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Inspired by the Brontës

| linleysarah1

This month I had a mini writing retreat at home with my cousin. We took a couple of days off work to write, read and visit nearby places for inspiration.

I am lucky enough to live in Brontë country so a trip to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth was essential.

It’s a museum I have been to many times: as a child, a teenager and an adult but every time I go there is something new to see. At the moment (June 2024) there is an exhibition exploring the Brontë’s childhood and it was fascinating to see how their imagination fed into their later works.

Bronte Parsonage Museum

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is one of my favourite books of all time, but it’s been a while since I read it. I bought this beautiful copy from the gift shop.

And I discovered a new shop in Haworth that combines my love of books with my love of stationery. Oh La La The Original Bronte Stationery Store is a treasure trove of book-related stationery and posters. I will definitely be coming back for birthday and Christmas presents.

We rounded off our trip at The Cloth Store café which serves delicious hot chocolate. It was fairly quiet, so we spent a happy hour there writing I was inspired by our trip to explore the sibling relationship between two of my characters, and also my main protagonist’s taste in men! I was trying to decide if she would be Team Rochester or Team Heathcliff.

On the Shelf: October 2023 reads

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I was on holiday in October so managed to read plenty of books. I read:

  • The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
  • The Dive by Sara Ochs
  • Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
  • Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift
  • Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews
  • The Perfect Holiday by T J Emerson
  • The Treatment by Sarah Moorhead
  • Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan

The Family Remains is the sequel (although it can be read as a stand-alone) to Lisa Jewell’s The Family Upstairs, and I enjoyed catching up with the characters. Pacy and with great characters, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Where better to read Sara Ochs’ book The Dive than a small island in Thailand? I thoroughly enjoyed this psychological thriller which centres around a group of young people working or staying at a dive site on (you guessed it) a small island in Thailand. The setting was perfect, and the book was really fast paced and engaging. If you enjoyed my book, The Trip, then you would love The Dive.

The Perfect Holiday by T J Emerson has to be one of my favourite holiday thrillers of all time. You know from the start that the main character is too good to be true but it’s one of those books where you can’t stop reading as you need to know he gets his comeuppance! Utterly compelling, a great setting and brilliant characters, I couldn’t stop reading this book. This is the first time I have read anything by this author, but it won’t be the last.

Turning to dystopian fiction, I really enjoyed Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift. I struggled to engage with the main character at first, but I thought her reactions to being the last person on earth were quite funny. As the novel progressed though I really started to engage with her, and I thought the ending was particularly poignant.

The Treatment by Sarah Moorhead centres around crime and punishment. A pioneering new treatment promises to prevent re-offending, but a clinical psychologist soon finds herself embroiled in an ethical conundrum when she tries to save a childhood friend from the dreaded level four programme. The author raises some very serious questions about the causes of criminality and the impact of trauma with this fast-paced dystopian thriller.

It was a welcome return to me to Malabar House, but I am gutted that this is the last in the series. I have thoroughly enjoyed these four police procedurals set in post-partition India and starring the country’s first female detective, Persis Wadia. In Death of a Lesser God, Persis is given the controversial task of re-investigating the murder of an Indian lawyer by a white man who is about to hang for the crime. She soon uncovers a web of corruption that leads her into very dangerous waters indeed. The book also features a crocodile which has to be the best murder weapon going!

I haven’t read Vaseem Khan’s other series so I am looking forward to turning my attention to them, although I am sure I will reread the Malabar House series.

On the Shelf: September 2023 reads

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I went through a strange, and very unusual, period in September 2023 when I didn’t feel like reading! Fortunately, I’ve got my mojo back now and more than made up for it in October.

I did finish four books in September:

  • The Guilty Couple by C L Taylor
  • Being You: A New Science of Consciousness by Anil Seth (non-fiction)
  • The Apartment Upstairs by Lesley Kara
  • A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

Both Lesley Kara and C L Taylor are favourite authors of mine and I have read everything they have written. I really enjoyed The Guilty Couple. A woman comes out of prison determined to get revenge on the husband who framed her and win her daughter back. Although I did guess the reveal, I enjoyed all the twists and turns of the plot and loved the characters.

The Apartment Upstairs wasn’t my favourite book by Lesley Kara but if you love a well-written psychological thriller with a strong plot then you can’t go far wrong with this author. However, if you haven’t read any of her books before, I would start with her first novel, The Rumour.

I won’t lie, Being You by Anil Seth is a very difficult read. Consciousness is a complex subject and as a lay person, I probably only understood about 10% of this book! It did raise some very interesting questions though and made me re-evaluate what I thought I knew about the nature of consciousness.

Lots of people have recommended V E Schwab to me and I enjoyed immersing myself in this fantasy world across four parallel Londons. I will definitely read the others in this series. Really strong, interesting characters and vivid world building made for a propelling read.  

