Louise Erdrich is a new-to-me author, and at first I wasn‘t sure her writing was for me; it made me feel fidgety and I couldn‘t settle to it. But I stuck with it and am so glad I did. Extremely current, the story spans prisons, Covid and lockdown, George Floyd and Trump, Native Americans and protests…and also ghosts. At heart though this is Tookie‘s story, and the story of a bookshop and its books. The characters were so good, and a great story.

Volume two of the Cazalet Chronicles doesn‘t disappoint. The focus this time is the Cazalet grandchildren as they navigate WWII and the change in family dynamics that comes with it. I loved that the child‘s-eye view gave us only snippets of what was going on with the adults we met in volume one. The writing is just so relaxing; comfortingly old-fashioned, yet not dated. Perfect comfort reading.

My family were quite perturbed seeing this one lying around! I‘ve had a disjointed couple of weeks reading due to the distraction of a new job; this one fit the bill perfectly. Easy to pick up, amusingly snarky and with a nice little twist.

You know those stories where someone makes a bad decision, then everything that follows just gets worse and worse, with more bad (and sometimes here, implausible) decisions? I just can‘t cope with those stories. I never get the reason for the escalating bad decisions and the control freak in me is just wanting to sort it all out. I was hoping for a family saga with this one, but instead just got stressed!

I spend my reading life searching for books like this one. Books that completely consume me and I can‘t put down. Marian Graves is our main character; an aspiring aviator in the 1930s, who has a complicated and troubled background. Her story is interspersed with that of film star Hadley who is to play Marian in the biopic of her life. That little summary doesn‘t do the epic scope or intensity of the story and characters justice; I loved it!

And now for a complete change! Well it is the Jubilee after all. I thought I knew what I was getting with this, a fictional take on the story of Marion Crawford, Governess to the Queen and Princess Margaret, but was surprised to find unexpected feminism, suffrage, poverty and an aspiring Communist in the first few chapters! Nothing groundbreaking here but overall quite an interesting read.

Just what I needed; a gossipy page turner/family saga, which in parts was unexpectedly sad. The writing was a bit melodramatic at times , and for me it didn‘t live up to Daisy Jones & The Six which I loved, but I‘m being picky, this is a great holiday read.

I‘ve read every novel Maggie O‘Farrell has written, and credit her with getting me started as an adult reader, but I read her early ones such a long time ago I don‘t remember them. So, I‘m doing a reread - this one first! What‘s interesting is I didn‘t love this one now - I found the story a bit odd and the writing overdone - but remember loving it all those years ago in 2003. (2003! There‘s smoking in pubs, and landlines!)

I enjoyed the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend, as she finds a home with Josie and helps her navigate illness and growing up. We hear only Klara‘s perspective and she‘s the perfect unreliable narrator. I liked that we don‘t really know the full story of what is going on in the world - whether this is an alternate reality or a more dystopian future - but just see snippets as Klara sees things.

A novel about motherhood, marriage and loss of identity set against a Tokyo background, with a sweet but forbidden love story slowly developing. I really enjoyed this; for its sharp (and very truthful) insights and melancholy sadness as well as being quite funny too. I‘m loving Japanese and Korean fiction right now.

A sobering yet not sensational or judgemental story of those in and around Buchenwald “model camp”, how they bought into what they were being told from those in charge, and from propaganda. Told from the perspectives of Greta and Dietrich, an officer at the camp, and Dr Weber who is of distant Jewish descent, this is extremely well done historical fiction that still, unfortunately, felt timely today.

There‘s been so much fuss about this one that I nearly did that annoying thing I do of avoiding it completely only later to realise I missed out. Anyway, I read it. I went in sceptical; came out in love. Near perfection in the writing and the portrayal of such beautiful relationships against the background of mental illness. And I cried on the tram through the whole Peregrine section.

Winnie moves to Saigon to teach. She feels an invisible outsider and then she disappears. Winnie‘s story is told in a fragmented timeline interspersed with the stories of numerous others which slowly come together. There is lots of vomit and, erm, hair. There are snakes, ghosts and mysterious smoke. It can be unsettling and unpleasant, and at times it veers into horror. Overall it wasn‘t for me, but was very clever 👇

This starts out as a dramatic Antarctic disaster then very quickly we‘re back home with Doc. He‘s had a stroke and is struggling to communicate. We hear from his wife, Anna, of the unexpected taking over of care responsibilities. The fact Doc came back, but also didn‘t. There is such a sense of frustration and claustrophobia. I think I‘ll read anything Jon McGregor writes; the prose here was just hypnotic

A sweet sad love story set amongst war ravaged Cyprus, which is in part narrated by a fig tree (this is not as weird as it sounds!) I enjoyed it yet for some reason it didn‘t quite capture my heart, not even that beautiful fig 👇

Nope. Not for me this one. The characters were all despicable and parts of the plot made me very uncomfortable. Moving on!

