Book Recommendations by a Mum... for a Mum (or other grown-ups)...

A book about the challenges of a good marriage, the delight and heartache of raising a neurodiverse child, and the irresistible temptation to wonder about the path not taken.... Themes: autism, marriage, affairs, family. Written from the perspective of Graham, the husband. American author and the book is set in New York. I liked it!

Written via a series of emails, texts, leaflets and letters....Clever, funny and really entertaining read! A drama production and a fundraiser lead to murder, presented as a series of documents – emails, messages and transcripts – that hold the keys to the mystery.... Not for everyone due to writing style but ...I loved it!

Big Swiss. That's Greta's nickname for her - she is tall, and from Switzerland. Well that's how Greta imagines her; they haven't actually met in person. Nor has Greta actually ever been to Switzerland. What Greta doesn't know is that she's about to bump into Big Swiss in the dog park. A new - and not entirely honest - relationship is to be born.. . . Themes:  physical and psychological trauma,  same sex relationship, infidelity, mental health, sexual stereotypes. Dark themes but a very funny!

I didn't want this book to end...multi-layered, painful and whip-smart comedy about family dysfunction and mental health, as two sisters come together to reflect on their challenging childhood – with unpredictable consequences. I'd say a 'comedy' with some tragic bits thrown in :) Themes: dysfunction families, mental health, sibling dynamics and intergenerational trauma.

I couldn't stop reading this book, it was so enthralling and the pace is very good at building tension.  Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody. When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song. Dark humour...witty, clever and serves to highlight the negatives of social media. Themes:  Cultural appropriation, envy, social media, bullying.

Easy to read and for anyone going through something similar I think it would be comforting... Maggie's marriage has ended just 608 days after it started, but she's fine - she's doing really good, actually. Sure, she's alone for the first time in her life... Slightly samey but very light hearted and overall a good r read. Themes: divorce, modern love, friendship, happiness.

About a women involved/ connected with an older man who is seen as 'culturally important'- this book is her inner thoughts about this man and her infatuation with him and another women that he is connected with- predominately using social media... So original and enjoyed this read immensely, superb writing. Themes:  coercion, seduction, toxic men, abuser dynamics, obsession, social media. 

Loved the concept and found this is what kept me reading, I must note,didn't like the ending or the description that this is a 'modern romance' because I didn't read it that way- see what you think... Ola Olajide, a high-profile journalist, is marrying the love of her life in one month's time. She and her fiancé Michael seem to have it all. That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message: ‘Oh my god, have you seen The List?’ Themes: toxic mean, sexual assault, social media.

Translated from Japanese,  Sayuri Komachi is no ordinary librarian. Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it. In this uplifting book, we meet five of Sayuri's customers, each at a different crossroads...

George Saunders' new form, HARD TO READ deploying a theatrical, kaleidoscopic panoply of voices - living and dead, historical and fictional. Lincoln in the Bardo poses a timeless question: how do we live and love when we know that everything we hold dear must end? Themes:  grief, loss, empathy and redemption. Part historical fiction. See what you think?! One of those books you probably have to read and it may or may not be for you!

Annie Ernaux's father died exactly two months after she passed her exams. Barely educated and valued since childhood strictly for his labour, Ernaux's father had grown into a hard, practical man who showed his family little affection. Narrating his slow ascent towards material comfort, Ernaux's observation in A Man's Place reveals the shame that haunted her father throughout his life. Themes: dealing with the past, class, father -daughter dynamics.

A very short book. After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces a long weekend and takes the bus home. There, his mind agitates over a woman named Sabine with whom he could have spent his life, if he had acted differently. All evening, with only the television and champagne for company, thoughts of this woman and others intrude - and the true significance of this particular date is revealed...Theme: end of a relationship, loneliness, toxic masculinity.

I absolutely love Claire Keegan. The book is short but perfect. Its 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church. Themes: Magdalene laundries, catholic religion, Ireland, family. I think this is set to be a film starring Cillian Murphy and out soon in 2024?!

Parenting Hell is a beguiling mixture of humour, rumination and conversation for prospective parents, new parents, old parents and never-to-be parents alike.

READERS LOVE PARENTING HELL:
'Best laugh out loud book on parenting'
'I laughed and cried! Not being a parent I can now appreciate everything my friends do a lot more!'
'Every parent needs to read this'

 'This is a book about growing up in the '90s told through the thing that mattered most to me, the television programmes I watched. For my generation television was the one thing that united everyone. There were kids at my school who liked bands, kids who liked football and one weird kid who liked the French sport of petanque, however, we all loved Gladiators, Neighbours and Pebble Mill with Alan Titchmarsh (possibly not the third of these).' 

 A Class Act is his funny, candid and often moving account of what it feels like to be an outsider and the valuable (sometimes humiliating) life lessons he’s learned along the way.

Rob Beckett's book 'A Class Act' was a Sunday Times bestseller