William Boyd – Gabriel’s Moon (2024). Book club novel. It’s the early 1960s. Travel writer Gabriel Dax finds himself entangled in a web of international intrigue, led by a glamorous MI6 handler. Many twists and turns mingle with an interesting side plot about a childhood tragedy. #WilliamBoyd
December 1, 2025 at 10:10 AM
William Boyd – Gabriel’s Moon (2024). Book club novel. It’s the early 1960s. Travel writer Gabriel Dax finds himself entangled in a web of international intrigue, led by a glamorous MI6 handler. Many twists and turns mingle with an interesting side plot about a childhood tragedy. #WilliamBoyd
Muriel Spark – The Public Image (1968). Booker-shortlisted novel. An actress obsesses over her public image above all else. She has a loveless marriage and her jealous husband finds an extreme way to ruin her career. Intriguing and sharply satirical, but somehow oddly unlikeable. #MurielSpark
November 26, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Muriel Spark – The Public Image (1968). Booker-shortlisted novel. An actress obsesses over her public image above all else. She has a loveless marriage and her jealous husband finds an extreme way to ruin her career. Intriguing and sharply satirical, but somehow oddly unlikeable. #MurielSpark
Bonnie Garmus – Lessons in Chemistry (2022). A witty, entertaining novel about a chemist who becomes a TV cook. A strong character with an amazingly intelligent daughter (and dog), Elizabeth says exactly what she thinks and battles social repression in the late 1950s/early 1960s. #BonnieGarmus
November 23, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Bonnie Garmus – Lessons in Chemistry (2022). A witty, entertaining novel about a chemist who becomes a TV cook. A strong character with an amazingly intelligent daughter (and dog), Elizabeth says exactly what she thinks and battles social repression in the late 1950s/early 1960s. #BonnieGarmus
Deborah Levy – The Man Who Saw Everything (2019). Impressionistic novel. After Saul Adler is hit by a car on Abbey Road, he experiences thoughts and memories from East Berlin in 1988 and London in 2016. It’s elegant and witty, but the shifting narrative tricks can be infuriating. #DeborahLevy
November 13, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Deborah Levy – The Man Who Saw Everything (2019). Impressionistic novel. After Saul Adler is hit by a car on Abbey Road, he experiences thoughts and memories from East Berlin in 1988 and London in 2016. It’s elegant and witty, but the shifting narrative tricks can be infuriating. #DeborahLevy
Heidi Amsinck – Last Train to Helsingør (2018). Book club read. “Spooky” short stories set in Copenhagen. Repetitive themes (objects with eerie powers, obsession, possession, ghosts, murder, abduction) and predictable endings make it a major chore to finish. Was it written by AI? #HeidiAmsinck
November 2, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Heidi Amsinck – Last Train to Helsingør (2018). Book club read. “Spooky” short stories set in Copenhagen. Repetitive themes (objects with eerie powers, obsession, possession, ghosts, murder, abduction) and predictable endings make it a major chore to finish. Was it written by AI? #HeidiAmsinck
Ben Markovits – The Rest of Our Lives (2025). Booker-shortlisted road-trip novel of mid-life reflections. A man drives his daughter to college, then just keeps on driving. A less effective version of Richard Ford’s Frank Bascombe novels, although it does improve as it progresses. #BenMarkovits
October 30, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Ben Markovits – The Rest of Our Lives (2025). Booker-shortlisted road-trip novel of mid-life reflections. A man drives his daughter to college, then just keeps on driving. A less effective version of Richard Ford’s Frank Bascombe novels, although it does improve as it progresses. #BenMarkovits
Jim Mowatt – From Parkrun to London Marathon (2016). Enjoyable account of a 52-year-old’s introduction to running. Overcoming apathy and injury, he eventually takes part in the celebrated London 26-miler to raise funds for Save the Rhino. An unpretentious, highly accessible read. #JimMowatt
October 21, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Jim Mowatt – From Parkrun to London Marathon (2016). Enjoyable account of a 52-year-old’s introduction to running. Overcoming apathy and injury, he eventually takes part in the celebrated London 26-miler to raise funds for Save the Rhino. An unpretentious, highly accessible read. #JimMowatt
Patricia Highsmith – Carol (1952). A brilliant novel about the love between two women in the early 1950s. Highsmith writes with huge sensitivity and is perfect on the nuances of conversation and gesture. And while it’s not a thriller, elements of that genre are expertly woven in. #PatriciaHighsmith
October 20, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Patricia Highsmith – Carol (1952). A brilliant novel about the love between two women in the early 1950s. Highsmith writes with huge sensitivity and is perfect on the nuances of conversation and gesture. And while it’s not a thriller, elements of that genre are expertly woven in. #PatriciaHighsmith
Han Kang – The Vegetarian (2007). First published in South Korea and translated to English in 2015, this is a dark and upsetting tale of obsession. Yeong-he decides to give up meat and then not to eat food at all, with profound implications for herself and her family. Disturbing. #HanKang
