Orbital by Samantha Harvey

I'm normally a bit wary of Booker prize winners, but I saw some of Harvey's acceptance speech and then really wanted to then see her writing. It wasn't a disappointment. She writes beautifully. I'm a fast reader but with this book I really slowed my pace and took my time, because I wanted to enjoy the language. I did have to let go of the fact that there isn't very much of a 'story'...though there are elements of a story, and it could have gone further, but I resigned myself early on to there being no completion for me in the book. It didn't matter. What I was enjoying was the experience of being on the space station, of looking down and observing the earth. There were aspects of space life I hadn't really thought about, and whilst I know this isn't a real life account, it felt believable, and I am sure she had done lots of research to get to the point of writing this. But it didn't feel research heavy. Nor did it feel like she was on any kind of bid to win a book award, which is something I sometimes sense with the prize winners. It just felt like a love letter to earth. And to space. And to language. I loved it.

Title: Orbital

Author: Samantha Harvey

ISBN: 9781529922936

188 words for rain by Alan Connor

This is an interesting little book. I moved around a fair bit as a child so I'm always conscious of the different ways 'locals' refer to different things, but I'd never really considered how weather words (specifically rain) can vary quite so much around the country!
I liked the way the book travels across Britain, going through different local terms and their origins. This is a fascinating book for anyone interested in language, especially local slang and etymology, but also anyone interested in the weather as it was interesting to learn about different weather systems across the country.

Title: 188 words for rain

Author: Alan Connor

ISBN: 9781785948541

The Christmas stocking murders by Denzil Meyrick

I found this an easy-to-read, fairly light-hearted cosy crime that overall I enjoyed reading.  But it didn't score higher for me as I felt it was trying really hard to be a bit Bertie Wooster and just couldn't hit the spot.  I liked Grasby well enough, and perhaps if I already knew him from the first book I would like him more?  But I wasn't entirely sure who he was, and whether he had any skills as a police detective, or if he just stumbled into solutions by accident a lot of the time.  And the language is definitely on a Wodehouse incline, but it just lacked a bit of spark.

There are a lots of intriguing characters, and I wondered what was going on & so kept on reading, and then reading a bit more, to try to discover the ending.  I liked the post WW2 setting too, so it had lots of good elements.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: The Christmas Stocking Murders

Author: Denzil Meyrick

ISBN: 9780857506399

So thrilled for you by Holly Bourne

Gosh, this was good!  I was completely caught up in how relatable/awful/hilarious/tragic/selfish/outrageous these four women were...I'm probably quite a bit older than the target audience, but memory of the hell of giving birth to my first child is still there, and those awful, awful days (and nights) when she just wouldn't sleep, and I thought I might die from being so tired.  Lauren's parts are so raw that they are heart-breaking.  But I love Holly Bourne's honesty, as she really doesn't shy away from just how difficult it can be, whilst also sensitively understanding Charlotte's point of view too.  I really liked how I kept feeling differently about each woman as the story progressed, veering from hating them to loving them.  It was a real rollercoaster of emotions.  Anyway, I basically inhaled this book and whilst I didn't quite like how the reveal revealed, I was fully committed at that point to whatever happened and I loved the pace, the humour, and the truly dreadful baby shower!

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: So thrilled for you

Author: Holly Bourne

ISBN: 9781529301632

To be published: 16 January 2025

The Green Kingdom by Cornelia Funke

I came to Cornelia Funke's stories as a grown-up, when my daughter would borrow, and re-borrow, and borrow again 'Dragon Rider' and I wondered what had so captured her attention!  I enjoy her style of writing, and this new book didn't disappoint.  It's the story of Caspia, a young pre-teen who has to spend the summer in Brooklyn, much to her dismay, but she soon makes a host of friends after discovering a mysterious bundle of letters between two sisters from long ago.  They each contain a puzzle about a plant, and Caspia finds herself wandering across Brooklyn, trying to discover all of these plants, and putting down roots of her own along the way.

As someone who moved a lot as a child, I definitely identified with Caspia's feelings around living somewhere new.  I would have devoured this book as a child, and even as a grown-up I raced through it quickly and found it very enjoyable.  It's quite simply told, but the characters are interesting, and I liked all the puzzles around real plants, some of which I found easy to figure out and some less so.  It perhaps lacked some of the depth that Inkheart has, but it is still a really lovely story.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: The Green Kingdom

Author: Cornelia Funke

ISBN: 978 0241698020

To be published: 6 March 2025