Two pink memoirs by women in entertainment – Helen Lederer – “Not That I’m Bitter” and Nicki Chapman – “So Tell Me What You Want”

February 22, 2026

Liz Dexter Book reviews, Get the hardbacks off the shelves, Read The Darn Hardback, Reading challenges, Social justice - class, Social justice - gender sex sexuality , , 14 Comments

I won Helen Lederer’s memoir from NetGalley and the Nicki Chapman is another book read for my “Read the Darn Hardback” challenge, the last one for the moment where I acquired the hardback after the paperback had come out. The lovely Annabookbel kindly sent it to me after I commented on her review of it on her blog. I have actually now read and reviewed three of the eighteen print books I acquired in January this year!

Helen Lederer “Not That I’m Bitter: A Truly, Madly, Funny Memoir”

(03 Feb 2026, NetGalley)

In my head, I felt genuinely curious. in practice I’d forgotten how to behave.

A very brave and honest book: I will admit that at times Lederer comes over a little bitter, but then she has every right to be, as she got caught time-wise between the success of French & Saunders and Victoria Wood and others, who were then the only funny women allowed, and the crop of slightly younger female comedians who also found success. Lederer seems to have struggled and all through her career needed to scrape together work, find a new agent, etc. However, as highlighted in the quote at the top, she also manages to self-sabotage over and over again, behaving frankly terribly, including asking people why they haven’t given her jobs, doing things poorly, and in the example above, asking her agent’s other clients what they thought of her agent at an event the agent was also attending. It’s great to be outspoken and honest and it’s interesting to see how women comedians were expected to be as sexually active and free and easy as the men (though of course then more damaged by it), but there is a deep vein of actively ruining her chances which is very painful to read about.

The book is funny and gives lots of great gossip about the British comedy world, but it is a hard read as you’re constantly reading about abusive relationships (especially early on when she was taken advantage of at drama school and beyond) and waiting for Lederer to undermine herself. It’s a real shame as she’s played some great parts and written some great material. I hope this book helped her to find some peace and catharsis.

Thank you to Mirror Books for accepting my request to read this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. “Not That I’m Bitter” was published on 10 April 2025.

Nicki Chapman – “So Tell Me What You Want: My Story of Making It in the Mad, Bad and Fab Pop Music Industry”

(07 January 2026, gift from Annabel)

I’d left the UK a few weeks earlier as a music executive. I’m going home the girl off the telly, and my life will never be the same again. (p. 267)

A breath of fresh air and positivity, although still with the odd cringey moment, this is the story of the woman who was so influential in the careers of bands such as Hear’say, the Spice Girls and Take That, but also worked with Bowie, Prince and all sorts of other artists, working in management and PR before moving into TV work with Popstars and Pop Idol.

We follow Chapman, writing with Sarah Thompson (and mentioning her on the title page and the acknowledgements) through her first steps in her career, taking a risk applying for a job with a record company and typing and making tea all the way up to co-running her own music PR agency and beyond. She’s loyal to her friends, careful in who she criticises, aware of the imbalances and misogyny going on, and most importantly she comes across as so kind and caring to the people she really does “look after”, trying to advise and protect them as well as promote them. There’s just the right amount of gossip but nothing prurient or unpleasant, and some very sweet stories about especially the Spice Girls.

The book is set out well, starting with the TV stuff then looping back, not too much childhood stuff but just enough (in Herne Bay, Kent!) and then what’s great is there are little mentions of style changes as we go through the years, charcoal sofas and the like, and Chapman’s outfits and where she gets them, which really root the narrative into its times. A really enjoyable and informative read, very readable and engaging.

Book review – Partha Mandal, Zarah Alam, Anne Cockitt, Natasha Uzair, Mohammad Farooque (eds.) – “My City, My Home”

February 19, 2026

Liz Dexter Book reviews, ReadIndies, Reading challenges, Social justice - class, Social justice - gender sex sexuality, social justice - race , , 20 Comments

Before I start, for any of my book blog friends who haven’t seen my posts about it, I’ve written about my struggle with my two blogs receiving unlikely and huge viewing statistics over on my professional blog, including a conversation with WordPress about it.

Now, on to my book review, and I chose to read this book as it fits in with Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings’ #ReadIndies month as Sampad acts in part as a very small, independent publisher! I bought this at The Heath Bookshop when I was in collecting two orders; I can happily say that I have read and reviewed ALL of the 12 print books I acquired in January 2024, including my book presents (linked to in that first post)!