September 28, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Han Kang – The Vegetarian (2007). First published in South Korea and translated to English in 2015, this is a dark and upsetting tale of obsession. Yeong-he decides to give up meat and then not to eat food at all, with profound implications for herself and her family. Disturbing. #HanKang
Charlotte Rogan – The Lifeboat (2012). Book club novel. 1914. A luxury liner sinks, leaving 39 people in a tiny lifeboat. Hungry and desperate, they face moral choices about who should survive. Gripping and multi-layered, it makes wider points about gender roles and human nature. #CharlotteRogan
September 20, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Charlotte Rogan – The Lifeboat (2012). Book club novel. 1914. A luxury liner sinks, leaving 39 people in a tiny lifeboat. Hungry and desperate, they face moral choices about who should survive. Gripping and multi-layered, it makes wider points about gender roles and human nature. #CharlotteRogan
Nicola Barker – TonyInterruptor (2025). A heckler at an improvised music event sparks a discussion about honesty and artifice played out across a set of extreme characters in witty, vivid prose. Barker’s fiction isn’t for everyone, and may infuriate, but the energy is undeniable. #NicolaBarker
September 13, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Nicola Barker – TonyInterruptor (2025). A heckler at an improvised music event sparks a discussion about honesty and artifice played out across a set of extreme characters in witty, vivid prose. Barker’s fiction isn’t for everyone, and may infuriate, but the energy is undeniable. #NicolaBarker
Percival Everett – The Trees (2022). Three detectives investigate a series of brutal, race-related murders in Money, Mississippi that appear to be tied to the history of lynching. Highly readable and often very funny, the novel has too many characters but still works beautifully. #PercivalEverett
September 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Percival Everett – The Trees (2022). Three detectives investigate a series of brutal, race-related murders in Money, Mississippi that appear to be tied to the history of lynching. Highly readable and often very funny, the novel has too many characters but still works beautifully. #PercivalEverett
Rose Tremain – Absolutely & Forever (2023). Brilliant novel set in England in the 1960s and 1970s. Marianne is torn between exotic Simon, who she loves, and dull, reliable Hugo, who loves her. A sophisticated study of relationships and family, written with empathy and subtle wit. #RoseTremain
August 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Rose Tremain – Absolutely & Forever (2023). Brilliant novel set in England in the 1960s and 1970s. Marianne is torn between exotic Simon, who she loves, and dull, reliable Hugo, who loves her. A sophisticated study of relationships and family, written with empathy and subtle wit. #RoseTremain
Victoria Hislop – The Thread (2011). Book club read. A laboured romance/family saga based on events in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 1917–2007. Clichéd and unsubtle, it races along with some silly plot twists, one-dimensional characters and awkward attempts to weave in real history. #VictoriaHislop
August 20, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Victoria Hislop – The Thread (2011). Book club read. A laboured romance/family saga based on events in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 1917–2007. Clichéd and unsubtle, it races along with some silly plot twists, one-dimensional characters and awkward attempts to weave in real history. #VictoriaHislop
Yoko Ogawa – The Memory Police (1994). Dystopian fable translated from Japanese. A young woman observes the Memory Police removing objects, one at a time, to leave a barren island without any culture or hope. A condemnation of authoritarianism, more relevant than ever. #YokoOgawa
August 10, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Yoko Ogawa – The Memory Police (1994). Dystopian fable translated from Japanese. A young woman observes the Memory Police removing objects, one at a time, to leave a barren island without any culture or hope. A condemnation of authoritarianism, more relevant than ever. #YokoOgawa
Charlotte Wood – Stone Yard Devotional (2023). A woman retreats from society to live at a New South Wales convent. Surprisingly addictive Booker-shortlisted novel blends recollections of the past with day-to-day observations of a mouse plague and the return of a dead nun’s bones. #CharlotteWood
August 4, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Charlotte Wood – Stone Yard Devotional (2023). A woman retreats from society to live at a New South Wales convent. Surprisingly addictive Booker-shortlisted novel blends recollections of the past with day-to-day observations of a mouse plague and the return of a dead nun’s bones. #CharlotteWood
Vladimir Nabokov – Laughter in the Dark (1932). A brilliant and disturbing novel with touches of the darkest comedy imaginable. A wealthy German is manipulated by a young woman and her previous lover who scheme to take his money. Nabokov’s perfectly controlled prose is a delight. #VladimirNabokov
