Who are some new authors that you want to read from in 2025
Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and it is now being hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For details of all of the latest prompts for January to March, see Meeghan’s post here.
Today the topic is 5 authors I want to try in 2025. Who are some new authors that you want to read from in 2025? These books are from my TBRs.
I was really excited to read Schindler’s List when I bought it as I’d recently watched the film, Schindler’s List for a second time and was very moved by it – it had me in tears. It was first published as Schindler’s Ark. It recreates the story of Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, who risked his life to protect Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland. He rescued more than a thousand Jews from the death camps.
The Agony and the Ecstasyby Irving Stone is a book I’ve been longing to read for years. I’ve had it since 2007. It’s a biographical novel about Michelangelo. The copy I had was impossible to read as it was falling apart so I bought a new copy – but it’s still sitting waiting to be read. Why? Well because I have so many other books I really want to read.
Another book I’ve had since 2007, still waiting to be read for the same reason is 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro. 1599 was the year the Globe Theatre was built and that Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar, Henry V, As You Like It and Hamlet. it’s full of detail, not just about Shakespeare, his plays and the theatre, but also about the events of his life and times!
Version 1.0.0
The Water Horse by Julia Gregson, a book I’ve had since 2009. It’s historical fiction based on the true story of a young Welsh woman, Jane Evans, a Welsh woman who in 1853 ran off with Welsh cattle drovers and volunteered as a nurse with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea. Catherine Carreg has grown up a tomboy, spending her days racing her ponies with Deio, the drover’s son, in a small Welsh village. But Catherine is consumed by a longing to escape the monotony of village life and, with Deio’s help, runs away to London.
Alone in the unfamiliar bustle of the city, Catherine finds a position in a rest home for sick governesses in Harley Street, run by Miss Florence Nightingale. Then, as the nation is gripped by reports of the war in the Crimea, Catherine volunteers as a nurse – and her life changes beyond all recognition.
Jeremy Hutchinson’s Case Histories by Thomas Grant – I bought this in February 2020 after watching the BBC series,The Trial of Christine Keeler, the story of the Profumo affair in 1962 as seen from her perspective. Hutchinson was Keeler’s defence barrister.
Born in 1915 into the fringes of the Bloomsbury Group, Jeremy Hutchinson went on to become the greatest criminal barrister of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. The cases of that period changed society for ever and Hutchinson’s role in them was second to none. In Case Histories, Jeremy Hutchinson’s most remarkable trials are examined, each one providing a fascinating look into Britain’s post-war social, political and cultural history.
Every Friday Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Readerwhere you can share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading. You can also share from a book you want to highlight just because it caught your fancy.
I’m featuring The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier. It’s a novel that follows a family of glassmakers from the height of Renaissance-era Italy to the present day. I’ve read several of her books and I’m hoping to enjoy this one as much as the others.
If you skim a flat stone skilfully across water, it will touch down many times, in long or short intervals as it lands.
With that in mind, now replace water with time.
Also every Friday there is The Friday 56, hosted by Freda at Freda’s Voice, but she is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. You grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
‘How dare you come looking for me in Venice,’ he began in a low voice that rapidly grew louder, ‘as if I were a child who needed shepherding. You embarrassed the family name and ruined our relationship with our merchant. If the Rosso business goes under, it will be your fault.
Description:
Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as their glass.
Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle.
Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime.
Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss.
The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her?
I’ve always loved books and whenever anyone asked me what I’d like for my birthday or Christmas the answer was always ‘books, please’ . So l was delighted this last Christmas to receive four books!
Two of them are books that were on my wish list and the other two were complete surprises.
I’ve got some of Jamie’s books, and this one looks like a good addition. In his introduction he writes ‘With a twinkle in my eye I want to position this book as one that is absolutely dedicated to the art of minimal washing up – you cook each recipe in just one pan or tray … it’s about making your life easier.’ I like the idea of minimal washing up and will be cooking quite a lot of these recipes.
It has over 120 recipes for tasty, fuss-free and satisfying dishes cooked in just one pan. What’s better: each recipe has just eight ingredients or fewer, meaning minimal prep (and washing up) and offering maximum convenience. With chapters including Veggie Delights, Celebrating Chicken, Frying Pan Pasta, Batch Cooking, Puds & Cakes, it all looks simply delicious.
Historical fiction has long been a great favourite of mine. I absolutely loved Sharon Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour that made me want to know more about the Wars of the Roses.So, when I found Iggulden had written a trilogy about the civil war I was keen to read it. I’ve read some of Iggulden’s other historical fiction novels and loved them, so I’m looking forward to reading this.