Partha Mandal, Zarah Alam, Anne Cockitt, Natasha Uzair, Mohammad Farooque (eds.) – “My City, My Home”

(28 January 2024, The Heath Bookshop)

Switch on the kettle, grab a mug, teabag and the biscuits / Add a spoonful of sugar and dollop of milk

Boil the water in a handi over an open flame, pour into a jug / Add loose tea leaves, plenty of sugar and a sprinkle of Dano milk powder

Sweet hot tea glides down your throat / Bangladesh and Britain, maybe not so different after all (Reba Khatun, “Rain, Rain, Go Away”, p. 161)

In 2020, Sampad Arts, an organisation based in my home city of Birmingham, ran a multilingual writing competition for women with partners based in Birmingham, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and this lovely book is the result. There are English, Bangla and Urdu sections (I was sadly only able to read the English ones, which take up around 2/5 of the book) and a range of reactions to the theme “My City, My Home” which range through memoir (the majority), poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction, the latter most commonly seeming to be depictions of the author’s mother’s life.

The pieces are short, a couple of pages at most, with the author’s name and location at the top and then a paragraph or two about what inspired them to write their competition entry. A couple of people have two, and there is one mother-daughter pair writing about the same process of relocation from the two viewpoints. The English language competition winner is embedded in the English language section, which is nice and inclusive.

As well as the pieces set in Dhakar, Birmingham and Lahore and in family or growing-up situations, there are more unusual and regional ones, such as a piece set in Stockholm, one in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and others in smaller cities and towns. While most authors have an Asian name and heritage, there are pieces by White women and one by a Greek Cypriot. Bassama Tanvir’s piece imagines the life of a cow in Lahore, looking at the way the wife of the family is treated, and Reba Khatun’s poem (quoted above) is perhaps the most interwoven in terms of her two homes, Britain and Bangladesh.

A lively, often moving, and fascinating look at modern women’s lives and creativity.

You can read more about Sampad Arts here. This was my second book for #ReadIndies month.

Book thoughts – Iris Murdoch – “The Flight from the Enchanter”

February 17, 2026

Liz Dexter Book reviews, Iris Murdoch in my 50s , , 17 Comments

In advance of the next Iris Murdoch Society Conference but one , and because I like to do this in every decade of my life, I’m reading all of Iris Murdoch’s novels in order, again. The last time I did this, in 2017-2019, I ran a big readalong project, and the time before, I read them with a group of friends: this time is more of a solo effort, just to allow myself to have a think about how I find them as I move into my 50s (and age past a lot of the main characters!). So I’m going to write more notes than recaps of the novels: if you want the deeper dive, please take a look at the Readalong post and comments for this one. My earlier review on here from 2008 is here: interestingly, I was baffled as to what it was “about” then, too!

Iris Murdoch – “The Flight from the Enchanter”

(08 November 2019, replacement for the inexplicably lost copy I had in the 1980s)

Annette leaves school and enters the university of life, emerges a bit battered and bruised having escaped at least two attempted rapes and one slip downstairs on a pile of underwear. Meanwhile refugees suffer and either disappear or die, civil servants are upstaged by their underlings, an academic hermit has his obsession disappear on him and a gathering of elderly feminists see off a threat

Thoughts on themes

Painted ladies / ageing hags

There are lots of painted ladies but the ageing hags are here transposed into wonderful harpies, ladies with walking sticks and hearing aids who come to the aid of an old feminist periodical. Nina’s dyed hair and arm hair gives her the appearance of “a small artificial animal” (p. 76) and Miss Casement’s hair is all artificial coils and pinnacles and Rainborough watches her apply her artificial face. Marcia is somehow a “natural bloom” while applying the same artifices as her.

Sudden revelations

I’m not sure of this theme now – I didn’t come across anything hugely revelatory here, just slow realisations.

Reading Iris Murdoch post-#MeToo

This suddenly seems fruitful – women are seen as something to share, something to attempt to possess, something to shut in a cupboard when they’re inconvenient, seen as threatening when they possess their own power (Miss Casement et al.). Mischa goes through a whole litany of the types of women, none good. Annette and Rosa are subjected to coercive control, as is Nina, in Mischa’s power. Can we read a portrayal of the controlling patriarchy in the books? Or has IM internalised the misogyny of the horrible men she was involved with (this one is dedicated to Canetti) with her similar women / differentiated men (I appreciate this moves away from Death of the Author). Saints are passive, overweight or doughy (thinking of Tallis / Jenkin as well as Peter Saward in this one), non-threatening / non-masculine men.