On the Shelf: August 2023 reads

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In August 2023, I read:

  • The Maid by Nita Prose
  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler
  • In Other Worlds: Science Fiction and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood (non-fiction)
  • Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter
  • The Butcher of Berner Street by Alex Reeve
  • Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah
  • The War of the Worlds by H G Wells
  • Fairy Tale by Stephen King
  • End of Story by Louise Swanson
  • Maddadam by Margaret Atwood (audio book)

The highlights for me were The Maid by Nita Prose and Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler.

What really stood out for me about The Maid was the voice of the main character, Molly. I loved her naivete and the way she wanted everything done properly. The back story was very believable, the romance subplot was very touching, and the main plot line kept me guessing. It was everything you want from a classic murder mystery. I’m really looking forward to the next in the series.

Parable of the Sower was very harrowing. I’ve been reading a lot of dystopian fiction recently and this is one that will stay with me. It’s very uncomfortable reading in places but again the main character, Lauren, is very engaging and the plot line was gripping. Written in 1993, it imagines a future heavily affected by climate change and social inequality. Again, I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

I love Cara Hunter’s books and always find I can’t put them down once I start reading them. Murder in the Family is very different in that the format is scripts for a TV true crime drama, evidence from the investigation, emails and WhatsApp messages between the characters, etc. but no actual narrative. Once you got used to the format, it’s very easy to read. The characters were great, and the first plot twist was brilliant, but I found the resolution disappointing.

I haven’t read Stephen King for a long time, and I found Fairytale very immersive. I particularly liked the relationship between the main character and the dog he inherits. King weaves a horror out of familiar fairy tale tropes and takes inspiration from Jack and the Beanstalk and The Wizard of Oz. It was quite a strange book overall, but I did enjoy it.

Maddadam was the conclusion to the Maddadam trilogy. Listening to it on audio book was quite disjointed and I felt like I missed bits so I might read the trilogy again in paperback. The second book, The Year of The Flood, was my favourite of the three books but I liked all the backstory in this book and the ending was very poignant. I feel like I miss the characters already!

On the Shelf: April 2023 reads

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I read ten books in April 2023:

  • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  • Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood (short story collection)
  • The Cloisters by Katy Hays
  • Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
  • The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (audiobook)
  • The Silence Project by Carole Hailey
  • Scary Smart by Mo Gawdat (non-fiction)
  • Why We Dream by Alice Robb (non-fiction)
  • Blood and Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
  • The Book Share by Phaedre Patrick

I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Margaret Atwood in Liverpool in March. She is such an inspiration, and I could have listened to her all night! Intelligent, passionate and funny. One of my favourite actresses, Maxine Peake, also performed one of her short stories which was wonderful.

The trip sparked a binge read of Margaret Atwood’s books. I am (slowly) reading Burning Questions, a collection of essays, but this month I also read Oryx and Crake, Old Babes in the Wood (a short story collection) and listened to The Year of the Flood on audiobook. I am particularly enjoying the Maddadam trilogy and finding it more accessible than The Handmaid’s Tale which I read a long time ago.

Another highlight this month was The Cloisters by Katy Hays. A young academic spends her summer interning at a secret museum in the heart of New York with a medieval garden and enigmatic colleagues. I loved the setting of this book – it was like stepping back in time. The comparisons to The Secret History by Donna Tartt are well deserved.

The Silence Project by Carole Hailey was also a brilliant read. It’s written like a memoir and sometimes it felt like you were reading real events. Narrated by her daughter, a middle-aged woman vows to stay silent and listen more which spirals into a global movement with tragic and alarming consequences. I loved all the moral dilemmas this book raised.

I read Scary Smart for research, and it really opened my eyes to the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. There is lots in the news about it at the moment so I would recommend this book if you’re interested in the subject. I wasn’t 100% sold on the solutions offered in this book, however.

Finally, Blood and Sugar is another recommended read. It’s a historical thriller set in the 1780s. It is highly immersive and very detailed. I really enjoyed the book, but I did find it quite complicated towards the end and it was hard to keep track of who all the characters were and how they related to each other. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

On the Shelf: March 2023 reads

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In March 2023, I read:

  • It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover
  • A Writer’s Diary by Toby Litt (non-fiction)
  • The Red House by Roz Watkins (proof)
  • Babel by R F Kuang
  • The Marriage Act by John Marrs
  • The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson
  • The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah
  • The Change by Kirsten Millar

I’m a big fan of Roz Watkins’ novels so I was honoured to be sent a proof of her next book. Brimming with tension, The Red House is a fast-paced thriller with an intriguing premise and a contemporary twist.

Watkins uses her intimate knowledge of the Peak District to produce an atmospheric and gripping novel which features a sinister house surrounded by marsh land, a young woman desperate to leave her past behind her, and a constant search for justice. 

The Red House will be published on 22 June 2023.