King Henry V – the great Lion of England – is long dead. In 1437, after years of regency, the pious and gentle Henry VI, the Lamb, comes of age and accedes to the English throne. His poor health and frailty of mind render him a weakling king -Henry depends on his closest men, Spymaster Derry Brewer and William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, to run his kingdom.
Yet there are those, such as the Plantagenet Richard, Duke of York, who believe England must be led by a strong king if she is to survive. With England’s territories in France under threat, and rumours of revolt at home, fears grow that Henry and his advisers will see the country slide into ruin. With a secret deal struck for Henry to marry a young French noblewoman, Margaret of Anjou, those fears become all too real.
As storm clouds gather over England, King Henry and his supporters find themselves besieged abroad and at home. Who, or what can save the kingdom before it is too late?
The Case of the Canterfell Codicil (Anty Boisjoly Mysteries Book 1) by PJ Fitzsimmons (not on my wish list). This was a complete surprise for me as I don’t know anything about this book, or the author. It’ll be good reading a new-to-me author and I do like locked room mysteries.
1920s gadabout Anty Boisjoly takes on his first case when his Oxford chum is facing the gallows, accused of the murder of his wealthy uncle.
Not one but two locked-room murders later, Boisjoly’s pitting his wits and witticisms against a subversive butler, a senile footman, a single-minded detective-inspector, an errant goat, and the eccentric conventions of the pastoral Sussex countryside to untangle a multi-layered mystery of secret bequests, ancient writs, love triangles, revenge, and a teasing twist in the final paragraph.
The Case of the Canterfell Codicil is a classic, cosy, locked-room mystery with an improbable plot inspired by Agatha Christie and prose in the style of an homage to PG Wodehouse.
Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times by Katherine May (a surprise, not on my wish list). It’s a memoir covering quite a wide range of topics, not just about winter, or rest and retreat. I’ve seen this book is one people either praise it or criticise it, so I’m keen to know what I think of it.
Wintering is a poignant and comforting meditation on the fallow periods of life, times when we must retreat to care for and repair ourselves. Katherine May thoughtfully shows us how to come through these times with the wisdom of knowing that, like the seasons, our winters and summers are the ebb and flow of life.
A moving personal narrative interwoven with lessons from literature, mythology and the natural world, May’s story offers instruction on the transformative power of rest and retreat. Illumination emerges from many sources: solstice celebrations and dormice hibernation, C.S. Lewis and Sylvia Plath, swimming in icy waters and sailing arctic seas.
Ultimately, Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times. May models an active acceptance of sadness and finds nourishment in deep retreat, joy in the hushed beauty of winter, and encouragement in understanding life as cyclical, not linear. A secular mystic, May forms a guiding philosophy for transforming the hardships that arise before the ushering in of a new season.
It’s time again for Six Degrees of Separation, a monthly link-up hosted by Kate atBooks Are My Favourite and Best. Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the other books on the list, only to the one next to it in the chain.
This month starts with Orbital by Samantha Harvey, the 2024 Booker winner:
A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.
The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part – or protective – of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?
Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.
My first link is The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey. I came to the end of this book and immediately wanted to start it again. What seems at first to be a simple tale is actually a multi-layered and complex book. I really enjoyed reading it. It’s set in the late 15th century in a small village in Somerset. A man disappears, presumed drowned – but how and why did he die?
My second link is a book also set in the 15th century, The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman, a fascinating novel about Richard III’s life from his childhood to his death at Bosworth Field in 1485. I think this is one of the best historical novels that I’ve read. It is full of detail, but Sharon Penman’s research sits very lightly in this book, none of it feels like a history lesson, and it all brings Richard’s world to life.
I’m staying in the 15th century for my third link,Red Rose, White Rose by Joanna Hickson, set in 15th century England during the Wars of the Roses when Cecily Neville was torn between both sides. Her father was Richard Neville, the Duke of Westmorland and a staunch Lancastrian and she married Richard Plantagenet of York and became the mother of Edward IV and Richard III. Told through the eyes of Cicely and her half-brother Cuthbert, this is the story of one of the most powerful women in England during one of its most turbulent periods.
For my fourth link I’m using the words ‘white rose‘ in the title and moving from the 15th century to the 20th with White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey, a World War 2 novel. It’s told from the perspective of a German who opposed the Nazis and is set in the Black Forest, Germany in 1943, where Franka Gerber is living alone in an isolated cabin, having returned to her home town of Freiburg after serving a prison sentence for anti-Nazi activities.