July 29, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Vladimir Nabokov – Laughter in the Dark (1932). A brilliant and disturbing novel with touches of the darkest comedy imaginable. A wealthy German is manipulated by a young woman and her previous lover who scheme to take his money. Nabokov’s perfectly controlled prose is a delight. #VladimirNabokov
Percival Everett – James (2024). Booker-shortlisted. A brilliant reworking of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from the perspective of the escaped slave Jim – a literate man who has to pretend to be uneducated around white people. A harrowing, compassionate and gripping novel. #PercivalEverett
July 23, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Percival Everett – James (2024). Booker-shortlisted. A brilliant reworking of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from the perspective of the escaped slave Jim – a literate man who has to pretend to be uneducated around white people. A harrowing, compassionate and gripping novel. #PercivalEverett
Luke Haines – Freaks Out! Weirdos, Misfits and Deviants: The Rise and Fall of Righteous Rock ’n’ Roll (2024). Part memoir, part history of out-there pioneers. Haines has no time for Prince or Bowie. He’s lucid on The Shadows, Bucks Fizz and the horror of musicians wearing shorts. #LukeHaines
July 17, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Luke Haines – Freaks Out! Weirdos, Misfits and Deviants: The Rise and Fall of Righteous Rock ’n’ Roll (2024). Part memoir, part history of out-there pioneers. Haines has no time for Prince or Bowie. He’s lucid on The Shadows, Bucks Fizz and the horror of musicians wearing shorts. #LukeHaines
Harper Lee – To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). Second reading. Set in 1933–1935, this is a brilliant novel written from a child’s perspective. There’s warmth, wit and great human empathy in Scout’s story, which details her family’s experience of racism in the Alabama town of Maycomb. #BookSky #HarperLee
July 12, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Harper Lee – To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). Second reading. Set in 1933–1935, this is a brilliant novel written from a child’s perspective. There’s warmth, wit and great human empathy in Scout’s story, which details her family’s experience of racism in the Alabama town of Maycomb. #BookSky #HarperLee
Rachel Kushner – The Mars Room (2018). Brilliant Booker-shortlisted novel. Romy Hall is serving two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, California. Prison life is explored via a multi-perspective narrative that is insightful, witty and poignant. #BookSky
July 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Rachel Kushner – The Mars Room (2018). Brilliant Booker-shortlisted novel. Romy Hall is serving two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, California. Prison life is explored via a multi-perspective narrative that is insightful, witty and poignant. #BookSky
Yael van der Wouden – The Safekeep (2024). Debut novel set in the Netherlands in 1961. Isabel lives reclusively, observing rigid routines in her family home. Then her brother’s girlfriend Eva comes to stay and changes everything. Brilliant character portrait in mesmerising prose. #YaelVanDerWouden
June 26, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Yael van der Wouden – The Safekeep (2024). Debut novel set in the Netherlands in 1961. Isabel lives reclusively, observing rigid routines in her family home. Then her brother’s girlfriend Eva comes to stay and changes everything. Brilliant character portrait in mesmerising prose. #YaelVanDerWouden
Rachel Kushner – Creation Lake (2024). Remarkable novel. Sadie Smith (not her real name) is a US spy who infiltrates a French eco-commune. Its members are guided by the enigmatic Bruno, who lives in a cave and preaches via e-mail about Neanderthal life. Engaging and darkly comic. #RachelKushner
June 21, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Rachel Kushner – Creation Lake (2024). Remarkable novel. Sadie Smith (not her real name) is a US spy who infiltrates a French eco-commune. Its members are guided by the enigmatic Bruno, who lives in a cave and preaches via e-mail about Neanderthal life. Engaging and darkly comic. #RachelKushner
Paul Maunder – The Wind at My Back: A Cycling Life (2018). An engrossing and illuminating meditation on what it is to ride a bike. Maunder explores his relationship with the landscape and creativity, articulating his impressions of cycling through urban, suburban and wild spaces. #PaulMaunder
June 8, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Paul Maunder – The Wind at My Back: A Cycling Life (2018). An engrossing and illuminating meditation on what it is to ride a bike. Maunder explores his relationship with the landscape and creativity, articulating his impressions of cycling through urban, suburban and wild spaces. #PaulMaunder
Chetna Maroo – Western Lane (2023). Booker-shortlisted novel with a quiet intensity. An 11-year-old girl becomes obsessed with playing squash to help cope with the death of her mother and as a way to feel closer to her father. Some illuminating observations about life and family. #ChetnaMaroo
June 4, 2025 at 5:36 AM
Chetna Maroo – Western Lane (2023). Booker-shortlisted novel with a quiet intensity. An 11-year-old girl becomes obsessed with playing squash to help cope with the death of her mother and as a way to feel closer to her father. Some illuminating observations about life and family. #ChetnaMaroo