My Year in Books 2024: February

Time for this month's list, but it's not a very long with this time. I read two novels for pleasure in February, but I guess that's better than none.

My reviews for this month are below, and if you're interested my other post from this year is here: January

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes (2023)

This month began with a library book, and one with (surprise, surprise) an intriguing premise. Maya lives in Boston with her boyfriend, but one night she sees a video that brings back memories of a traumatic event from her past, so she travels back to her hometown to make sense of it all. That might sound a bit pedestrian, but there are some things you should probably know. The traumatic event was that Maya’s best friend Aubrey dropped down dead without explanation, after talking to Maya’s boyfriend Frank. And the video that she saw was of the same thing happening to another girl… and Maya recognized the man she was talking to as Frank. Another important thing to know is that Maya is going through benzodiazepine withdrawal at the start of the story, and she’s self-medicating with alcohol. Maya returns to her mother’s house to try and make sense of these events and her own unreliable memories, and to prove that Frank had something to do with Aubrey’s death. By doing this, Maya also reconnects with her family history and rediscovers the book that her Guatemalan father was writing at the time of his death (which happened before Maya was born). There’s quite a lot going on here, and some parts of the book are really compelling. I’m not sure the Frank storyline was really for me, though, as for all the intrigue, the explanation was a bit simplistic and far-fetched. Maya’s family relationships and background were much more engaging.

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (2022)

I really enjoyed Foley’s previous novels The Hunting Party and The Guest List, so I was looking forward to this one. Sadly, I’m not sure it quite lived up to its promise. The book is (funnily enough) set in a weird old apartment building in Paris. Jess – a woman with a rather messy lifestyle – arrives at the building to stay with her half-brother Ben. But when she gets to Ben’s apartment, he’s nowhere to be seen. After a while, Jess starts to suspect that something bad has happened to Ben. The book is actually told through multiple perspectives, so we learn more about the other inhabitants of the apartment block, as well as their relationships with Ben. Unfortunately, the big reveals that are to come are quite obvious early on, so it becomes a case of waiting to see when Jess will catch up. I enjoyed the setting – which I expected to, given the author’s previous work – but the characters were quite difficult to deal with. It wasn’t so much that they were unlikeable, though they all were, but rather that I struggled to understand the motivations for their behaviours. The final explanation put some of the weird behaviour into perspective, but there were multiple minor weirdnesses that were never quite explained. It felt a bit like the characters had to behave oddly in order to keep the mystery going. If they’d all just tried to behave normally, Jess would have figured out what happened to Ben a lot sooner.

Spring Equinox Stories Wanted for Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

Submit your seasonal flash fiction to be played on Hannah’s Bookshelf this March!

Can you tell a seasonal story in just 3 minutes? Want to have your work played on the radio? This month, I’m looking for seasonal (Spring) flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 16th March, I’ll be hosting the first Hannah’s Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special, and as part of my seasonal special, I’ll be playing a selection of my favourite 3-minute stories on the show (broadcast on FM and on digital). Want to be part of it? Submit a recording of your seasonally inflected story (maximum 3 minutes) by midnight on Monday 11th March.

All genres welcome – be they cosy, romantic, scary or sad. The only rules are that stories must be your own original work, have some connection to the season, and be in English (the language of the broadcast). And please ease off the swears – stories have to be radio friendly! All you need is a microphone and a story – once you’re ready to submit your story, click on the ‘Start Recording’ button on my website to record your story and submit it. Remember to enter your name and email address when submitting your story.

If you aren’t able to submit via a recording and would like another method of taking part, please message via my website for more information.

Please share this call with anyone who you think might be interested – I’d like to cast the net as wide as possible. My favourite seasonal stories will be broadcast on the Hannah’s Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special at 2pm on Saturday 16th March, on digital radio and 106.6FM.

Imbolc: Day 7

It's Groundhog Day! And the final day of our (slightly muted) Imbolc celebrations this year.

Imbolc Dinner

We had our traditional Imbolc dinner tonight... vegetarian meatloaf with spring onion mash, followed by winterberry crumble.

Imbolc Gifts

After dinner, we swapped our traditional Imbolc gifts. We'll save these whiskies up throughout the year, and then enjoy them in December.

Groundhog Day

Time for the seasonal film of choice. It is Groundhog Day after all.

And so the wheel of the year turns... we'll be celebrating again (fingers crossed) at the Spring Equinox.

Imbolc: Day 6

I was in London for a training session today, and while it was a very enjoyable and interesting session, it wasn't really very seasonal. I did make sure Rob and I had a seasonal treat afterwards though!

Imbolc Bun

This isn't technically marketed as an Imbolc treat, but whatever. Raspberry choux bun with added white chocolate winter people (from a reduced-to-clear Christmas selection box... 'tis the season).

Imbolc: Day 5

I think I've just accepted that I'm not going to recovered enough from the horror-cold for big celebrations (and poor Rob certainly isn't), so I guess this Imbolc is all about the little things. I can deal with that - the little things are meant to be the ones that matter anyway.

Castlerea Imbolc Stories

I was at Castlerea Care Home for a seasonal storytelling session with the residents this afternoon. We had some Imbolc-themed poetry, a lot of conversation, a bit of music, and snowballs, iced gems and cream soda! After the session finished, the staff and residents surprised me with a packet of sunflower seeds, so that I've got a project for when winter turns into spring.

