September has been a quiet month after our busy summer. We have been expanding our cocktail repertoire. On our summer holiday we discovered some fantastic amari, most of which you can only buy at tiny Italian vineyards, but we’ve picked up a few more for our collection. Now we are experimenting with combining them. There are worse hobbies.

It has been a less productive month on the reading front – partly because I spent 10 days struggling through a book I then abandoned. Of the books I did finish, my favourite was The Coral Bones by E J Swift – an eco thriller, I guess you could call it? Definitely climate fiction, which I’m starting to think is a genre I really like. I really should finally read Tim’s copy of The Ministry of the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. Any other climate fiction recommendations?

Books read

Gone by Mo Hayder
This is a sequel to Ritual, which I read in 2013. We’re reintroduced to police detective Jack Caffery and police diver Flea Marley. This time they’re investigating a missing child. It’s a dark, twisty turny thriller, set in Bristol and the surrounding counties. Caffery and Marley have history, secrets and misunderstandings. Caffery likes to consult with a homeless wanderer he calls the Walking Man. I quite liked this and will look out for more of Hayder’s books, especially the other Bristol ones.

The Coral Bones by E J Swift
I very much enjoyed this novel. It’s Australian eco fiction with a sci-fi tinge. There are three interleaved narratives, all set just under 200 years apart. In the present day, marine biologist Hana is doing all she can to save the coral of the Great Barrier Reef. In the early 19th century, 17-year-old Judith persuades her ship captain father to take her on a voyage to expand her scientific knowledge. In the future, after massive climate and biodiversity catastrophes, Telma’s job is to track down rare animal sightings to help rebuild the world.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
This was a reread for book club. It’s a prequel to Jane Eyre, focused on the marriage of Antoinette Mason to Mr Rochester (who isn’t named here). It’s a much tougher read than I remembered, and I didn’t love it. Rhys’s style is difficult to follow and I wasn’t always clear if the racism depicted was just the characters, or if it was her too. There are some gorgeous, evocative descriptions and I learned a lot about 19th century Jamaica. But this is a dark, slow, difficult read. I don’t think I will be reading this a third time in my life.

The Viscount St Albans by Natania Barron
After three dark books I needed something lighter. This is faux-period romantasy with witches, vampires, werewolves and fairies. And lots of queer characters. It’s pretty silly but in just the right way. It’s a sequel to Netherford Hall, which I read last year. Most of the characters return from book one but this time the stakes are much higher. There’s a third part to this series and I’m not quite sure how the stakes could be raised again, but I’m sure Barron will find a way.

Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
This was my first Binchy and I don’t know why it took me so long. It’s sweet and cosy and yet all the darkest sides of life are there. Ria has spent her whole life in Dublin. She marries young and the couple stretch themselves to buy a huge house in need of serious work on Tara Road. Ria spends two decades turning it into a home, raising children, filling the house with friends and neighbours. Then suddenly her life is blown up and at the same time a chance phone call offers an opportunity: a house swap. Marilyn is an American woman who’s never met Ria but she too is in a bad emotional state and needs a break from her New England college town. It’s a fun premise, but I was a little surprised the house swap doesn’t happen until halfway through the book.