Amy Jeffs, Wild: Tales From Early Medieval Britain

 A very beautiful book with some lovely woodcuts, and lots of good press, but I couldn't really get in to it. Short stories inspired by fragments of early medieval tales from across the British Isles with explanations afterwards. 

Paul Lynch, The Prophet Song

The Booker Prize winner last year, but I struggled with it. It's set in an Ireland that has been taken over by a fascist regime, and focuses on the effect on one ordinary family, as the crackdown on dissension starts, then the disappearances and paranoia, then the violence and desperation. It didn't scare me nearly as much as the Handmaid's Tale, say, and it was difficult to follow as it was written  in indirect speech with no speech marks and in the present tense. Sentences and thoughts blended into one another, which may have added to the immediacy, but I found it tough-going.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, Harold Wilson: The Winner

 Nick Thomas-Symonds seems to have fallen by the wayside a bit. He was Keir Starmer's choice as shadow Home Secretary when he was first elected, but as the soft left have been marginalised he has steadily been demoted - now a minister without portfolio. not sure how much of it is due to his lack of impact vs his disagreements with the leadership over policy vs his own disillusionment with the rightward drift of the party. He's obviously got time on his hands, having cranked out biographies of Bevan, Attlee and now Wilson in recent year. I'm not sure how much we needed new biographies of these leaders being so well-served already, but there's plenty of people like me that will buy and read them. The main things about Wilson I learnt were his support and commitment to the Scouting movement, which I wasn't aware of before, and the influence of his congregationalist movement upbringing on him.

David Foenkinos, The Mystery of Henri Pick

 'Published by Pushkin Press, who seem to be very good at picking the best of foreign-language fiction and publishing an english translation. I heard about this on 'A Good Read' and it sounded very funny - the story of an unpublished novel of great quality found languishing in a dusty, forgotten library of unpublished books, and purportedly written by the local pizza maker. It's in part a satire on the publishing industry, but the search for the truth ends with an unexpectedly touching finale. Really enjoyed it, it's going on Helen's new bookshelf. We've just booked a week in the Peak district at Easter (more places to scratch off on Fred's map), and I'm planning a cycling epic for my 50th. Let's see, I'm not very good at setting practical limits on how much I can achieve in a day.

Toby Driver, The Hillforts of Iron Age Wales

 The book I have been waiting my whole life for. I sent a message to the author on Twitter to say how much I'd enjoyed it, how interesting and accessible it was and to thank him for writing it. He obviously has a great passion for the subject which shines through and keeps others engaged. Loads of maps and diagrams as well as a very useful (if indulgent for the author) top ten hillforts at the end. 

Antal Szerb, Journey by Moonlight

 I really enjoyed his anglophile 'The Pendragon Legend', and as 'Journey by Moonlight' is considered his masterpiece, I thought I'd give it a go. It was a little disappointing, being a standard story of bourgeois repressions and an attempt by each of the characters to escape from this and find meaning, but as often happens they just end up mooning around without any real problems until they reconcile with papa and he fixes it all.

Patricia Lockwood, Priestdaddy

 It's been on my wishlist and then my goods in bookshelf for ages, so finally picked it up. A very funny memoir of growing up in a religious household, with the father, a catholic priest, at the centre. An eccentric with strong opinions, and as mad as all dads, washing himself with fairy liquid and inventing nicknames for everyone. I skipped over some of the more spiritual sessions to get to the capers of the family which were always amusing.