June was an…odd month. We thought the dog needed surgery, so we cancelled plans, got all ready to hunker down for her long, slow recovery. And then after scans and specialists, it turns out she doesn’t need surgery. Which is of course a massive relief and I am hugely grateful. But also it took my brain a bit of time to adapt to “oh, we do get to have a fun summer after all”.

The crazy heatwave coincided with the above, so we were more than happy to stay indoors with closed blinds, a fan and plenty of chilled water. It is a little scary to experience 39 degree heat as early as June though.

Continue reading “June 2026 reading round-up”

Well, life just keeps on getting more complicated and frustrating, but also the sun is shining and we survived the first heatwave of the year.

Highlights of the month include seeing Robin Ince live as part of Bristol’s Skeptics in the Pub/Theatre lecture series run by Bristol Skeptics Society. Ince is a comedian, science communicator and all-around lovely human being and his live show is brilliant. Go see him if you can. And either way, read his books. There are quite a lot of them.

Continue reading “May 2026 reading round-up”

My reading last month was boosted by the Easter long weekend, sunny evenings in the garden and a short holiday in Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons).

We had fantastic luck with the weather considering it was a holiday in the UK in April. It was gorgeously sunny and warm while still early enough in the year that the UV was only high for brief periods each day. Which meant I could be outside for hours at a time without triggering a lupus flare. Cue 3-4 hour walks in peaceful countryside with picnics or pub lunches. Then getting back to our holiday cottage mid-afternoon to sit in the garden with books, wine and snacks.

On holiday we stumbled across Hy Brasail, a strange house that looks like a hybrid of ordinary Victorian house and an Italian villa. Which is basically exactly what it is. There is some mystery surrounding it, but what seems agreed on is that it was owned by a local lawyer, Mr James, in 1912. He made some quirky additions to the building after he went on holiday to Italy. He may have fallen in love with a contessa and promised to build her a house reminiscent of her Tuscan childhood. She may even have lived there with him. Though more likely she broke his heart and never came to Wales.

Continue reading “April 2026 reading round-up”

A fairly uneventful month – which is maybe better than the alternative. We went to see Project Hail Mary at the cinema, which was very entertaining and does kinda make me want to read the Andy Weir book. And we watched the film of The Thin Man – accompanied by martinis, of course – which is great fun and if anything makes more of the role of Asta the dog than the book did.

The garden is full of flowers and the park is full of wild garlic. Even my house plants are in flower, one of them after two years of no buds at all. That’s exciting.

This coming weekend is Easter, which I will as is now traditional spend mostly reading books and eating chocolate. Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

Continue reading “March 2026 reading round-up”

Rain, rain, so much rain. I can’t remember a previous February that was so wet. So we have largely hibernated this month. I read a lot. We watched a lot of films. We even squeezed in some art, courtesy of Bristol Light Festival.

I ended the month celebrating Chinese New Year at Bristol City Museum; going out for a delicious meal with Tim at Box-E; and hearing the news that the US, Israel and Iran are at war.

Books-wise, a couple of these I picked because February is LGBT+ History Month in the UK. And three were for book clubs. Most were good reads, but a couple were truly excellent: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld.

Continue reading “February 2026 reading round-up”

Well, it has been quite a month. Art is good. Emergency hospital trips are not. The relentless rain here in Bristol ruled out any chance of aurora spotting and the world news continues to be largely terrible.

Thank goodness for books and films and photography and music. And awesome friends. And delicious food. And did I mention our friends are awesome?

Tim and I had an excellent long weekend in London, where we saw both the RSC production of My Neighbour Totoro – which is as sweet and beautiful and funny and sad as the film – and the Theatre Royal production of Othello, starring David Harewood and Toby Jones. Which is as heartbreaking and brutal and mesmerising as it should be with such amazing actors.

Continue reading “January 2026 reading round-up”

It’s that time again when I click on the stats tab in Storygraph and share some facts and figures about my reading over the last year. In 2025 I read 82 books, or 21,773 pages. Way back last January, when I was recovering from my shoulder operation, I was reading very short books that I could manage one-handed. So I’m relieved to see that by the end of the year, my average book length was a respectable 265 pages.

One stat that surprises me is that 30 of the books I read this year are in a series. Then again, if you sneak a look ahead to my top five, two of them are in series. 

From my own records, I see that I read 21 works in translation. The 82 books were set in 25 different countries (not counting space/fantasy locations), and were written by authors from 20 different countries. That’s a decent spread.

I don’t want to set myself any goals this year, aside from continuing to read widely. I want to give myself freedom to jump into any topics or challenges that arise without feeling that it leaves me too busy to read my own dang books. I’m just happy that in my mid-40s I am continuing to read a lot and continuing to enjoy it.

Continue reading “2025 reading stats and top reads”

Well, happy New Year’s Eve folks. I hope those of you who get a few days off at this time of year have enjoyed them. We had a very lovely small Christmas, and an even quieter few days of Twixtmas.

I was lucky enough to get my usual stack of books from friends and family. And more than a week of quiet time to largely devote to reading. My TBR may be roughly the same size as this time last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, but its composition does change. I’ve stopped feeling guilty about owning so many unread books. If nothing else I’m supporting writers financially by continuing to buy their work/ask for books to constitute the majority of my presents.

I’ve also watched an inordinate number of films this month. Top ranking among them are The Holdovers, Feast of Seven Fishes, Wake Up Dead Man and Night Moves. Oh, and yesterday we finally watched Double Indemnity, which is just as good as you might expect of a screenplay co-written by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder.

I’ve spent this afternoon curled up reading Arsène Lupin short stories but now it’s time to make dinner, drink wine, watch Jools Holland and see in 2026. Happiest of new years to all of you.

Continue reading “December 2025 reading round-up”

In some ways it has been an ideal November – mostly very cold and sunny with blue skies, with just the occasional intense storm. I’ve taken the dog for some lovely walks and read some great books.

I also saw Wet Leg live, who were awesome of course. And I went to the Bristol Drama School production of Kae Tempest’s Brand New Ancients, which I found powerful (though the friend I went with was less convinced). Tim also took me to the cinema to see the new Running Man film, which I really enjoyed.

Continue reading “November 2025 reading round-up”

October just whizzed along. I squeezed in a lot of things, which I guess contributed to time flying by. I went to two gigs – the Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwals and Panic Shack – as well as a handful of delicious meals out and amazing Lego creations at the Great Western Brick Show. And also two author talks! I saw historian Paula Akpan talk about her book When We Ruled: the Rise and Fall of Twelve African Queens and Warriors. And Tim took me to see Nick Offerman, who is touring for the launch of his new book Little Woodchucks. I’m not sure I’ll get that much out of an introduction to woodworking, but he is a very funny man. And the book does include instructions to build your own little free library, which could be a pretty cool addition to our front garden.

Continue reading “October 2025 reading round-up”