2026, no. 61 The Renovation by Kenan Orhan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Renovated en-suite in Italy turns out to be a prison cell in Turkey. Dilara is caring for her father, dissident academic as he sinks into dementia. In between her caring duties she can spend time in her cell. Engrossing Booker 🏆 long list book.

Here is a leaflet with our fantastic programme (abridged version). Stay tuned—the full version will be available next week!

2026, no. 60 May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry ⭐️⭐️ Booker 🏆 long list, why? Very disappointing story of a curator of historic house exhibitions. She gets a commission & imagines the life of a reluctant king, produces some displays. Kept waiting for a reveal about her or her king, but nothing.

2026, no. 58 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Summer Book by Tove Jansson Six year old girl and her grandmother’s summer on an island. Exquisite writing perfectly captures their relationship and adventures. A real joy to read this belated Father’s Day present 💕

2026, no. 59 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Discipline and the Other Body edited by Steven Pierce & Anupama Rao Important collection looking at colonial punishment and torture, how bodies were racialised. Civilisation required uncivilised practices. Difficult read.

2026, no. 57 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ghost Driver by Nell Osborne The tale of a woman disassociated from modern life, crap job, friends, boy friend, flat. Both enjoyable & depressing, but worth reading for lines like: “A volunteer policeman from across the road raised his snout, as if smelling civil disobedience”

2026, no. 56 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absence by Jess Quincy Starts with a poem read by the narrators mother, followed by a series of stories told to him by people he encounters. The sort of philosophical novel that I don’t seem to be able to get excited about. My loss I suspect.

2026, no. 55 💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🚀 John of John by Douglas Stuart Utterly wonderful book. Gay Cal returns home to the west Scotland island family croft to live with his Presbyterian father & Glaswegian gran. Perfect portrayal of the claustrophobic community, its secrets and their consequences. Closets abound

2026, no. 54. ❤️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️❤️ Unsafe by Lamble Powerful analysis of ‘the carceral roots of the anti-trans backlash’. Identifies how safety requires ‘collective care, justice & solidarity’ and the rejection of division into the deserving & undeserving. Powerful stuff which is also a good read. #abolition

2026, no. 53 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😢❤️ Said The Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa An astoundingly good book that 🤯. Fictionalised account of the staff and patients of the Cork Asylum. Part biography, part speculation always poetic, made more special because I visited the ruins this year & 2 great aunts lived there 💕

2026, no. 52 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet Fictionalised account of 1850s murders. Angus Macphee killed his mother, aunt and father in their remote Scottish island croft. Carefully reconstructed from the archives, Burnet delivers a fascinating account of the family’s life and madnesses.

2026, no. 51 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️❤️ Honey by Imani Thompson Mind blowing. Yrsa is writing her sociology PhD and struggling with her methodology. Serious philosophical thoughts about the challenges of writing about violence (& a bit of serial killing to help with thinking it through). Dark, stunning & a must read

2026, no. 50 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Transcription by Ben Lerner Not my sort of book. A series of related stories, is a recorded interview different from a remembered one? Do all roads lead to Switzerland? Control of eating, screen time. Parenting. I suspect it will win an award or two.

2026, no. 49 Abolition Geography by Ruth Wilson Gilmore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️❤️ A brilliant collection of essays from the most important abolitionist scholar writing today. Rigorous analysis of the politics, geography, & economics of the police & prison world. Clearly sets out how we can build a better world.

2026, no. 48 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Yesteryear by Cato Claire Burke Biting and at times very funny story of a tradwife social media influencer. Living her best life of motherhood and apple pie. What could go wrong, particularly with an off camera crew including two Nannie’s? Enjoyable read despite plot holes.

2026, no. 47 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Prestige Drama by Séamas O’Reilly Netflix comes to Derry to make a mini series on the troubles.Trouble is what they get. US star disappears, writer gets blocked, and various characters seek to exploit the situation. Very funny enjoyable read. ❤️ Strong recommendation.

2026, no. 46 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Parallel Lines by Edward St Aubyn A tale of twins, psychotherapy (from both sides of the couch), families (by birth and adoption), art, apocalypse and wealth. St Aubyn writes wonderfully with a superb appreciation of the absurd. Laugh out loud moments. Definitely worth a read.

What do I know? Joint worse (ranked by me) of the 16 books on the women’s fiction longlist only goes and wins. Prizes are totally subjective but introduce me to authors I wouldn’t otherwise come across.

John@j-m-moore.bsky.social · 3mo ago

2026, no. 31 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. A novel in the form of letters. An old white wealthy American woman relates to the world and her past through correspondence. Quite a boring format not helped by the correspondent’s character. One of the weaker books on the Women’s 🏆 longlist

2026, no. 45 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lucky Valley by Catherine Hall Brilliant scholarship using Long’s 1774 History of Jamaica to explore the slaver’s construction & justification of racial difference. A detailed study of the network of planter, state and banker that racial capitalism was constructed from.

2026, no. 44 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Others by Sheena Kalayil Set in East Germany just before the fall on the Berlin Wall. Mozambican factory worker/Indian medical student/German would-be-poet love triangle provides the plot to this beautifully written novel. Last & one of the best of 2026 Women’s 🏆 longlist.

2026, no. 43 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Uprising by Tahmima Anam Brilliant book telling the story of an island community of sex workers in Bangladesh partly through the eyes of their children. Enter Kusum who resists, then complies, then organises. Resistance, uprising and revolution follow. A must read ❤️❤️

2026, no. 42 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang Told through timelines from 1929 to 2017, taking in Imperial China, Japanese occupation, cultural revolution, migration, US childhood & NYC accountancy, how trauma flows through generations. Excellent read from Women’s 🏆 list.

2026, no. 41. 💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕 Brick by Brick: How We Build a World Without Prisons by Cradle Community Brilliant UK abolitionist critique of the carceral state and a practical vision of a different world. ‘While we may not know exactly what to do, we do know how to treat someone with humanity.’ Read!

My current podcast, only 16 episodes in but really enjoyable soundtrack to my dog walks podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...

16. Partition

Podcast Episode · Empire: World History · 8 November 2022 · 50min

podcasts.apple.com

Devastating essay on Palestinian mass graves produced by Israel: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

2016, no. 40 ❤️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️❤️ Fieldwork as a Sex Object by Meena Kandasamy Wow, just wow! Brilliant novel, Indian woman studying/living in London is victim of a deepfake porno victim. A novel that unflinchingly takes on liberals, patriarchy, race, caste, class etc. incredible writing A MUST read. 💕💕💕

2016, no. 39 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine Misty, dumped on her sister’s dad by her mum is now a teenager. She makes friends with 3 middle class boys who rape her. The boys have middle class parents, she has her step dad and his nan. This women’s 🏆 longlisted book explores the aftermath.

2026, no. 38 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson Tells the story of Mercy from birth to the 11+ in 1960/70s Bradford. A story of survival, from her father’s violence, her mother’s Christianity, her teacher’s racism, & various boys/men’s sexual abuse. Libraries emerge as essential resources.

2026, no. 37 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester Tale of revenge for “stolen” boyfriend played out across generations. Enjoyable, if not always believable, read. Lanchester has a dark view of women combined with a belief that men lack agency. Not his best (Capital is far better)

On my daily walks with the dog I listen to podcasts, so I thought I would share here alongside the books I read. This series on Fela Kuti, the father of Afrobeat, has been a brilliant listen. Strong recommendation.

To Hell and Back

Podcast Episode · Fela Kuti: Fear No Man · EP1 · 38min

podcasts.apple.com