Imbolc: Day 4

Another quiet day of recovering from the horror-cold. I was at work all day, so no time or energy for big celebrations.

Imbolc Tea Break

Even though I couldn't manage any big celebrations, I still had a bit of a (sort of) seasonal tea break at work by treating myself to a cinnamon bun.

Imbolc: Day 3

Another quiet Imbolc day, as I've still not shifted this cold properly. I'm a bit too tired to do a lot of celebrating, sadly.

Library and Lunch

I met up with a friend today for a trip to Beswick Library (which I combined with some recording for Hannah's Bookshelf). After we'd checked out some books, we went for lunch at Elnecot.

Imbolc: Day 2

Another day of our slightly muted Imbolc celebrations. My temperature's down again (hooray!), but Rob's still really ill. Fingers crossed we kick this into touch soon.

Bailey’s Wood Imbolc Walk

I ran a seasonal walk for Friends of Bailey's Wood today, sharing Imbolc stories and folklore. We had a huge turnout, and everyone was really up for hearing me talk about Jack Frost, the Green Man, winter lights and weather-forecasting badgers. I read a bit from Lia Leendertz's Almanac as well, when we paused at the site of an old hay meadow - 'The Painful Plough' seemed fitting for the location!

Events in February 2024

A Ghastly Find at Cheetham
Saturday 17th February
10.00-11.00am and 7.00-8.00pm
Romancing the Gothic
I'll be giving a talk on bodysnatching, the history of anatomy, museums and the Manchester Mummy
Booking Link

Virtual Writing Retreat
Sunday 18th February
10.30–5.00pm
Hannah's Bookshelf
I'm hosting an online writing retreat for creative writers with writing exercises and structured writing sessions
Members Event

Interested in booking me for an event? Click here to find out more.

Imbolc: Day 1

It's Imbolc! But, sadly, a bit of a quiet one for us this year, as we've both come down with horrible colds that have completely derailed our plans for the season. I'm gutted, because I really love Imbolc, and we had to cancel a few of our seasonal celebrations last year for various reasons. Here's hoping this isn't a sign of things to come this year. Sigh.

Imbolc Litter-Pick

It was the monthly Friends of Bailey's Wood litter-pick today. Rob wasn't well enough to make it, but I limped on and enjoyed finding some seasonal things in the woods. I'm glad I did, because I found some Scarlet Elf Cups! First time I've ever seen these mushrooms in real life!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Imbolc Special

This afternoon was the Hannah's Bookshelf Imbolc Special on North Manchester FM. I shared some seasonal stories and folklore, and then we had some original seasonal flash fiction submitted by four writers. I also contributed a story this time - 'Two Player Mode', a light-hearted take on the Imbolc season. And there were Imbolc cakes too, which I shared with the volunteers at the community centre where the NMFM studio is based.

My Year in Books 2024: January

A new year and a new set of book review posts. I read quite a bit in December, but actually I've been struggling a bit with reading for fun again. I've got plenty of books on my to-read pile, but I've been find it hard to find the time and the concentration for reading them all. I'm hoping this will get better as the year goes on though.

That said, I did read two amazing books in January!

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett (2023)

I’ve absolutely loved all of Janice Hallett’s books, so I was definitely looking forward to this one. I got this one out of the library on a recent visit, and as I had a day off I decided to read it all in one go. Like Hallett’s other books, this one has a quirky narrative format and tricksy storytelling style. It’s not quite as tricksy as The Appeal and The Twyford Code, and so it’s slightly easier to work out what you’re looking for and where the clues are in this one. The story is about a true crime writer, Amanda Bailey, who is tasked by her publisher with looking into the case of the Alperton Angels, a cult who committed mass suicide seventeen years ago. The so-called Alperton Angels had planned to sacrifice a baby prior to their deaths, but this plan was thwarted and the baby – along with its teenaged parents – were removed from the scene. No one knows what happened to the baby afterwards, but now that it will be reaching eighteen years of age, Amanda thinks this might be the angle she needs for her book. Unfortunately, an old colleague/rival, Oliver Menzies, is also writing a book on the case, so Amanda has to try and stay one step ahead of him. Of course, this being a book by Janice Hallett, things aren’t quite what they seem. I really enjoyed this one, though it didn’t quite beat The Twyford Code for me. Very engrossing story though!

Five Minds by Guy Morpuss (2021)

I read Morpuss’s second novel Black Lake Manor at the end of 2022/beginning of 2023, and really enjoyed it. I don’t know why it took me so long to read his debut novel, but I’m glad I have done now. The story is set in the near future when an undefined totalitarian regime has stepped in to control overpopulation and depletion of resources. Human beings now have a choice of how to live: be a worker (live your life as normal, but work for it), be an android (have your consciousness downloaded into an artificial body with a lifespan of 80 years), be a hedonist (enjoy your life without having to work, but only with a lifespan of 42 years), or join a commune (five minds inhabiting one body, enjoying 5 lifespans). This is the story of a commune made up of Alex, Kate, Mike, Sierra and Ben, who are each conscious for 4 hours a day, controlling the body that they all share. So far, so Black Mirror. But Five Minds is actually so much more intriguing (and the mind-bendy sci-fi context is very light-touch). It’s a mystery novel told through multiple narrators who can never co-exist or communicate with one another. Someone is trying to kill off members of the commune, and it’s possible one of the members is a traitor – but how can they ever work out the truth, if they each only get four hours at a time? This is such a good book – highly recommended.