Mid-life crises?

Rainborough certainly seems to be in a mid-life crisis, attacking Annette and going off with Miss Casement in her sexy car.

What’s changed in my reading this time?

I had entirely forgotten the scenes when Rosa goes to Italy after Mischa Fox. I saw Mischa and Calvin as two halves of a whole person last time / before: but this time I could clearly see Calvin is in love with Mischa and wants to protect him and have him to himself at all costs. All of the characters, even Mischa, seemed more human this time around; fragile.

What has stayed the same?

I remembered most of the rest of the plot, apart from how the brothers were got rid of. The themes are still there and I remain more invested in the older characters. The horror of Nina’s position and the way she keeps asking for help and being forgotten/ignored still plays out against the horror of life as a refugee in the UK now, even more so, I think.

Links to my life and way of being

Not much in this one at all apart from feminists needing to stick together.

As with my previous, this is my thinking aloud, and it might bet that these posts are only interesting to Iris Murdoch afficionados, I don’t know. If it’s disappointed you, go back to one of the earlier links and read a proper review. Back next month with the next one!

Two ensemble casts in Cathy Kelly – “The Island Retreat” and Elissa Soave – “Common Ground”

February 12, 2026

Liz Dexter Book reviews, Social justice - disability, Social justice - gender sex sexuality , 9 Comments

Two books with an ensemble cast today, both from NetGalley and both from authors I’ve read before. In fact, I was invited by the publishers to read both of them, which was nice. I’ve read a lot of Cathy Kelly novels, the latest being “Sisterhood” and I enjoyed “Graffiti Girls” by Elissa Soave, too, although I didn’t review it on here as an animal was put in just to have it die, which I don’t like (none of that here, thank goodness).

Cathy Kelly – “The Island Retreat”

(15 December 2025, NetGalley)

I’m not sure whether Kelly was inspired by her last book’s escape to a sunny island, but this one is set on Corfu, where a disgraced TV therapist is trying to run a retreat for the first time, aiming to see if she can heal some people and pick up her career. Enter six strangers who bond for the week, some more than others; we get the sessions and their stories and the start of their healing. Unfortunately, things seem to progress very quickly for a week, and although there’s talk of ongoing online therapy sessions, things are rushed when they shouldn’t be, which may give a dangerous expectation to anyone not familiar with group or any therapy. Meanwhile, Rose is being approached by someone who knows her past, and her sister and her husband try to protect her. There are some really good points here on changing others and ourselves. And I liked all the details of running the hotel/retreat. But I think Kelly’s usual family stories set in Ireland would be a welcome return to form, to be brutally honest.

Thank you to HarperCollins for offering me a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. “The Island Retreat” is published on 26 February 2026.

Elissa Soave – “Common Ground”

(4 February 2026, NetGalley)

Here we have an allotment in a small town in Scotland with its five allotment holders and manager, Germaine, and what happens when the allotments are threatened by housing developers as the local council runs out of money. A lovely ensemble piece, more consistently Scottish than the last book and better for it. We learn lessons about trusting others and believing in yourself along with the characters and there are some truly touching scenes as Germaine unbends, widower Stanley befriends Isaac, whose mum is completely tied up in being his dad’s carer, and other characters bond, too, including a young man with a facial difference. There was mention of the Graffiti Girls’ writing on the council offices at one point, which was a nice touch, and a lot on loneliness, community and care, though also on baby loss which might be a trigger (no detail, just discussion of the feelings). A nice community read with a real heart and sense of place.

Thank you to HQ for offering me a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. “Common Ground” is also published on 26 February 2026.

There were three Bookish Beck Serendipity Moments in this pair of books. First of all, both of them featured someone going to an AA meeting, which hasn’t happened in one of my reads for ages; both of them were also a new meeting to the protagonist. Along with “31 Days“, in “The Island Retreat” I was reminded on the same day that we can’t change someone else, just ourselves and our reactions. And someone is mentioned in “The Island Retreat” as dying under the same quite specific circumstances as one in “The Arctic Cruise“, read recently enough to count, I think.

