My Year in Books 2025: January

Another year of book reviews begins! I've been doing this for a while now, writing mini reviews of the books I've read for pleasure (so, not including the books I've read to review, for research or for my radio show). When I first started doing this, I decided to aim for reviews of around 250 words for each book. Being the strange person I am, this quickly became a challenge of writing exactly 250 words for every review... and I'm proud to say that I've stuck to that in every post since 2018. Let's see if I keep this up in 2025.

Now... the year has got off to a pretty hectic start, given that I was promoted this month and I have a book coming next month... it's all very exciting, but I haven't much time for reading for fun. So there's only one book on this month's list, I'm afraid.

The Puzzle Wood by Rosie Andrews (2024)

This one was a library book that I checked out last year but didn’t get chance to read. It’s a Gothic, historical mystery with hints of the supernatural and an intriguing forest. The story begins in 1852, with the recently widowed Catherine Symonds applying for a position as governess at a house in Herefordshire. Catherine’s husband was wealthy, but on his death certain things came to light about Catherine’s sister Emily, who died while working as a governess at Locksley Abbey. Catherine’s plan is to ‘go undercover’ at Locksley Abbey and find out the truth about her sister. What follows is a strange tale of mystery, (potentially) magic and (unexpectedly) mining. On the one hand, we’re in fairly standard Gothic Governess territory, as Catherine meets her employer Sir Rowland, his daughter Georgie, and other members of the creepy household. On the other hand, there’s a more down-to-earth historical bent, as much of the story focuses on the coal mine on Sir Rowland’s land, and the involvement of local doctor Arthur Sidstone in Chartist protests. These elements are linked by the presence of the Puzzle Wood, a mysterious forest that is reputedly haunted, but also the subject of a proposed, contentious land sale. I have to say that these elements held my attention far more than the story of Catherine’s sister, which escalated to a very strange, somewhat far-fetched denouement. By the end, I cared a lot more about what was happening with the mine than what had happened to Emily!

Imbolc: Day 3

Another day of celebrating Imbolc... and another day of being a bit too busy to celebrate. Between a new job and a new book coming out, I haven't got very much downtime this January!

Drink in the Pub

After a pretty busy day, I did have a bit of time for a quick drink in my local with a friend to celebrate the promotion and the book coming out.

Imbolc: Day 2

It's the second day of our Imbolc celebrations... but I'm too busy to do any celebrating. Oh dear. Hopefully, we'll catch up by the weekend.

Snowdrops

Since I didn't get chance for any festivities, I had to content myself with seeing some snowdrops instead today.

Imbolc: Day 1

It's nearly Imbolc, and so it's time to start celebrating! Well... maybe... in an appropriately seasonal twist, I had an interview for a job (a promotion, in fact) just after Plough Monday, and so I'm hitting the ground running with the new role. I'm having an incredibly busy second half of January, but that's how it should be. You have to break the ground in January to prepare for the fruitful year ahead.

Dinner with a Friend

Tonight wasn't technically a festive occasion, but it was still a nice thing. I went for dinner at Zizzi with a friend to celebrate my new job. My dinner was very heavily mushroom-based (Mushroom Brindisi, followed by Mushroom & Truffle with Burrata).

Imbolc Stories Wanted for Hannah's Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

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

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 (winter, Imbolc, Candlemas, Groundhog Day) flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 1st February, I’ll be hosting the Hannah’s Bookshelf Imbolc 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 27th January.

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 Imbolc Special at 2pm on Saturday 1st February, on digital radio and 106.6FM.