40 Acres, both by the same publisher
I have read it twice now, and both times it has filled me with wonder and sent me scurrying to wiki to learn more about particular theories or scientists mentioned.
A book to make you think deeply about your place within the universe/multiverse.
Tegmark does like to name drop, which can start to become a little grating, but overall hugely enjoyable.
I listened to this as an audiobook read by Seamus Heaney, and loved it so much I then purchased a copy of the physical Heaney translation. If you have read the translation and enjoyed it, I so recommend seeking out the audiobook read by him, as his voice is perfectly suited to the text, and the result is just a magical combination.
Originally written in 1938 this short story/novella has aged remarkably well. I came to it from the John Carpenter film, which is one of my favourites, and wanted to check out the source material. It gets into the action very quickly and keeps up the pace thoughout. If you enjoyed the film, you will enjoy this as well.
I read this on the back of the Netflix series (which I enjoyed) and was disappointed overall. I especially disliked what I perceived as a disturbing underlying anti-environmentalist narrative. Had I read the book without seeing the series, I would probably have rated it one star, as the writing (or translation) is quite poor.
M.R.James is the master of ghost stories and this is a wonderful collection, with stories that I have read and re-read with pleasure over the years; beautifully written and fabulously creepy.
My personal favourites are 'The Mezzotint' , 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' and 'View from a hill'.
Written in 1872, this gothic novella predates Dracula by twenty five years, but it clearly has the same blood coursing through its veins, and has also influenced much of the fictional Vampire lore than came after it, establishing many of the lesbian vampire tropes that were a later staple of Hammer Horror.
This is the follow up to Gabriel's moon, published in 2024, which was the first William Boyd that I had read. Having enjoyed that, I was eager for this second Garbiel Drax story.
I didn't hate this, but for me it didn't quite live up to that previous novel. Having said that, I listened to this one on audiobook, while I physically read the previous one. Maybe that was the issue, and I am being a little too harsh in my rating here, but this one just didn't grab me in the same way.
I have been a fan of Andrew Michael Hurley since his debut novel The Loney, more than decade ago, and have enjoyed each of his books since. This contains the same rich veins of dark and unsettling folk horror which run though all of his work (his excellent third novel Starve Acre, was recently adapted into a movie, though it didn't quite live up to the book), and similar themes of guilt and loss.
This is a slow paced story, but tremendously atmospheric, with great character studies, and embued with a tension that just builds and builds. Tom, who is terminally ill, and full of regrets, arrives at a run down hotel, in a Northern seaside town, to meet with Oliver, with whom he has been corresponding. On arrival, he finds an unexpected annual gathering in progress, and as the night unfolds, things get progressively more disturbing.
A short but emotionally complex story about the relationship between a father and son, in an unforgiving Winter in the Pyrenees, when their wife/mother goes missing in the snow.
It was first published in the UK in 2006 as part of Toibin's short story collection Mothers and sons, though has now been republished as a stand alone book. It is a harrowing, beautifully written novella, but at 124 pages is perhaps better suited to be read as part of that wider collection, on its own feeling (unfairly) slight.
While not my usual genre, seeing this lauded as the Waterstones book of the year, I thought I would give it a try, and am so glad that I did. It is beautifully written, with competing elements of mystery and romance, and a real sense of place, rich in the colours, tastes and flavours of Tuscany.
This is Lucy Steeds debut novel, and I will certainly be looking out for more by this author.
An enjoyable and atmospheric short story with a real sense of place (the landscape is an integral character to the plot). This was originally published as part of a 1907 short story collection by Blackwood (The listener and other stories) though I listened to it as a stand alone story on audiobook.
On a canoe trip down the Danube two friends become terrorised by the malevolent presence of the Willows. It's not a long story, and I wont say too much about the plot, but Blackwood does manage to conjure up a genuinely creepy story, with a real sense of menace.
This details the intimate lives of a community of nuns in a mediaeval convent across several generations. I listened to it on audiobook, rather than reading it as a physical book, and found it strangely hypnotic and soothing. It is a satisfying book, well written and very believable in its sense of time and place.
While not quite on the level of Rebecca, Jamaica Inn or My cousin Rachel, this is still very enjoyable. It does require a degree of suspension of disbelief, and If I'm honest (without giving away any spoliers) I found the ending a little disappointing, but if you have read any of her other books and enjoyed them, chances are you will also appreciate this one.
Quantum leap meets It's a wonderful life.
I enjoy fiction that plays with time, or lives within a multiverse, so thought this would be right up my street, especially remembering how much it was hyped on publication. That I did not particularly enjoy it, is I think down to several issues.
Firstly it is quite dull. Secondly the the story device, whereby Nora is plonked into these alternate versions of herself, with no memories from within that version of her life, but with full memory of her other existence, just does not work for me; it is far too “Quantum leap”. I think though, that my main problem with The midnight library, is just that it is poorly written. There is far too much exposition, the plot progression is very predictable, and at times the author cannot decide if his aim is to write a fictional novel or a self help book.
The nature diary of a woman moving from London to the rural wilds of Suffolk in East Anglia. Being very familiar with the area she relocates to, I found this a delightful, well written read, complimented by the occasional and charming linocuts throughour the text. The author has also produced a series of podcasts covering similar ground to this book, which are also well worth seeking out.
This was Fowles debut novel, and is an incredibly uncomfortable read, a study of evil, obsession, self justification and class, told from the perspective of Frederick, the butterfly collector who kidnaps and holds captive a woman; and Miranda, the woman he captures. Superbly written, but be warned this is a very dark study.
Very similar in theme to Ishiguro's previous “Never let me go”. Like that novel, Klara and the Sun explores what it means to be human, seen through the viewpoint of a narrator who is “almost” human. While it may not reach the heights of “never let me go”, that is a very high bar. On it's own merits, I found it thoroughly enjoyable, and the naive simplicity of Klara's narration believable and ultimately very moving.
Did not finish as I found it quite poorly written.