Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford

This is a wonderful novel full of vivacity, intelligence, history, politics and humour.

The clever plot begins with the mysterious Mr Richard Smith landing in New York in the year 1746 with a bill for £1,000 in his pocket.

It is the task of the locals (and the reader) to try and fathom who Smith is and what his motives are.

Does his apparent wealth mean he will be embraced or rejected by a city which is not as tranquil as it first seems?

As his life weaves through the tangled relationships of Spufford’s vividly realised New Yorkers, we are given a sophisticated and utterly convincing view of what motivates the human heart to acts of great bravery, folly, and almost everything in between.

Hilary MacCallum


Another Day in the Death of America, by Gary Younge

On Saturday, November 23, 2013, 10 children and teenagers were shot dead across America. And that was just a normal day. This book was not the ‘light holiday reading’ I had in mind, but it is so poignant, so utterly engrossing, that I returned home talking of little else.

Gary Younge challenges America’s shocking and troubling attitudes towards guns through portraits of the young people who died that day.

What he reveals through meticulous research left me speechlessly angry, and is both shameful and heart-breaking.

Younge seeks to give a face – a child’s face – to gun violence, and he powerfully, calmly, and capably succeeds. It is gripping and deeply unsettling.

Kate McBride


Beyond the Northlands, by Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough

If the idea of a book examining the history and provenance of Old Norse literature sounds like a bit of a challenge, then it’s definitely time for a rethink. This is a fascinating, eminently readable journey into the lives of the Vikings and, specifically, the way in which their pioneering voyages into new territory fed into their literature.

The book is broken down into sections following the direction of these journeys to the north, south, east and west of their native Scandinavian homeland.

It then looks at how the landscape and societies they encountered influenced the sagas.

It is an excellent format and gives context to the characters within the sagas, so important for our understanding of the literature itself.

Hilary MacCallum


My House in Damascus, by Diana Darke

I started reading Diana Darke’s book with relatively little knowledge about Syria, but her insight makes it immediately clear what a fascinating country it is.

The history, culture and the complicated political unrest that it has faced over the centuries are absorbing, but it is her introduction to the individual people who live there that particularly stood out for me and add enormously to her writing about the terrible conflict there today.

As well as travelling extensively throughout Syria, Darke has also bought and restored a house in Damascus, and she writes with an incredible and compelling fondness for the country.

Claire Grint


Cousins, by Salley Vickers

This is a story about an untold family truth.

Every family has its secrets, but for the Tye family, as the generations grow and they increase in number, instead of being forgotten, the effect of the secret spirals to dramatically raise the consequences of discovery.

Told through the eyes of three women, all close relatives of the central character Will, Salley Vickers unpicks the lives of the family, their history and relationships, and explores the extreme lengths people will go to for those they love.

Her writing is perceptive as she analyses the family’s motivations and she skilfully articulates the complexity of life.

Salley’s own connections to the story are fascinating and to hear her talk about the novel adds a fantastic extra depth.

Claire Grint


The Apple Orchard: The Story of Our Most English Fruit, by Pete Brown

Have you even wondered what the Beatles, the children’s alphabet, William Tell, Henry David Thoreau, and the Ancient Greeks had in common?

This delicious book tells of mankind’s long and intertwined history with the apple. It is a personal journey of a man obsessed with the significance of apples, but, in an amusingly cruel twist, is allergic to them!

The book is magical, entertaining, lyrical and filled with apple-y-goodness, from folklore to genetic modification and everything in between.

It is a wondrous and illuminating guide through the seasons in England’s orchards, with a delightful and friendly companion in Pete Brown.

I promise you will never look at this unique and edifying fruit in the same way again!

Kate McBride


Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey, by Madeleine Bunting

I knew that Love of Country, set in the Hebrides, would beautifully describe the natural history that I so enjoy reading about – and it does, wonderfully, but it is so much more than that.

It expands far beyond the landscape of this special remote corner of Britain as it charts the pilgrimage of discovery that Madeleine Bunting embarks upon to explore the culture, stories and soul of the individual islands.

This is an extremely readable travelogue with fascinating historical extracts interspersed with her findings on island life today. Her writing is incredibly thought-provoking as she considers the meaning of home, the idea of unity and the motivation for pilgrimage. This book is a definite candidate for my best read of the year.

Claire Grint

The Durrells of Corfu, by Michael Haag

If it’s about the Durrells, I’m there. And, although I have only just started this book, I am already drawn irresistibly back into the engaging world of the Durrells.

An ardent fan of My Family and Other Animals, I came to Haag’s book a little hesitant, in case it changed the dreamlike picture of Corfu that Gerald Durrell captures.

Do not be afraid! I am already utterly captivated by this book’s charm, knowledge, and detail, not to mention the family photographs!

It is surprising, revelatory and – as you might expect – gloriously eccentric. I cannot wait to get back to it.

Kate McBride


Under a Pole Star, by Stef Penney

The central character, Flora Mackie, is a woman entering the male domain of polar exploration at the end of the 19th century.

It’s a brilliant portrait of someone who knows their own capability and ambitions, but is thwarted by the limited expectations of society.

Also, I’m unable to resist writers who choose the Arctic (in this case northern Greenland) as their setting, as it is so irresistibly fascinating, harsh and beautiful, pushing characters to the very extremes of endurance.

This heady combination makes this a totally compelling read!

Hilary MacCallum


This Must Be the Place, by Maggie O’Farrell

Maggie O’Farrell is one of my favourite authors. I love how she tells a story –carefully, eloquently, unveiling her characters’ lives, drawing you in with the intriguing way she presents them.

In This Must Be the Place, she reveals the complicated life of Daniel O’Sullivan, his failed first marriage, his separation from his children, his current reclusive ex-film star wife and the difficult relationship he has with his father.

Having created this intricate life, she then cleverly ratchets up the pressure on Daniel further as he discovers something that sends him spinning off his precarious axis.

Maggie O’Farrell is an excellent speaker and I’ll be interested to hear how she develops her characters and their stories.

Claire Grint