reading diary.

Below are a few highlights from my recent reading.
(Some are proofs or review copies, but that doesn’t influence what’s shared here).

Fifteen Wild Decembers is a novel about the lives of the Brontë sisters, from childhood to first publications and Emily’s untimely death. Although I’ve read several Brontë novels, I knew relatively little about their lives, so this was a welcome fill

Fifteen Wild Decembers is a novel about the lives of the Brontë sisters, from childhood to first publications and Emily’s untimely death. Although I’ve read several Brontë novels, I knew relatively little about their lives, so this was a welcome filling in of gaps. I loved gaining more insight into where the inspiration for their various novels had come from, as well as learning about the lesser-known siblings (two sisters and an elder brother, who all died far too early). Karen Powell’s writing is beautiful and she feels a worthy voice to take on adding this additional layer to Brontë history. (Also, what a title. And what a cover).

I adored The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. Beautifully written, it's a book that seems to almost vibrate with quiet tension and the threat of things shattering at any moment (and things regularly do, yet the tension remains). New layers of complex

I adored The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. Beautifully written, it's a book that seems to almost vibrate with quiet tension and the threat of things shattering at any moment (and things regularly do, yet the tension remains). New layers of complexity are revealed a little at a time, and with this, the reader's understanding of what the book is actually about is constantly shifting. It's tricky to talk about without giving too much away, but ultimately it's a novel about possession - how it drives us; how it delivers a sense of freedom, both practically and emotionally. Tender, raw, and brilliant.

I alternated between reading and listening to Big Swiss by Jen Beagin and both were a delight. A woman transcribing a sex therapist's treatment sessions develops an obsession with one of his clients and then they meet in real life. At times quite sho

I alternated between reading and listening to Big Swiss by Jen Beagin and both were a delight. A woman transcribing a sex therapist's treatment sessions develops an obsession with one of his clients and then they meet in real life. At times quite shocking, the audiobook actually caused me to splutter at one point - a rare and occasionally welcome thing in a novel. Brilliant characterisation and the audiobook only enhances this - a fellow reader and I now regularly conduct entire conversations in Big Swiss’ clipped monotone. Incredibly funny, with a memorable setting, complete with bees and donkeys.

The List of Suspicious Things, by Jennie Godfrey - Set in 1980s Yorkshire, it's about a young girl, Miv, trying to make sense of the world under the shadow of the Yorkshire Ripper being at large, racial tensions within the local community, and closer

The List of Suspicious Things, by Jennie Godfrey - Set in 1980s Yorkshire, it's about a young girl, Miv, trying to make sense of the world under the shadow of the Yorkshire Ripper being at large, racial tensions within the local community, and closer to home, her own mother's wordless breakdown. It's so insightful around the complexities of human cruelty, both those micro-hurts of childhood (that don't feel micro at all) and more serious abuses. It manages to feel like a warm cocoon of a novel for being told through the eyes of incredibly likeable characters, in possession of an inherent goodness. Wonderful.

The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez - This is gorgeous. I fell in love with it fairly late on when something in the dynamic between the dog and narrator shifts, and then it was a totally wholehearted kind of love. It makes so many wise observations on grief,

The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez - This is gorgeous. I fell in love with it fairly late on when something in the dynamic between the dog and narrator shifts, and then it was a totally wholehearted kind of love. It makes so many wise observations on grief, writing, reading, and the bond between animals and humans. One I'd like to reread. Nb. As my dog, Nell, is now very much an older dog, this book totally scrunched at my heart. Nell benefited from this by being the unexpected recipient of extra treats while reading. She is now very pro-Sigrid Nunez (as am I).

The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes - I love novels that imagine the lives around a figure from history (like Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet or Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife), so wanted to read this the moment I saw it popping up online. It's abou

The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes - I love novels that imagine the lives around a figure from history (like Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet or Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife), so wanted to read this the moment I saw it popping up online. It's about the bond between Thomas Gainsborough's daughters and how the younger sister sacrifices her freedom to prevent the eldest from being institutionalised. It's so beautifully written, with such a strong sense of era and place (it's set between Ipswich and Bath). And I adore the cover and its gorgeous mix of traditional and modern.

Politics On the Edge, by Rory Stewart - a book group choice, I listened to this as an audiobook (read by Rory) and found it totally engaging. He discusses his route into politics, his later career, and shares many of the frustrations of working withi

Politics On the Edge, by Rory Stewart - a book group choice, I listened to this as an audiobook (read by Rory) and found it totally engaging. He discusses his route into politics, his later career, and shares many of the frustrations of working within government. It should be utterly bleak and unbearable listening, but it's a story partially transformed for being told by someone who obviously cares so much and whose ethics seem so at odds with his party's. Also, Rory's wife, Shoshana, is clearly a saint.

Western Lane, by Chetna Maroo - I read this on a recommendation from my dad, and ended up loving it just as much as he had. I really enjoy novels with an intense amount of detail around someone learning / doing a particular thing (in this case, playi

Western Lane, by Chetna Maroo - I read this on a recommendation from my dad, and ended up loving it just as much as he had. I really enjoy novels with an intense amount of detail around someone learning / doing a particular thing (in this case, playing squash), and so loved the descriptions of this. Wonderful and richly drawn characters.

I listened to Paul Murray's epic novel, The Bee Sting, over the course of a few days. It's rare for me to remember names and storylines (I'll often only recall the feel of a book), but the Bee Sting's characters and their predicaments have stayed wit

I listened to Paul Murray's epic novel, The Bee Sting, over the course of a few days. It's rare for me to remember names and storylines (I'll often only recall the feel of a book), but the Bee Sting's characters and their predicaments have stayed with me. I sometimes found it hard to initially engage with a new narrator's viewpoint, struggled with the end-of-world storyline, but it's easy to overlook these things when they culminate in one of the most audacious and dramatic endings I can remember reading. Impressive & awe-inspiring.

I listened to Alice Winn's In Memoriam as an audiobook and frequently failed to multitask because the act of listening seemed to require my whole being. I think the thing that really got me was how in one moment her characters seemed like men...and t

I listened to Alice Winn's In Memoriam as an audiobook and frequently failed to multitask because the act of listening seemed to require my whole being. I think the thing that really got me was how in one moment her characters seemed like men...and then in the next, we were brought face to face with the fact that they were still just boys. Devastating, beautiful, and a fascinating insight into the relationship dynamics of a boarding school and how these persisted or fell away in the awfulness of war. Sometimes a book is so good I'm left giving a weird sort of in-head standing ovation for its author whenever I see its cover - this is one of those.

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal - this book has been around for a while, but something about its cover had made me think it may contain a fantasy element that I'm not usually drawn to. Anyway, I was completely wrong. It's just an incredibly bea

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal - this book has been around for a while, but something about its cover had made me think it may contain a fantasy element that I'm not usually drawn to. Anyway, I was completely wrong. It's just an incredibly beautiful historical novel, set around the time of the Great Exhibition. I loved the way each character came to life through how they use their hands - from a doll-maker, to a taxidermist, to the Pre-Raphaelite painters. I've read reviews criticising its ending, but I adored it - it told me everything I wanted to know in a form that felt true to the rest of the novel.