My fifth link is to another novel set in World War 2 – Checkmate to Murder by E C R Lorac, a Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald murder mystery. What I found fascinating in this book is the insight into what life was like in wartime London, complete with the London fog and the details of the blackout and although the Blitz was over there were still plenty of bangs and noise so that a gunshot wasn’t easily heard.
For my final link I’m moving to London in the 19th century with Bleak House by Charles Dickens about the obscure case in the Court of Chancery of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Here’s his description of fog in Chapter 1:
Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper, down in his close cabin; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little ‘prentice boy on deck. Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon and hanging in the misty clouds.
My chain moves from the International Space Station to London in the 19th century and has travelled through the 15th century with a brief stop in the 20th century. The books are historical and crime fiction
What is in your chain, I wonder?
Next month (February 1, 2025), we’ll start with a classic – Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
The Stars Look Down by A.J. Cronin, a family saga chronicling the lives of a number of interconnected families over a period of thirty years.
The story starts in 1903 in a North Country mining town, Sleescale, a fictional town, as its inhabitants experienced social and political upheaval. It ends in 1933. It highlights the terrible conditions in the coal mines, the lack of workers’ rights and the need for change in the relationship between the coal miners and the mine owners.
It’s a long book, but I read it quickly, completely absorbed in all the sub plots and keen to know how it would all be resolved. There is plenty of drama, with scenes including a flood in the pit, killing one hundred and five miners, including David’s father and brother. Cronin’s descriptive writing is so strong, conveying the terrible conditions in the pit, as the miners find themselves trapped and slowly realise there is no way out. Those scenes in particular made a big impression on me and will stay with me for quite some time.
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh, a powerful novel that kept me glued to its pages;
It is set partly in Bristol, England where Jacob is killed, and then moves into a small coastal village in Wales where Jenna is trying to make a new life for herself. It’s heart-wrenching reading as Jenna tries to put the past behind her and at times I thought this was a romantic novel. But it’s not, as it becomes clear that there are secrets in her past that haunt her. It’s almost a book of two parts and the second half is dark and violent, full of suspense and menace, and really shocking twists and turns. The characters are fully rounded, extremely well-drawn and realistic. The settings are vividly described, especially of the beautiful Welsh coast line. I could picture it so well and it made me long to be there.
The Tree of Hands by Ruth Rendell, one of her best standalone books.
Why I enjoyed it so much is that it thoroughly gripped me and made me want to read on and on. It’s a psychological thriller, full of suspense, with several twists and turns that made me unsure how it would end. I was delighted by the final twist!
Benet’s son, James aged four dies from croup whilst in hospital soon after Mopsa, her mother with a history of mental illness, comes to visit. Meanwhile Carol, a young widow with three kids, two of them in care, is living nearby with Barry, her younger boyfriend. He adores her but she doesn’t want to marry him, content for him to do all the housework and look after Jason her two year old son when he is not being looked after by babysitters. The trouble starts when Mopsa kidnaps Jason and brings him back to Benet as a replacement for James.
The Silence Between Breaths by Cath Staincliffe, about a group of people on the 10.35 train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. It’s a story of a routine journey that takes a terrifying turn. You know early on both from the description on Amazon and from the back cover that one of the passengers, Saheel, has a ‘deadly secret’ ie a bomb, in his rucksack. So, the tension is there from the beginning of the book and I was wondering when he was going to the let off the bomb and what would happen to the passengers.
The characterisation is superb, so that I cared about each person, the setting is so well described in such detail that it all happened before my eyes and the drama and tension grew as the events played out. One of the standout books that I’ve read this year.
There is a lot to like in this book. The setting is Tarnfield, a fictional Cumbrian village. The setting is described so well that I could ‘see’ it all. It’s picturesque, quiet and secluded, a place where everyone knows everybody’s business. The church plays a huge part in village life, but traditions are being upended by the new vicar and his fondness for playing the guitar during sermons.
And the characters are so ‘real’. I believed in them and even though there are many of them they’re all easily distinguishable and I loved the biblical references and flower clues – they’re intriguing. The plot too kept me keen to carry on reading, wanting to know the identity of the murderer.
Reading it is like being in the room with Dame Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea as they talked about Judi’s career, her love for Shakespeare, and the numerous roles she has played over the years. Shakespeare to Judi Dench is a passionate affair, she talks about it with love.