This semi-dystopian fiction takes place during just a few days in which a group of neighbours find themselves seeking shelter in the former home of Thomas Jefferson after a rampage by white supremacists. This group of people are fighting for their lives and futures whilst the main character also struggles with seeking refuge in the place where her ancestors were kept as slaves. Short, sharp and compelling 👇

I didn‘t find this very exciting, but I really don‘t think I was the target audience. I struggled with the main character‘s intense introspection and self-analysis and yet her failure to do anything about what she disliked about her life. It was wry and amusing at times though and it slowly grew on me. Younger me may have read and appreciated this completely differently I suspect.

A spare, simple novella. An unnamed woman in an unnamed Italian city talks of fragments of her daily life chapter by chapter; her local cafe, her office, an encounter with a potential lover, her loneliness yet desire for solitude. We never learn much about her but she does tentatively dip into her childhood. Nothing like the other books I‘ve read by this author (I loved The Namesake in particular), this was both sad and strangely soothing.

The blurb made this sound like too light a take on a difficult subject, however whilst it was extremely readable - I raced through it in two days - it is a beautifully written story of Bess, in long term foster care, who finds herself pregnant and not knowing where to turn. It made me incredibly sad and at times angry, but Bess offers an important and ultimately hopeful voice, taking control perhaps for the first time in her life.

One I‘m still puzzling over! Taki is maid to the Hirai family in Tokyo in the lead up to WW2 and looks back on her life with them in their little house with the red tiled roof. I‘ve been enjoying some Japanese fiction in translation and loved the premise of this but initially found it falling oddly flat. Yet then in the final third things start to be explained and almost another story emerges, leaving me feeling quite emotional.

Music and film weave their way through this story which is told in the second person and without naming the main characters. Initially I felt somewhat distanced from what I was reading, yet was then pulled into this intimate and at times devastating story of a love, and of life as a young Black man in London. Our unnamed protagonist is desperate to be seen, yet terrified also. This is short, difficult but overwhelmingly a beautifully intense read

Vera and Nadezhda face a battle of wills against their elderly father‘s young new wife Valentina. What follows is a story that is in turns darkly funny, a little bit crazy, terribly sad, and then also hopeful. The history of Ukraine and issues of immigration and memory weave through what is at heart a family story (confession: I skipped the excerpts about the tractors).

I do love stories like this; a small cast of characters in a small town, all with a dramatic event hovering over them, their lives intertwining. It‘s a quiet story despite the drama in the background and I think I‘d had a good book cry by page 11. This put me in mind of Anne Tyler, and I do love Anne Tyler. Also, the cover 💙

The first book in the Cazalet Chronicles introduces us to a huge cast of characters, but the beautifully written vignettes of each one means you feel you know them in no time. Perfect comfort reading with four more books awaiting me 📚

An unexpectedly good book to follow Unsettled Ground; we know from the outset that Roderick Macrae has murdered a neighbour. What happened and why is then told by way of statements from neighbours, his own memoir and coverage of his trial. A novel dressed up as true crime, this is a sad story - again of rural poverty and the powers and whims of landowners, albeit this time in the 1860s. Who is telling the truth? Is Roddy insane? I enjoyed this.

This was a very intense read. One I didn‘t always look forward to reading but was gripped by once I picked it up. A story of love, friendship and motherhood amidst the trans community; it made me uncomfortable at times, but feeling uncomfortable reading about something that is not your own experience is no bad thing.

What a book. It starts off with some drama but quietly done, and I thought I knew where this was going, but then the blows kept on coming. I was completely riveted and couldn‘t put it down, my heart in my mouth, raging with anger, and maybe some ugly crying. A snapshot of rural life that is far from the bucolic idyll but more a battle against lack of regular work, poverty, prejudice, cruelty and the whims of landowners. Sad, yet quietly uplifting

I had high hopes for this one, but I‘m not sure what I just read! The narrator, having left a stressful job, works her way through five “easy” jobs, each becoming more odd as we go along. I enjoyed the prose and style of writing as I have done with other translated Japanese fiction and there were parts I really liked, but overall this was a slow read for me and although the ending was quite satisfying it came too late to completely win me over.

I‘m determined to read more lighter books this year, and to try authors I‘ve never got around to, starting with Marian Keyes. First thoughts: great writing and good fun, yet tackling quite big, serious issues. Yet, this was a great big book, and I didn‘t quite love it. Still pondering over why…

Mixed feelings about this one; the coming of age story of Kirabo, which begins with her desperate longing to find her mother, and dips back into the lives of her grandparents. I found parts entirely gripping, then parts which struggled to keep my attention and I‘m not entirely sure why. I did however love the exploration of feminism in a patriarchal society and the strong women who fill the story.

Utterly daft with eye rolling will-they-won‘t-they storyline. Loved it. Not sorry.

Oh this is a heartbreaker. The story of Solo, his mother and their lodger; this covers so much yet with a lightness of touch that then leaves you reeling from the blows. The story takes in domestic abuse, homophobia, illegal immigration as well as families, motherhood, friendship and belonging, and somehow also manages to be funny as well as very touching. Did some crying.