Book review – Allie Bailey – “31 Days”

February 10, 2026

Liz Dexter Book reviews, ReadIndies, Reading challenges , , 8 Comments

I’m on Vertebrate Publishing‘s reviewer email list and try to choose wisely when they send round details of new publications: this look at mind-sets around running and life more generally was very appealing and so I said yes. It also fits in with #ReadIndies month as Vertebrate is very much an independent publisher!

Allie Bailey – “31 Days: A Zero-Bullsh*t Mindset Masterclass for the Modern Runner”

(24 January 2026, from the publisher)

Allie Bailey has previously published a memoir detailing her alcoholism, depression and mental health crises, the last chapter of which apparently (I haven’t read that one) features some points to demonstrate that, effectively, running can’t save you; only you can save yourself. In this book, she expands on that idea to give a day-by-day approach to working out who you are and your values, and learning to live a happier and more stable life that’s run on your terms and for your own motivation, whether or not that involves (long) running (challenges).

Before I get into the full review, I must mention that this book is VERY forthright and especially sweary, and if you don’t like swearing, including the full range of effs and jeffs, this book is probably not for you. I found it honest and refreshing, but some people will find this a bit off-putting.

You are supposed to read this over 31 days and do all the exercises in the (very nicely varying) pages every five or so chapters or your own journal, so I won’t have got the full effect of this book, reading it in fewer days, but I can see how useful it would be to go back over everything carefully. Bailey is very, very clear that you must do this, act and then change, otherwise you’ve just bought another book to flick through then put on your shelf.

You do feel she’s invested in helping people, and she brings in lots of useful examples from her own life and that of the people she coaches. She’s also clear that she’s still in recovery herself, still developing, and she brings that vulnerability but also relatability to the book.

There are some good, hard lessons here and great sheets to help you counter unhelpful thoughts (not with relentless positivity but with spinning and reframing), work out your own values and work on your motivation. Some of it is basic and fairly obvious (e.g. putting the basics in of nutrition, sleep and hydration, the fact we can’t change another person, only ourselves and our reactions, etc.) but she explains why and also encourages us to add our own to the list with the former (I have to read every day and get outside every day to have a chance of staying OK, for example). She explains other things really well – like self-sabotage isn’t a real thing, it’s the brain’s way of protecting us from threats and saving energy. There’s mention of encouraging women into ultrarunning at times and mention of the Black Trail Runners when discussing opening up events for wider groups.

Parts I particularly loved: the idea of either colouring in blocks or building a Lego wall of your month with different colours for long runs, sessions, cross-training, strength and conditioning and rest days; the permission to be a runner who doesn’t do races (I don’t really like doing races); the reminder that I am intrinsically rather than extrinsically motivated to run / exercise and I’m fortunate that that’s always been the case. Although it’s running orientated there’s a lot for the non-runner in here, too, and there is a lot about how it’s not always the best for everyone to do the really hard ultraruns we get encouraged to do by looking at a TikTok and reading a positive blog. Permission NOT to do the thing is really important, and that’s here in shovel-loads.

This is a book that will be genuinely helpful to many if approached in the right way as a call to action and studied carefully, with the caveat that you need to be OK with swearing.

Thank you to Vertebrate Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review. “31 Days” was published on 5 February 2026 and you can read all about it and order it direct here.

Two books about books – Jessica George – “Love by the Book” and Annabel French – “The Floating Venice Bookshop”

February 8, 2026

Liz Dexter Book reviews , 28 Comments

Two books today that I won from NetGalley at almost the same time, are published on the same day, and are both about books! I was offered Jessica George’s “Love by the Book” because I’d previously read and reviewed (and loved) her “Maame” in 2023, and I couldn’t resist a book about a book barge when I saw it!

Jessica George – “Love by the Book”

(11 November 2025, NetGalley)

Simone sighs. ‘I can sympathise,’ she says. ‘You clearly have a naturally chaotic energy, and I don’t imagine this news has done anything to calm it. But you’ll have to figure out what to do without me. My advice is to sleep on it and then talk to someone.’

‘But not to you.’

‘Precisely,’ Simone says, somehow not unkindly. ‘Like your friends and family,’ she adds, returning my glass to the kitchen. ‘And if after that you are still craving the unwarranted opinions of strangers, well, that’s what the internet is for. ‘ll drive you home.’

