Twenty Books of Summer 2025

Every year I tell myself I'm not doing this again, as I inevitably set myself up to fail - but I do so enjoy choosing the books and making the plans. 

I read almost nothing in August, owing to reviewing commitments in the Edinburgh festivals, so most of my 20 books have to be read by the end of July. Also, in the past I've always included several weighty tomes, on the basis that this is one way to get them read; predictably, this has got me through things like Angela Bourke's biography of Maeve Brennan and Ian Stephen's wonderful A Book of Death and Fish, but has left me struggling (ineffectively) to get anywhere near finishing my list.

So for 2025 I've decided to cut myself quite a lot of slack, and only choose predominantly easy reads, a couple of books I need to review for publishers, and some that will also work for two of my favourite challenges, Reading the Meow (run by Malika:  https://potpourri2015.wordpress.com/2025/04/29/announcing-readingthemeow2025/)

and Emma's Paris in July (https://wordsandpeace.com/2025/05/16/paris-in-july-2025/).

In other words, don't expect too many 500 page literary masterpieces here....but there will be some fun books, and sometimes that's just what I need from my reading.

Here are the books (* = Reading the Meow, ** = Paris in July)

Fiction

The Cat Who Saw Red by Lilian Jackson Braun*

This is the next book in the cosy-ish murder mystery series featuring newspaper reporter Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Yum Yum and Koko.

Maisie Goes to Glasgow by Aileen Paterson* and The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr*

I'm counting these as one book as they are obviously very short, but I'm interested in the fact that so many more cats than dogs seem to feature in children's literature (though I know people are now going to start reminding me about Hairy Maclary and Because of Winn-Dixie...)

Octavia by Jilly Cooper

I love Jilly Cooper's very early novels, especially Harriet, but I've somehow missed this one until now.

Girl From the South by Joanna Trollope

I really enjoyed Joanna Trollope's early novels - A Village Affair, The Choir, The Rector's Wife - but I've found some of her later books very disappointing. This one was published in 2002, so we'll see.

Caught Out in Cornwall by Janie Bolitho

This is the last Rose Trevalyan murder mystery that Janie Bolitho pubished before her early death.  This series is by no means faultless, but it's grown on me and I'll be sorry to finish it.

In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson

I was asked to review this book far longer ago than I care to admit. It's science fiction, a genre with which I'm not at all familiar. I do remember reading and enjoying the first few chapters before getting distracted by something else. I've felt guilty ever since, so this summer I'm determined to get this one off my conscience. 

The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster

I recently read and reviewed Kate Foster's excellent The King's Witches. Pan Macmillan has now kindly sent me Foster's latest book, which is again set in 18th century Edinburgh and East Lothian.

The Silent Killer by Hazel Holt

Hazel Holt was one of Barbara Pym's closest friends, and the author of her first biography. Over the years I've read a few from her series of murder mysteries featuring Shelia Malory (and her Siamese cat, though - in contrast to some American cosy crime books - he doesn't [thank goodness] talk, or play a major part in any of the main plots).) They're light, but feature some interesting characters.

Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Frank Cottrell Boyce's Framed is one of my favourite children's books; its hero, Dylan, is unforgettable, and every single character in that wonderful story is memorable in their own way - so I'm looking forward to reading Millions.

16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber

I don't believe in 'guilty' reading pleasures, but were I to have one it would be Debbie Macomber's novels. I enjoyed her Blossom Street books and I've always meant to start the much longer Cedar Cove series - so now I will, and I don't care what anyone thinks.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

One of the presenters of the excellent Currently Reading podcast is working her way through all of the Hercule Poirot novels. I can only take so much of Agatha Christie in one sitting, but this is, I think, Poirot's first outing. I'll give this project a go. 

Non Fiction

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

I've often dipped in and out of this one, but I'd like to try to read it properly. Not everyone agrees with Julia Cameron's approach to creativity, but this book has become iconic so I think it's more than worthy of my time.

French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork and Corkscrew by Peter Mayle** 

I like books about food, and this one promises to be 'a delightful (and delicious) account of the good life, this time exploring the gustatory pleasures to be found throughout France.' 

Long Ago in France by MFK Fisher**

I recently read and very much enjoyed Luke Barr's Provence, 1970, the story of a winter during which Julia & Paul Child, James Beard, Simone Beck, Richard Olney, publisher Judith Jones, Sybille Bedford, Eda Lord and MFK Fisher met up in the south of France, and, some think, changed the face of American cookery writing forever. 

Long Ago in France is, I think, Mary Fisher's story of her earlier life in Dijon, to which she moved with her first husband, and her own travels around the country. 

Chewing the Fat: Tasting Notes from a Greedy Life by Jay Rayner

This is a collection of Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet host's pieces written for The Observer. They all seem to be short and pithy. As someone who despairs of the waffle served up on so many food blogs ('how to choose an onion' - for goodness sake!) I will enjoy someone who says what he thinks and gets to the point. And of course this is another book about food...

Diary of an Ordinary Schoolgirl by Margaret Forster 

Forster was, of course, an acclaimed novelist. This is her 1950s teenage diary. It only has 161 little pages, and includes her cash account, Christmas lists, and titles of the films she saw and the books she read. It looks great.

The Observer Book of Food

I expect this was once free with the newspaper. It is a slim booklet but it appears to contain all sorts of interesting snippets.

Bibliomaniac: An Obsessive's Tour of the Bookshops of Britain by Robin Ince

I loved Robin Ince's show at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, in which he talked about his Covid lockdown-induced tour of over a hundred independent bookshops, his conversations with readers along the way, and the vital role books play in creating empathy. This is the book on which the show was largely based. 

How to be a Heroine, or What I've Learned from Reading Too Much by Samantha Ellis

'(The author) decided to look again at the heroines.....who had shaped her ideas of the world and how to live. Some of them stood up to the scrutiny....some most decidedly did not.'

The fabulous Jacqueline Wilson, whom I have coincidentally just today seen in a wonderful livestream from the Hay Festival, describes this book as 'wonderful.' I trust Jacqueline implicitly. 

Playing to the Gallery: Helping Contemporary Art in its Struggle to be Understood by Grayson Perry

I'm never quite sure about Grayson Perry, but I did like his lockdown TV show and the way in which he and Philippa Perry encouraged everyone to have a go at making things and send them photos of their creations.  This slim book seems to be more about the commodification of art than the author's own works. I've already looked at the illustrations; they're both funny and shrewd. I like contemporary art; I know most artists are very reluctant to explain their work, so I appreciate any practitioner's efforts to help me understand it.

So those are the books. If I get through all twenty of them I'll be delighted, and even if I don't, I'm glad I've chosen plenty that I think I'll enjoy.