Another one that got me! I didn‘t like this at first because, well, it isn‘t Tin Man. But then I started to like it, and then I started to love it, and then it had me hook, line and sinker. What a stunner. I‘m still carrying these characters around with me. A slow, meandering, heart warming story. Perfect.

Oh my, this one really got me. It‘s about writers and lovers, of course, and also loss and grief and friendship, and then all the messy life stuff. I might have done some sobbing. It‘s quite funny too. In the best of ways it left me wrung out yet smiling.

I started this wondering why I chose it and where I‘d heard about it. A prisoner tells us about his life on death row without telling us much at all. We also follow “the lady”, a death penalty investigator trying to overturn death sentences and reprieve these men. Told with a haunting, mystical quality this story had echoes of The Green Mile by Stephen King yet at the same time is uniquely of itself. Quietly and strangely good.

This put me in mind of a fictionalised take on Tara West‘s Educated. A family spirals downwards, and then beyond, when the father becomes more and more obsessed with religion and control. This is brutal and intense but completely compulsive reading; another I couldn‘t put down.

In parts a case of “it‘s not you, it‘s me” with this one; I‘ve read a lot around this time in history and I think I wanted something fresher and more modern.
That said it is an engagingly told story of Cecily Neville and the power and political struggles she engages in, as well as her husband. In the final third you are completely absorbed by her as she rises up; furious, proud and determined to protect her children at all costs.

Amanda and Clay rent an AirBnB in remote farmland as they can‘t quite afford the beach. Then the owners return; is it true something terrible has happened in New York? Or is it a scam? We watch the following days unfold with tantalising teasers, undertones of racism and privilege, and a sense of dread, unease and claustrophobia. This is unusual, clever, entirely absorbing and feels extremely timely.

So good! This story culminates in an impossible love triangle. Before that, it slowly drifts back and forth through Eleanor‘s life; her childhood, her parents, the places. The timeline is disjointed but it works. It shocks and slowly, slowly pulls you in. Gripping, dark and clever, and sometimes very uncomfortable to read, ultimately I loved this story of love, friendship, guilt and families. And the ending!

I absolutely loved this; the sequel to Bodies of Light. Ally is now a doctor, breaking boundaries by tentatively starting to practise in Truro Asylum and also finding her footing as a wife. Heartbreaking and beautifully written; with themes of feminism, suffrage, sanity and Victorian poverty, these two books are the best historical fiction I‘ve read in a long time; feeling modern and very relevant. Beautiful.

• Best Reads of 2021 • These are my best ten reads of the year; the books that have captured, calmed and captivated me and that I couldn‘t put down. Happy New Year Littens, and thank you for the reading inspiration!

Another sweet, gentle and funny Anne Tyler to finish off the reading year 💫

The 14 year old is very pleased with me for finally finishing his favourite ever trilogy. A pleasing conclusion to the Arc of a Scythe series; this is great dystopian fiction and perfectly readable as a young adult, or not so young adult 😆 #raisingreaders

A little companion read to Reservoir 13, one of my best reads of last year. This tells more snippets of the stories of the people living in the village from which Becky Shaw went missing; with her disappearance weaving through each story. Beautifully written.

This book starts with its finale so you know from the start the awful truth of what‘s going to happen. Then it winds back to how the nanny immerses herself in the family‘s lives and the parents‘ delight at handing their children over to such a capable person who reorganises their life. We then start to see snippets of what the nanny might be. This is a short, intense read and I‘m still unsure whether it left too much uncertain and unanswered.

Wanted to love this one, didn‘t quite love it. Not entirely sure why because it‘s well written with intriguing characters. It just felt there was something lurking that never quite happened, that I was missing something. Great cover gets 5 ⭐️ though!

Set in Victorian Manchester, Ally is the elder daughter of a mother who is zealous in her campaign for social reform and the improvement of life for poor women, to the extent that Ally endures a childhood of hardship and little love. Ally forges a path towards becoming one of the first women doctors, at great cost. The writing was almost perfection and I loved the exploration of social reform, feminism, female “hysteria” and suffrage.

Overall I enjoyed this story of a creepy, sinister abandoned country house and it‘s three temporary residents, there to catalogue it‘s contents and architecture. Throughout there were secrets and mysteries just lurking as our three main characters become obsessed with other. It‘s intense and claustrophobic, although some elements didn‘t quite work for me and it didn‘t really all pull together as I wanted. A really atmospheric read though

Seven teenagers attend Spirit-in-the-Woods, a creative summer camp. Friendships are formed. Then they grow up and we read 466 pages of minute detail about their adult selves. This. Felt. Long. But, now I‘ve finished it, in that weird way good books sometimes do without you realising, I‘m living a bit in their lives now. It‘s like they‘re my friends and I want to know where they‘ve suddenly gone to and what they‘re doing! And the ending…