January Books

 

These are my choice books from my January reading:

Kitty Johnson - Five Winters

Veterinary nurse Beth has been in love with her foster brother Mark since they were teenagers. But she's never let on about it, not wanting to spoil the amazing relationship she has with his family, who took her in when she was orphaned. Now she's in her thirties, and Mark has married the beautiful, perfect Grace. Beth stays close to Rosie, Mark's sister, and supports her too through the ups and downs of her relationships. Beth decides it's time to move on and find her fulfilment elsewhere. Over five winters the story unfolds, as she searches for happiness, and her priorities begin to change. Warm, funny, heartbreaking and emotional, this is a brilliant read for the coldest months of the year. 

​Raynor Winn - The Salt Path

This non-fiction book is totally engrossing. The author tells the story of how she and her husband, Moth, end up homeless in their fifties, losing their farm and savings following a bad investment. To make matters worse, Moth has just been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease. Somehow they seem to be falling through all the cracks in the system. Determined not to give up, they embark on a seemingly crazy venture. Spending the last of their money on cheap, lightweight camping gear, they set off to walk the famous Salt Path around the Cornish coast. At times heart-wrenching and shocking, this book is full of vivid descriptions as the two experience hardship, physical trauma and discrimination, as well as the glories and healing power of the natural world, and unexpected kindness of strangers. A moving account, evocatively told.  

Delia Owens - Where the Crawdads Sing

Having read mixed reviews about this book, I hesitated to begin reading. But I wasn't disappointed. I found the setting fascinatingly unfamiliar, the characters far from my world, and the mystery thread satisfying and gripping my attention. Kya grows up in the coastal swamp area of North Carolina, daughter of a man who carries demons from his past, and a woman originally from a genteel background. At the age of six, her mother walks out without a backward glance. Eventually Kya's totally alone, but she grows and learns from the swamp ecology and all of the creatures that inhabit it. But when she's grown up, a local young man is found dead, with no obvious clues to whether it was suicide or murder. Local suspicion falls on Kya, her unconventional lifestyle arousing distrust. As we follow her from childhood to adulthood, and the mystery unfolds, there's beautiful vivid depiction of the landscape and the animals, beautifully poetic language which isn't dull or over-contrived.