This book is a wonderful run through the plays told from Judi’s perspective and, of course, her life, giving her insight not only into the characters but also into the world of the theatre. She talks about the rehearsals, the costumes, the sets, other actors, about critics, Shakespeare’s language – similes and metaphors, the use of rhyme, prose and verse, soliloquies, asides and how to adjust your breathing – and so on. Whatever she is talking about is all so clear and relevant, full of wit and humour and understanding.
Maiden Voyages by Sian Evans, a fascinating portrait of the women, and their lives on board magnificent ocean liners as they sailed between the old and the new worlds.
It covers a wide range of topics that fascinate me – not just travel, but also social history, both World Wars, the sinking of the Titanic, emigration, the impact that the ocean liners had on the economy. and on women’s working lives and independence, adventure and so much more besides.
The ocean liner was a microcosm of contemporary society, divided by class: from the luxury of the upper deck, playground for the rich and famous, to the cramped conditions of steerage or third class travel. These iconic liners were filled with women of all ages, classes and backgrounds: celebrities and refugees, migrants and millionairesses, aristocrats and crew members.
Great Meadow by Dirk Bogarde, first published in 1992, is volume five of Bogarde’s best-selling memoirs.
A recollection of his childhood, from 1927 to 1934 when he was a 19 year old, living in a remote cottage in the Sussex Downs with his sister Elizabeth and their strict but loving nanny, Lally. For the children it was an idyllic time of joy and adventure: of gleaning at the end of summer, of oil lamps and wells, of harvests and harvest mice in the Great Meadow.
This is non fiction about nature. It’s easy reading, Parikian writes with humour, in a chatty style, but also richly descriptive. I loved it, it is compulsive reading. He is a storyteller, so there are lots of anecdotes and stories, plus his thoughts on nature and how we view it. Amongst many other topics he ponders about the ethics of zoos – something that puzzles me too – and wonders if the definition of a nature lover is becoming that of one who loves nature programmes. There’s a lot packed into this book.
Michael Rosen has grieved the loss of a child, lived with debilitating chronic illness, and faced death itself when seriously unwell in hospital with Covid. In spite of this he has survived, and has even learned to find joy in life in the aftermath of tragedy. In Getting Better, he shares his story and the lessons he has learned along the way. Exploring the roles that trauma and grief have played in his own life, Michael investigates the road to recovery, asking how we can find it within ourselves to live well again after – or even during – the darkest times of our lives. Moving and insightful, this is a wonderful book.
Every Friday Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Readerwhere you can share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading. You can also share from a book you want to highlight just because it caught your fancy.
Wars of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden is the first episode of The Wars of the Roses series and is one of the books I was given at Christmas.
The book begins with a Prologue set in 1337 as Edward III lay dying.
Prologue:
Anno Domini 1377
Bowls of dark royal blood lay beneath the bed, forgotten by the physician. Alice Perrers rested on a chair, panting from the effort of wrestling the king of England into his armour. The air in the room was sour with sweat and death and Edward lay like his own effigy, pale and white-bearded.
Part One – ChapterOne:
Anno Domini 1443
Sixty six years after the death of Edward III
England was cold that month.
Also every Friday there is The Friday 56, hosted by Freda at Freda’s Voice, but she is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. You grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
Page 56
‘They’ve asked for the marriage to take place in the cathedral at Tours, that’s what. Land that will have the French army camped outside, ready to take possession of the price of the truce,that’s what! I’m not letting Henry walk in there, William, not while there’s life in me.’
Description from Goodreads:
King Henry V – the great Lion of England – is long dead.
In 1437, after years of regency, the pious and gentle Henry VI, the Lamb, comes of age and accedes to the English throne. His poor health and frailty of mind render him a weakling king -Henry depends on his closest men, Spymaster Derry Brewer and William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, to run his kingdom
Yet there are those, such as the Plantagenet Richard, Duke of York, who believe England must be led by a strong king if she is to survive. With England’s territories in France under threat, and rumours of revolt at home, fears grow that Henry and his advisers will see the country slide into ruin. With a secret deal struck for Henry to marry a young French noblewoman, Margaret of Anjou, those fears become all too real.
As storm clouds gather over England, King Henry and his supporters find themselves besieged abroad and at home. Who, or what can save the kingdom before it is too late?
I’ve read some of Iggulden’s historical fiction novels and loved them, so I’m looking forward to reading this in the new year.
Other books in the Wars of the Roses series are:
Stormbird (2013)
Trinity (2014) (titled Margaret of Anjou in North America)
Bloodline (2015)
Ravenspur (2016)
What do you think, does this book appeal to you? What are you currently reading?
BooksPlease 