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A memoir that I recently picked up from the Black Britain Writing Back Series and also sharing some similarities with Red Dust Road, is My Fathers' Daughter by Hannah-Azieb Pool. Hannah was born in Eritrea and adopted by a white couple who were working there, from an orphanage. They were told that she was an orphan, but as a young adult she discovered that her father was still alive.

I’ve just read this book also and like you I absolutely loved it! You describe it beautifully…. Pure escapism and yes like a book made you feel as a child… I’d forgotten how wonderful big chunky books are and will definitely be reading longer books next year :) ❤

I added three of your list to my tbr. With your recommendations, I can usually gauge which ones will be a hit with me😊. Two of my favourite memoirs are The devil that danced on water by Aminatta Forna and Lab Girl by Hope Jahren.

Always a joy to watch your videos, Louise, love that you champion these non-fiction books 🥰 I’ve read some really incredible ones - and still have some from the women’s prize to go! If you hadn’t already read it, I’d fully recommend A Flat Place which I thought was just exceptional. Otherwise I’ll try to contain myself 😂 But off the top of my head I’d say: Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe about The Troubles, It’s Not About the Burqa edited by Mariam Khan, Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis and Recognising the Stranger by Isabella Hammad (but yeah, I could go on 😅). Oh, and Manifesto is high up on my list to read soon! Hope you’re doing well and love the sound of a walk in the snow ❄️

Jackie Kay has a novel out called Trumpet. I have not read it yet.

You may already have seen, but Chris Hadfield is doing a UK tour next year 😊 I haven't read his book yet though so I will definitely have to give that a go!

I am enjoying The Tree Line by Ben Rawlence - he travels around the Arctic looking at the changing tree line and what it means for the people living there and the world - really fascinating, I think it was on the shortlist for the Wainwright prize last year.

Hi Louise, Thanks for sharing non-fiction suggestions, I love weaving non-fiction amongst my usual novels, and it was nice to see two references to Canadians on your list. I've recently read and enjoyed The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading from James Patterson. Another favorite read this year is Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents from Isabel Wilkerson. Definitely recommended reading - it really helped me get a better grasp of past and current events in the United States.

I really enjoyed brother do you love me! I’ve just started The Black Angels by Maria Smilios which is about a group of black nurses who went to work at Sea View TB hospital on Staten Island in the late 1920s. They took care of New York City’s poorest residents and became a vital part of the race to find a cure for TB but have been erased from history.

Hi Louise, another wonderful video, thank you so much! I'm reading A Home For All Seasons by Gavin Plumley. It's about an old house which he and his husband bought in Herefordshire and about Gavin's journey tracing the history of the house and all the discoveries he makes. Happy reading 📚 ❤

I highly recommend The Editor by Sara B. Franklin (if it has been published in the UK). The life and work of the remarkable Judith Jones and the authors she cultivated, the behind the scenes publishing stories in the industry’s heyday, and a woman challenged by the cultural obstacles of her time. World of Wonders is a beautifully told and evocative memoir/natural history by poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil.

Adding several of your recommendations to my TBR, and I’m going to check out Tom Wilson’s music. Thanks for the recommendations!

Listening from America, I’m thinking it might be time to revisit some non fiction George Orwell.

I didn’t know Chris Hadfield wrote a book but I just listened to him on Desert Island Discs and found him brilliant and fascinating!! I would recommend to you James Rebanks’ The Place Of Tides about his summer on an island in Norway with an eiderdown “duck woman”. Absolutely beautiful writing and a story of one woman’s drive and determination to uphold tradition and work towards conserving the dwindling population of ducks.

MpYou must read Say Nothing by Paterick Radden Keefe my 5* non fiction book of the month .❤

I'm starting A Gentleman From Japan, a visitor to the Court of Elizabeth I. I gave up on Demonology and Witchcraft by Sir Walter Scott, like Houdini, giving logical explanations. What fun is that when you enjoy ghostie stories? I don't believe in them. I, too, believe in a never-ending supply of charlatans and evil people, but a fantasy is fun.😮 I like Space in fiction, I don't want to go there or even ride a rollercoaster.😅 I bought Orbital.

Hi Louise, Interesting video - thank you! The Chris Hadfield book sounds enticing. I always recommend ANYTHING by Yuval Noah Harari - Sapiens, Homo Deus, 21 Lessons for the 21 st Century .. all of them brilliant. I have just ordered his latest - NEXUS - today and cannot wait for it to arrive. Another favourite recommendation of mine if Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ book Women who Run with the Wolves. It was first published in 1992 and is an astonishing book.

just started reading The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham Hardcover by Lucy Hughes-Hallettn --- its absolutely brilliant, Louise!

Wasn’t it Space Oddity that Chris Hadfield sang in space?

I kept wondering if the mice were a metaphor e.g. however hard you try to hide away from the world, the outside will always find a way in. Or even the onslaught of memories or regrets, if you try to fight them they only get stronger.

I've wanted to read this novel for a long time, and I finally started to, earlier this year. I didn't get far, because of the footnotes. Now, I love a footnote, so their existence wasn't the problem. The problem was that they were printed in teeny tiny font that I barely could read...so I only made it a chapter into the novel before giving up. I'd go for the audio book - except I always drift off and start thinking about other things and stop listening! So unless I can find an edition that prints the footnotes in readable font size, I think, unfortunately, it will be a pass for me... 😢

I think I've said this before, how I really like how you talk about books. How your descriptions and thoughts, i.e musings! 😊give such a good picture of them 🧡💛💜 Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell sit on my shelves and after your musings it will join the books I want to read soon. Especially as I finished Tracy Chevalier's The Glassmaker last week (I missed Murano and Rossos for days afterwards, even the annoying brother!)

