BOOKMARK October 2023 Book recommendations
View previous months
October 2023 titles
All books are available from Adventure Into Books in Blairgowrie.
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
(Little Brown Book, 2015)
Fiction
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (ISBN: 9780349141077, paperback), which was recommended to me as a modern-day retelling of George Elliot’s Silas Marner. AJ Fikry is a bookseller in modern day America, rather than a weaver in early-19th Century England. AJ has become isolated, morose and self-destructive, following the tragic loss of his wife. But like Silas, he is saved when a toddler is unexpectedly left in his care.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
(Vintage Publishing, 2023)
Fiction
Gabrielle Zevin’sTomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (ISBN: 9781529115543) is just out in paperback and also looks like a cracking good read of fame, rivalry, and friendship.
Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
(Picador, 2023)
Fiction
Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (ISBN: 9781035023424, hardback). Visitors to the magical Café Funiculi Funicula are posed a question: who would you visit if you could travel through time? A coffee is poured and the traveller sets off, but crucially must get back to the café before their coffee gets cold. The stories can be read individually, or devoured in a sitting, and the characters and their stories offer something for everyone.
The Wild Coast by Lin Anderson
(Pan Macmillan, 2023)
Crime Fiction
The Wild Coast by Lin Anderson (ISBN: 9781529084566, hardback): forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is investigating an unsettling murder on Scotland’s west coast when a second wild camper goes missing.
The Unexpected Guest by Hania Allen
(Little Brown Book, 2023)
Crime Fiction
The Unexpected Guest by Hania Allen (ISBN: 9781408717844, paperback) also sees us back with a favourite character, Polish-born DI Dania Gorska: Gorska has travelled home from Dundee for the funeral of her old piano teacher. A bomb explosion at the graveside propels her into a major drugs investigation.
A Blind Eye by Marion Todd
(Canelo, 2023)
Crime Fiction
A Blind Eye by Marion Todd (ISBN: 9781804362136, paperback). A fast-paced, twisty mystery, set in St Andrews, with a cast of characters to root for, led by DI Clare Mackay. What’s not to like.
The Poet and the Echo by Various Authors
(Scratch Books, 2023)
Poetry
The Poet & The Echo (ISBN: 9781739830144, paperback), which features ten short tales, written by ten different authors, inspired by ten classic poems. He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven, a poem by WB Yeats with a story by PJ Lynch, particularly touched home: ‘I have spread my dreams at your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams’. Poignant and gentle, I read it as I sat at my own sewing table.