Babel by R F Kuang was one of my favourite books this month. This fantasy adventure takes us to an alternative history where scholars are able to weave magic through translation. Robin, the hero, is at first overwhelmed and excited when he is accepted into the elite Royal Institute of Translation, nicknamed ‘Babel’, but quickly realises the devastating power the institute yields. The book explores the relationship between language and colonialism. It was a wonderful, thought provoking and challenging read.  

My other favourite book this month was The Change by Kirsten Millar. The menopause brings about the emergence of dormant powers for the heroines of this novel: Harriet, Jo and Nessa. The women team up not only to hunt down the killer of young women in their neighbourhood, but to avenge their deaths. The novel delivers a powerful message about the way women are treated in society wrapped up in a satisfying and pacy thriller.  

On the Shelf: February 2023 reads

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In February 2023 I read:

  • The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker
  • Talk to me about when we were perfect by Amanda Huggins (poetry collection)
  • The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
  • The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty
  • Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
  • The Girl Upstairs by Georgina Lees
  • Playing for Love by Jeevani Charika 
  • It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (re-read)

I was lucky enough to be sent a proof copy of Amanda Huggins’ new poetry collection.

talk to me about when we were perfect is a stunning collection which transports the reader from Yorkshire, London and further afield to Japan.

I particularly enjoyed the nostalgic poems in which Huggins takes us back to her teenage years, encapsulating the awkwardness of meeting boys, making plans for the future, sporting the latest fashion trends, and the flush of first love.

The Talented Mr Ripley is a classic for crime fiction fans and it’s not hard to see why. Tom Ripley is such an intriguing character. It’s incredible how Highsmith can have your rooting for him all the way through the book, even though he is very much the villain. It also made me really want to go to the Italian Riviera!

My favourite book of the month had to be Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. It’s an incredible book exploring the stories of different women and their experiences of race, gender and sexuality in contemporary Britain. There are no full stops in the book which creates a fluid style that absolutely works for the stories the author is telling. I loved it and would highly recommend it.

I don’t read many love stories, but I make an exception for a few favourite authors, and Jeevani Charika is one of them. I loved the premise of Playing for Love – two people who know each other online and offline but don’t know about each other’s alter egos. The love story is told from both Samadhi and Luke’s perspectives and I enjoyed all the near misses as the relationship between the two protagonists developed. The way the game they were playing brought out their personalities was deftly done and I liked the poignancy of how Samadhi’s business venture was inspired by her mother.

On the Shelf: January 2023 reads

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In January 2023 I read:

  • The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (re-read)
  • The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton
  • Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury (non-fiction)
  • Shiver by Allie Reynolds
  • Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
  • The Recovery of Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
  • The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (re-read)
  • In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Jessie Burton is one of my favourite writers and The Miniaturist was a re-read. I wanted to immerse myself in the world of 18th century Amsterdam again before I read the sequel, The House of Fortune. You could, perhaps, read the second as a stand alone but I thought it was better in sequence. Jessie Burton’s prose is superb and she has the ability to transport you anywhere and to any time. I loved the main character and all the historical detail in The House of Fortune, but I preferred The Miniaturist overall.

If you enjoy fast-paced psychological thrillers, I wholeheartedly recommend Shiver by Allie Reynolds and In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan. I thought both of them were excellent. They had all the elements you look for in crime fiction – a great plot, brilliant characters, a fast paced story and a satisfying ending, but each had an extra element which made them stand out for me.

Allie Reynolds’ book is set in the world of competitive snowboarding which I thought was really interesting and raised the stakes for her characters, while Jo Callaghan teams up an experienced human detective with an AI detective which was something I had never come across before and produced lots of great conflict and a touch of comedy.

Zen in the Art of Writing is a very inspiring book to read if you want to write and I also really enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s book about Norse Mythology.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz was another re-read. This time I am reading it for a book group, so I am keen to find out what other people think about it. It raises lots of interesting questions about writing and stories, and the main character is someone you love to hate. This time around I knew the ending, so it was fun to spot the clues I had missed the first time. I also enjoyed The Recovery of Rose Gold and the way Wrobel alternated between the daughter and the mother’s points of view.  

This is the first time I have read Brave New World. The style is quite different from contemporary fiction, so it took a little while to get into, but I enjoyed the moral dilemmas it raised and the acute observations about society, many of which are still relevant today.

On the Shelf: December 2022 reads

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In December 2022 I read:

  • The List by Carys Jones
  • The Festival by Sarah J Naughton
  • Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
  • Silent Victim by Caroline Mitchell
  • Stay Close by Harlan Coben
  • As Good as Dead by Holly Jackson
  • Dead Man’s Footsteps by Peter James

The List and The Festival were both great psychological thrillers – fast paced with interesting characters. I particularly liked the setting of a music festival which made for lots of chaos and confusion. The tension between the reunited friends was also very realistic.

Good Girl, Bad Blood and As Good as Dead by Holly Jackson are the second and third books in the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy and I enjoyed them both. I would definitely read more of Holly Jackson’s novels. I particularly liked the main character in this trilogy and her feisty attitude!