This is quite a “meta” book – a difficult second novel after a first novel about family and mental health, about Remy, who is having trouble writing her second novel after her first bestseller about a friendship group, in which Remy loses her own friendship group and falls in friend with Simone, a loner with a double life who doesn’t think she needs any friends at all, thank you; parts of the book are Remy workshopping her new novel with details of her and Simone’s invented lives. There’s no romance; it’s just about friendship, what makes a good friend, and how we should hold on to those we’ve got but also open ourselves to new platonic relationships: Remy has decided she would rather devote her time and energy to her friendships than to a romantic partner, and she certainly doesn’t want to have children, but it becomes clear that not everyone has her priorities (to be fair, one of the four friends prioritises her career, not a partner).

It was a bit confusing at times with the fiction-within-fiction and outer narratives from the viewpoints of Simone and Remy, and a brave thing to do with a second novel, but I was pulled into it, I liked Simone’s straightforward nature (see the quotation above), and I did particularly love Remy’s spectacular mum, who was random and alarming to Simone, but loving and wise.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for offering me a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. “Love by the Book” is published on 12 February 2026.

Annabel French – “The Floating Venice Bookshop”

(14 November 2025, NetGalley)

Looking up, Beth’s eyes landed on the book barge and a spark of excitement pushed through the lingering anxiety.

Beth is working in her dream job in an art gallery in Venice, settled into the city (though she hasn’t had a chance to explore it much because she’s working so hard). Her life’s journey has been aimed at this point, so it’s a shock when she loses her job, through no fault of her own. But what’s this? The proprietor of her favourite cafe has a friend who wants to sell his book barge? Beth does the unthinkable and throws herself into buying it AND looking for a new home – oh, and she also inherits the barge cat, Polo, who has to go home to her flat at night (Polo is fine throughout the book; he doesn’t experience even any mild peril – phew).

Fortunately her newish friend Cesca from the rowing club is on hand with her carpentry skills and support, and she draws comfort from her older best female friends, who are now a couple and having IVF to add a longed-for baby to their family. Then Cesca’s brother, moody rower and art PR Marco joins the cast, ready to help Beth and smouldering with Italian handsomeness, but also in a conflicted relationship with his family.

Will Beth put up with Marco’s on-off behaviour? Will she get over her fear that her desire not to have children will put her relationship with him and with her best friends at risk? I loved all the practical detail about renovating and renewing the book barge and the descriptions of Italian life, food and houses. And perhaps the strongest love affair is with Venice!

Thank you to Avon Books for accepting my request to read this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. “The Floating Venice Bookshop” is also published on 12 February 2026.

Interestingly in terms of Bookish Beck Serendipity Moments, both these books mused on the desire or not of young women to have children, which doesn’t always come up with such clarity in novels about young women!

Book review – Susan R. Barry – “Dear Oliver”

February 6, 2026

Liz Dexter Book reviews, Get the hardbacks off the shelves, Read The Darn Hardback, Reading challenges , , 13 Comments

Another book read for my “Read the Darn Hardback” challenge, forming the last of the ones acquired up to the end of 2025 where I acquired the hardback after the paperback had come out (I have one more from January which I’ll read in March). I was given this for my BookCrossing Not So Secret Santa in December, and funnily enough, out of the 14 books that arrived then, I’ve only read and reviewed two so far!

Susan R. Barry – Dear Oliver: An Unexpected Friendship with Oliver Sacks”

(13 December 2025, Christmas gift from Sam)

Forgive this outrageously long letter – the pain makes me verbose – but also you are my favorite correspondent now. (p. 158)

Anyone who enjoys Sacks’ work will enjoy this book, rooted as it is in a late-life scientific friendship centring on studying vision and later other aspects of sensing and life experience. Barry had lived a life in one dimension having had vision problems from childhood, but she meets an optical therapist who thinks she can help her and slowly, and with much hard work, she develops stereoscopic vision. Loving Sacks’ work and knowing her case is unusual and, indeed, claimed by many not to be possible, she risks sending him a long letter. This leads to a return letter, a visit with colleagues to meet and assess her, and a friendship by letter but also in person, which obviously illuminated both lives.

It’s a touching read, though also a detailed and scientific one; they also exchange other stories, book recommendations and, from Barry to Saks, stuffed toys of various animals she knows he loves.

I did come into this knowing it was about the end of Sacks’ long life, and his ocular melanoma occurs shortly after their meeting, leading through to his long bouts of ill-health and eventual death. I actually read the end while I was still in the middle of the book, to brace myself, but had missed the fact there was a parallel narrative of Barry’s father’s decline, as he was a musician so she had much to discuss on him with Sacks, too. It was affecting, of course, but I coped.

