A YA thriller set in the future, in a deep sea mining & research facility. I’m afraid I didn’t finish this book, which is most unusual for me. I guess I’m not the target audience. But I am looking forward to 3 new YA/older children’s books coming out soon, from great authors I love… 💙📚

17-year-old Milde lives in The Outskirts. As a child, she & others were rounded up by soldiers, taken from their homes in The City, and dumped there. After she takes violent action against the oppressive regime, she is caught, tortured & killed - or maybe sent into space. Moving and strange. 💙📚🖋️

When he was Children’s Laureate, @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social visited lots of schools and met lots of children. Here he reports back, with reflections from his past, linking classic children’s books to important social issues (austerity, poverty, screen time etc). Lesson: read stories to kids!

I didn’t re-read the whole Odyssey this week, but I did read the 90 page introduction by @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social to her excellent translation. It’s effectively a very interesting and insightful short book in its own right; the perfect accompaniment to that new film, which I did enjoy. 💙📚

Experienced nurse Valerie goes missing while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Game Warden Lt. Bev is in charge of the search; Lena investigates online from her retirement community. A gripping story about how we care for one another, with strong, competent female characters doing their best. 💙📚⚡️

I really liked this thought-provoking book about the reality of AI in society by @doctorow.pluralistic.net and will be recommending it to lots of people (starting with my 20-yr-old nephew). As much about economics and power as tech; not didactic, actually changed my mind on, eg, copyright. 💙📚💡

A tragedy has struck the eldest daughter of the Sharaf family. Gradually we build a picture of what may have happened, by hearing from other members of the Afghan community in the US, and others. Riveting thriller-like exploration of racism, Islamophobia & gender expectations. Recommend. 💙📚🖋️

Interesting and accessible introduction to UK law. Author visits various courts (Magistrates, County, Tribunals etc) and reports what she sees. I liked the real and engaging cases used to illustrate how the courts work. Good, reliable explanations from a seasoned expert & great communicator. 💙📚💡

I loved getting absorbed in this grand, sweeping, family epic, centred on the mapping of an Irish peninsula in the 2nd half of the C19th. The nature & character descriptions are great; my favourite part was the plot, which is compelling and informative about history. Another triumph for her. 💙📚🖋️

Here’s a lovely little book of Frida Kahlo’s art and words from her diaries and letters. If you’re not a Frida Kahlo fan (I am!), then you’ve surely got a friend who is. This would make an ideal gift. Pocket-sized, the pictures are good quality for the size and price. 💙📚💡

My canna has flowered. Lovely.

Yoohee opens a plant shop in a quiet suburb. She loves plants, and they thrive under her care. Men who harm women - not so much! But they do make excellent fertiliser, so she wields her shovel in support of local women and girls. I enjoyed this subtle Korean thriller. UK publ. 30 July 💙📚⚡️

I was very moved by this excellent and original novel set in a California day centre for disabled adults. We hear from different staff and clients, including Walter who is autistic and non-speaking, like the author. The characters and setting are vivid and unforgettable. Highly recommend! 💙📚🖋️

A popular novel by a bestselling author, about lesbian astronauts in training at NASA in the 1980s. It felt more like a Hollywood movie than a novel, in both the plot structure and the characters. I read this for book club; I’ll be interested to hear what everyone else thinks about it. 💙📚

I quite enjoyed this above-average whodunnit set on an isolated island off SW England. Xavier invites some acquaintances to join him and his father for Christmas, to examine the medieval art collection. They are soon cut off by a storm, and all the mobiles disappear… UK publication 30 July 💙📚⚡️

Let us think about making the world a better place. Idealism need not be the enemy of success. Bullshit jobs are (obviously) a waste of time, effort and potential. @rutgerbregman.com provides a very readable introduction to ethical thinking. What is the good life? I like “radical compassion” 💙📚💡

The writing in this new novel is outstanding. The coastal landscape is brought to life, and all of the characters are impeccably drawn. 10-year-old Ruth sees a woman disappear into the river; years later, 6-yr-old Ori is found alone on an island. Themes of motherhood & belonging. Beautiful. 💙📚🖋️

It was a pleasure to read @laylamccay.bsky.social ‘s guide to LGBTQ+ literature. The perfect balance between evoking nostalgia for books I read years ago; nodding knowingly as titles I’m familiar with are mentioned; and introducing me to plenty more to go on my list. I’ll return to this often 💙📚🌈📚

Ursula has grown up in care in Thatcher’s Britain; now 16, she lives in a creepy squat, makes art, and longs for friendship and belonging. Vivid, gripping and sometimes unsettling, this haunting novel swings between realism and gothic horror very effectively. I was enthralled. Very good. 💙📚🖋️

Very funny novel about serious human stuff by @seamas.bsky.social In Derry, a famous US actor arrives to star in a new TV drama about the Troubles. She goes missing; we hear from various local people, great characters all. The writing is excellent; sharp, perceptive, often hilarious, moving. 💙📚

Interesting and very readable personal account of her time working at Facebook. Packed with fascinating details, which combine to paint a picture of people wielding power without responsibility. It’s most satisfying that attempts to silence her inevitably result in increased sales. 💙📚💡

I enjoyed this original and inventive epistolary novel set in 1557 Florence. When a painter is murdered, Cosimo de’ Medici demands answers. With a wide cast of characters including nuns, revolutionaries, artists and the Queen of France, there are power plays and scheming galore. Entertaining! 💙📚⏳

Jack Parlabane is back! And I’m thrilled to encounter him again, in this super new murder mystery by @brookmyre.bsky.social. A brisk & clever plot (character names a bit tricky). I loved the up-to-the-minute themes of hard right social media, billionaire businessmen and Russian influence. Fun! 💙📚⚡️

The #WomensPrizes are announced tomorrow. I have read all of the Fiction shortlist (and most of the longlist). My top two are Flashlight and Dominion; I would be happy for either of them to win. I have read 3 of the 6 on the Nonfiction shortlist; my favourite is Arundhati Roy’s excellent memoir 📚💙

Natalie is a horrible Christian Trad Wife influencer. One day she wakes up in what seems to be the actual olden days! All the characters are unlikeable, but I couldn’t look away and had to keep on turning the pages for the good twist ending. Themes of inauthenticity and surveillance. Timely. 📚💙

Excellent, powerful and profound novel set on an island in Bengal populated by impoverished women who have been trafficked to do sex work. When Kusum arrives she challenges Amma and the status quo. Narrated by the women’s children, interspersed with back stories. Great! Highly recommend! 💙📚🖋️

“Money is global, but politics is local” explains @oliverbullough.bsky.social in his eye-opening new book about money laundering. Tackling financial crime is crucial, but a Sisyphean task. This book is important for understanding dirty money and its operations. Very informative and thorough. 💙📚💡

I love the fancy sprayed edges on Katabasis! Alice and Peter are postgrads studying analytic magick. They journey into the Underworld in pursuit of their professor. I enjoyed the references to various mythologies. Lots of adventure, also philosophy and a love story. Original and long. 💙📚🪐

Set in 1960s/70s Bradford, this debut novel is shortlisted for the #WomensPrize for Fiction. Mercy is the middle child in an overcrowded, sometimes violent, sometimes religious household, with parents who immigrated from Jamaica. She narrates her story starting as a foetus to age 11. 💙📚🖋️

Enjoyable, fast-paced road-trip thriller set in Finland. Ilmari agrees to transport an antique sofa to the far north for a big cash payment, but he is soon being chased by two sets of gangsters. Dark humour, also moving friendships, with a filmic quality that reminded me of Fargo. 💙📚⚡️