Cultural Commentary

#Books: Favourite Books of 2025

In 2025, I read across a wide variety of genres — from literary fiction and dystopian speculative novels to heart-warming contemporary stories, reflective memoir-style nonfiction, and sociological explorations. My reading journey this year was particularly shaped by character-driven narratives about personal transformation, community, and identity, alongside thoughtful nonfiction that broadened my view of society and […]

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#BookReview: Golden Girls on the Run

Author: Judy Leigh In Golden Girls on the Run, a brand new book by Judey Leigh, the author once again turns her attention to women who exist outside the narrow scripts offered to them by society, through the lens of later life. Much like in her earlier novels, which I have written about (The Vintage

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#BookReview: The Royal Secret (The Love Letter)

Author: Lucinda Riley Until I just finished this book, I totally forgot how much I love thrillers. I think I’ve got distracted with two book clubs and all the lovely books and genres I discovered there, albeit Lucinda Riley as an author was mentioned in my British book club because some members have recently read

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#BookReview: The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

Author: Takuya Asakuro Some novels invite the reader to slow down, to notice what is usually passed over in everyday life. The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop is one such book. It centres on a small, fragile bookshop threatened by time, change, and unresolved personal histories, using this setting to reflect on memory, loss, and the

book review, Takuya Asakuro, The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

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#BookReview: The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris

Author: Evie Woods I previously read Evie Woods’ book The Story Collector, which I absolutely loved. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that I read another book by this author. The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris is a story about starting over, the weight of memory, and the unexpected ways places — and people

book review, Evie Woods, The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris

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#BookReview: Never Let Me Go

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro Never Let Me Go is a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the author of Klara and the Sun I read recently. Like Klara and the Sun, Never Let Me Go is also a dystopian novel narrated through the quiet, reflective voice and written from the character’s point of view. In this case, the

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#BookReview: Mr. Skeffington

Author: Elizabeth von Arnim Mr. Skeffington is a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, who is climbing the list of my favourite authors. I previously read The Enchanted April and Love. This book continues with the same literary style, and von Arnim wrote a compelling story. The story is very similar, in its historical context, to

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#BookReview: The Time Traveler’s Passport Anthology

Authors: A group of authors (links below) The Time Traveler’s Passport is a series of novella/long stories (about 50 pages each) recommended by the New York Times and published by Amazon. The series is available on Kindle Unlimited, and it was released this month. Needless to say, I grabbed it immediately, and I read all

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#BookReview: Klara and the Sun

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro Klara and the Sun is a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, who previously won a Nobel Prize in Literature. Klara and the Sun is set in near-future America, and the story, interestingly, is narrated by Klara, an Artificial Friend (AR) that elites buy for their children. The story is generally a class story

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#BookReview: Chasing the Sun

Author: Judy Leigh Chasing the Sun is a book by Judy Leigh, an author whose many books I’ve read this year. As with all of her books, this one also narrates a story of senior women. The story in Chasing the Sun centres on Molly, a newly widowed woman who turns seventy and realises that

book review, Chasing the Sun, Judy Leigh

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#BookReview: The Last List of Mabel Beaumont

Author: Laura Pearson The Last List of Mabel Beaumont is one of the books that Amazon’s algorithm recommended. I was not intrigued by the title, but I took the book because these recommendations have so far been good. I had the book on my Kindle Unlimited for ages and only read it now to clear

book review, Laura Pearson, The Last List of Mabel Beaumont

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#BookReview: A Year of Mr Maybes

Author: Judy Leigh A Year of Mr Maybes is a book by Judy Leigh, an author whose several books I have read so far. This book is very different from other books by Leigh I have read because it centres on a woman who has recently divorced and is starting a new life in her

A Year of Mr Maybes, book review, Judy Leigh

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#BookReview: The Last Laugh Club

Author: Kate Galley The Last Laugh Club is a book about a group of former colleagues who go on a quest to fulfil a wish of their deceased friend and scatter his ashes in the most northern part of the UK, Shetland in Scotland. The colleagues did not always get along when they worked together,

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#BookReview: The Berry Pickers

Author: Amanda Peters The Berry Pickers is a fascinating book about love, grief, loss, and memory. The book shows how one tragic event can shape the lives of the whole family and how lives can fall apart with just one senseless act of selfishness. In this case, a little girl, Ruthie, is kidnapped from her

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#BookReview: The Good Psychopath’s Guide to Success

Authors: Kevin Dutton and Andy McNab The Good Psychopath’s Guide to Success: How to Use Your Inner Psychopath to Get the Most Out of Life is a manual that basically teaches people how to dig into their psychopathic traits to improve their lives. The starting point is that nobody is purely good or purely bad,

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#BookReview: The Secret Witch

Author: Alyxandra Harvey The Secret Witch is book 1 in The Witches of London Trilogy. There are two more books, which I aim to read. This first one, The Secret Witch, was a bit confusing to start with, but once I got into the story, I thought it was very compelling. Emma is part of

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#BookReview: The Silver Ladies Seize the Day

Author: Judy Leigh The Silver Ladies Seize the Day is the second book in a new book series by Judy Leigh. The first one was The Silver Ladies Do Lunch, which is the best book by Leigh I have read so far. This series of two books is also the best of what I’ve read

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#BookReview: The Silver Ladies Do Lunch

Author: Judy Leigh The Silver Ladies Do Lunch is a book by Judy Leigh, and the first one in the series of two so far. I am really pleased that Leigh also has books where stories continue, such as this one, and previously also Five French Hens and The Silver-Haired Sisterhood. The Silver Ladies Do

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#BookReview: The Silver-Haired Sisterhood

Author: Judy Leigh The Silver-Haired Sisterhood is a book by Judy Leigh, and a second one in the series (which I hope will continue). In the first book, Five French Hens, we met a group of women who met at an aqua aerobics class: Rose, Jen, Pam, Della, and Tess. Jen was meant to get

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#BookReview: Five French Hens

Author: Judy Leigh I read another book by Judy Leigh, the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ book genre. Leigh once again created a compelling story of senior women enjoying life and realising it is never too late to start new things and change their lives. Like with her other books I read (The

book review, Five French Hens, Judy Leigh

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#BookReview: Love

Author: Elizabeth von Arnim Love is the second book by Elizabeth von Arnim that I read. I previously read The Enchanted April, which I enjoyed enormously, so much that I recommended another book of hers for my US book club (the author was introduced to me by a member of my UK book club). In

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