I read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in October, too, and I loved it!

I absolutely love your book reviews, Louise!

So glad the wonderful event that you and Simon co-hosted led you to read this amazing novel!!

📕 🪱 💚

This feels very special that you got to pick up this book that your son loved so much. And right after spending time with the author, too. So glad to hear that reading it was a special and enjoying moment for you just like it was for your son. Thanks for sharing about it!

Thanks, Louise!🌷I was thinking of reading this novel when it was mentioned during your interview with Susanna Clarke, but now you’ve totally convinced me. York Minster’s gargoyles coming to life?! I’m in!!!😍

Finished Felicia's Journey, yes, it was much like The Collector, a good psychological thriller, but I much prefer his earlier books, a little too much like reading case history. Orbital? I went to a brick and mortar bookstore today, not a single copy, and they never had one. Maybe it will be in a remainder bin in a drug or grocery store near me one day. It would not be the first Booker Prize winner acquired in that manner.😅 Congrats to all the nominees and the winner. James, I'm at the halfway point. Non-fiction reads are costing me money, because they mention other books, I can't believe I paid 10 dollars for an old Muriel Spark read on Kindle, Loitering with Intent, because it was mentioned in Theb Receptionist, An Education at the New Yorker. Oh well, I had only read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and A Far Cry from Kensington, and Spark comes off as a very generous person in the Janet Groth book.

I am definitely picking this up again, since I started it several years ago and never finished it. You, Simon, and Susanna have totally inspired a revisit…I so enjoyed your Women’s Prize conversation on Sunday, and look forward to your 2025 calendar of author and Women’s Prize events. You and Simon are the best team - delightful, interesting, knowledgeable, and so thoroughly prepared with all you do. I encourage anyone who missed the live stream to purchase a ticket to watch the replay…you will be glad you did.❤📖📚

I love seeing young people reading big chunky books. Interesting that your dyslectic son was not intimidated by the size and kept on reading.

I also stalled on this for a long time, then when you and Simon showed the 20th anniversary edition, I went out and bought the paperback edition. I'm 150 pages in and loving it. ❤. It's such a lovely cover too.

I've put off reading this book for years because it seems like such a massive commitment. You make it sound like it's worth the time. Plus, I loved Piranesi.

I read this when it was new (ish - I read it in paperback) and it's still one of my all time favourite books. I was very interested in what you said about reading it like a child and trusting the author completely. That hadn't occurred to me, but you're absolutely right. I hear a lot of people say they skipped the footnotes, but I thought they were the best bits.

Now here is a book I have been meaning to read forever and that is such a lovely edition. 🎉 thank you 🙏 , Louise. It is added to my TBR list 😂 Totally sold and ordered 🎉😂

💕😀xx thanks Louise. I have a reserved a copy from my library. Have read and REALLY enjoyed Piranesi.🥰

I heard Tracey Chevalier discuss some of her books at Daunts in London years ago. All her books are incredible especially those about tapestry, embroidery, quilts and freedom from slavery. Daniel Mason's book has been on my short list for ages- really looking forward to having time to read it.

Really enjoying this series and can’t wait for your rankings!

I look forward to the Booker ranking video. Halloween is over, but the biography I'm reading on Edna St. Vincent Millay mentioned she kept a volume of Sir Walter Scott's Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft by her bedside, so I started reading that on Kindle, as if I did not already have enough non-fiction reads for the month. I have almost finished Felicia's Journey by Willlam Trevor, thanks for the recommendation. I should finish James soon, you are correct Simon, it does read fast. Thank you both.❤

I’m hugging little bullied Simon …. I was too but also was a turd at other points. Childhood is a pendulum like that i think

Bittersweet- I think this is y’all’s last book & I adore this series of videos - but this was my last read of the ones I’ve read ( I’ve not read Held or Creation Lake 😳) and perhaps it’s a bit of recency bias??? But it is the one i think about most ; that haunts me most . I loved it , but loved all the ones I read especially a particular 3 this one included. Blahdiggityblah appreciate you two as always 📖🪱💚

Thanks, Louise and Simon!🌷I don’t think this is the book for me, as I’m not so keen on reading about a mice plague😱. Louise, Priam visiting Achilles in his tent to beg for the body of Hector is for me too one of the most memorable and moving literary texts I’ve ever read. I think it is the sharing of grief between enemies, that makes it so poignant. You are absolutely right, this is the way forward towards the solution of today’s horrific conflicts.

These parallel reads have been so interesting!

I love this parallel read! I enjoy following along. And I look forwforward to your winner prediction! Thank you for sharing!

I picked up Safekeep based on your previous video and am absolutely loving it so far. Might have to get to this one, too!

Hi Louise and Simon! I haven’t watched this video yet (and will come back to it later), but I’ve just watched your live interview with Susanna Clarke and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it!😍 Since I read the novel I’d been wondering whether Piranesi’s world only existed in his mind, so I was very happy to hear a member of the audience asking Susanna Clarke a question about it. I think Thunderclap was the perfect gift for her. I look forward to the next WP Bookclub meeting😊📚

Oh gosh I hope this wins, it was the 2nd book on the longlist that I read and it is still the standout for me

This was also the final book on the shortlist for me, and I appreciate it even more after the video. It wasn’t my favorite on the list, but I would be happy if it won.

This video was definitely worth the wait! I think STY is a book that is strong on a first read but even better on a second read, when you can appreciate the quiet beauty of it all the more. Really looking forward to your ranking and prediction video!

Really enjoyed this series and seeing you take on the books. Hope you do it again next year but no pressure haha