What We've Been Reading

The Party by Tessa Hadley

I remember seeing this in a bookshop and thinking, ‘that’s a pretty cover!’. I know, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but sometimes it just can’t be helped, and luckily, it’s such a lovely little book that’s easy to digest in one sitting or on your travels.

A coming-of-age story focused on two sisters in postwar Bristol, you’ll be immersed in a tale of adventure, awkwardness and anxiety, as you join the sisters in the weird in-between of being a teen and moving into adulthood. The sisters learn new things about themselves and of each other. It's almost as if they can’t move on in their lives until they have had these important revelations. Whatever age you are, there’s something relatable for everyone here. It’ll make you think and might even take you back to that feeling of insecurity and excitement of youth, interacting with the new opportunities and people around you.

- Alisha

Afterlove by Tanya Byrne

So this book was a combinations of several of my favourite book aspects and some that I was pretty weary of. I like a cute YA love story as personally I’m not a big fan of smut and spicy romance book and YA is a safe bet when it comes to that. I also like a book that deals with death and more interestingly the grief afterwards. But I’ve never really read any books where one half of the couple is a ghost and I’m not a huge fan of a doomed love story (unless incredibly written like The Song of Achilles). So I didn’t really know what to expect of this book. But thankfully the good weighed out my apprehension. I loved the relationship between Ash and Poppy, and it felt well developed and especially as you go in knowing one is about the die. I was also surprised to find I didn’t mind the ghostly and grim reaper aspects. All in all it was a really good book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

- Aishah

Recognising the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative by Isabella Hammad

I kicked off my year's reading with this slim non-fiction book, which was originally delivered as a lecture, but due to the times we're living in, it has been published in physical form. Having read and loved Enter Ghost by the author last year, I was happy to read an essay by Hammad. She writes precisely and passionately about Palestine, weaving in literary criticism and political thought with the personal. She's a great thinker and writer and I now look forward to reading The Parisian, her debut novel.

- Olivia

Tyger by S F Said

Tyger was the winner of the 2023 British Book Award for Children's Fiction Book of the Year & The Week Junior's Children's Book of the Year, and I had been book looking forward to reading it having loved reading the Varjak Paw books when my daughter was young.

This is the best of children's writing, deceptively simple, beautifully told, and will linger on in your mind long after finishing.

Whilst running errands Adam fins something incredible in a rubbish dump in the dark back alleys of London, a Tyger, and the Tyger needs his help. with the help of his friend can they save this magnificent creature and redeem the future of the city?

Set in a dystopian world with some huge dark themes underpinning the story, this is at heart a beautiful story of friendship and redemption, and is accompanied by gorgeous fluid illustrations by David McKean. This is a fantastic and memorable read for both children and adults, I loved it.

- Marianne

What a Way to Go by Bella Mackie

I absolutely loved How to Kill Your Family so I was really excited to read this. Also, a little apprehensive whether it would be as good.

It was brilliant.

After millionaire, Anthony Wistern, comes to a grizzly end at his lavish birthday party, he watches down as his wife and 4 children bicker and fall out, accusing each other over who could have killed him and who will profit the most from his death. The truth is, a lot of people had reason to want him out of the way.

I always enjoy books with alternating chapters but I thought this storyline was really original with half of it being from Anthony’s point of view in the afterlife waiting room. I think if I’d known this beforehand, it might have put me off a bit but it really worked and wasn’t as weird as you’d expect.

Trying to work out the murder suspect kept me guessing all the way through, there were sooooo many people it could’ve been.

The characters of the Wistern family were all unlikeable but that was the whole point.

Chloe

If you'd like a surprise read each month picked just for you, why not treat yourself to a Willoughby Book Club subscription? Think of us as your personal book concierges, and let us take the stress out of deciding what to read next.

If you would like to read any of these books, you can purchase them via our affiliate link below on Bookshop.org that supports small independent bookshops.