I loved that the typed and handwritten letters from Sacks were reproduced in the book, anything handwritten transcribed into print, although some of the typed ones were ironically a little hard to read. It’s a lovely, warm book, essential for the Sacks fan. I saw about it originally on Simon Stuck-in-A-Book’s blog (and indeed commented that I’d added it to my wishlist) and if he hasn’t read it already, he will like it, too.

State of the TBR – February 2026

February 2, 2026

Liz Dexter Book confessions, Book reviews, Read The Darn Hardback, ReadIndies, Reading challenges, State of the TBR, TBR challenge 2024 , , , , 44 Comments

I’m very pleased that after the double Books Incoming months (Christmas and Birthday), I’ve still not overfilled the TBR shelves (you can compare them to last month). I only took four print books off the main shelf in January. I didn’t take any of the oldest books off the shelf and read NONE from the 2024 TBR project (8 to go now at my stretch goal finish so I STILL didn’t do it but I’ll keep recording to the bitter end!).

I had six NetGalley review books to read and I read those plus four of my February reads (I part-read “Muscles and Monsters” but it was too spicy and also unbelievable for me (how does a wolf with paws work out with weights in a gym?). I didn’t do any challenges.

The Liz and Emma Read Together books are in a separate pile (middle shelf, to the left) because they don’t form part of the TBR project. The pile on the top right is review books and a loaned one that mustn’t get subsumed by the general TBR.

I completed just 15 books in January (all reviewed). I’m a bit sad about that as it’s a big dip, especially in a “long” month, and I was disappointed not to finish the one I’m reading or get my Iris Murdoch read. I am part-way through two more plus my Reading with Emma book and the ongoing big one. I acquired 10 NetGalley books this month (one already dealt with), and my NetGalley review percentage is steady at 94%, and three Kindle books.

Incomings

I acquired quite a lot of print books in January, mainly because of my birthday (discussed here and running from “Murder While You Work” at the end of row 2 below through “Here Comes the Sun” plus late entry “Epic Runs of the World”). As for the others …

So for the non-birthday books and one other: I spottedNicki Chapman’s “So Tell Me What You Want” on Annabookbel’s blog and she kindly sent it on to me. I received an early review copy of Davina Quinlivan’s “Possessions” to review for Shiny New Books (my review here) and the publisher kindly sent me a completed copy. [edited to add:] I saw my friend Claire Margaret Shapiro mention Kay Whalley’s “A Smart Suit and White Gloves”, a history of career books for girls on LibraryThing and [edit ends] I ordered it immediately as it’s by Girls Gone By who tend to go out of stock quite quickly. My dear friend Cari sent me Josie Dew’s “Slow Coast Home” about cycling around the UK with the aim of us reading it together in March, after she saw my review of “A Ride in the Neon Sun“.

The excellent Seren Books had a New Year sale and I took the opportunity to pick up two wishlist books and one more: Julie Brominicks’ “The Edge of Cymru” (where she walks around the border of Wales), Peter Finch’s “Edging the City” (in which he does the same with Cardiff) and “Cymru and I” (in which “nine new writers look at what Wales means to them as people from backgrounds previously largely underrepresented”). Then the last of the pre-birthday incomings came in at the same time as the birthday Dean Street Press books was Stella Gibbons’ “The Snow Woman”, which came too late for Emma to send to me for Christmas!

Three final Nice Things now: my last birthday book was the thoughtful “Epic Runs of the World”, a lovely hardback, from my friend Meg at our BookCrossing meetup just after my birthday. The lovely people at Vertebrate Publishing have sent me Allie Bailey’s “31 Days” to review (it’s out on 5 February so I will be prioritising it!) which is a no bullsh*t approach to mental aspects of running (read more about it here including a competition). And last but certainly not least, on Saturday I met up with the wonderful Lisa Jackson, who I’ve known for a decade, and she kindly gave me a copy of her powerful new book, “Still Running After All These Tears” (see more in this post).

Moving on to ebooks, I won ten NetGalley books in January and I acquired three more books in the Kindle sale.

In the naughty Kindle sale I picked up Mike Gayle’s novel, “Half a World Away”, wish-list book Alan Cleaver’s “The Postal Paths” about the forgotten trails forged by postal workers, and “This is for Everyone” by Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web.

On to NetGalley and “Street, Palace, Square” by Jan-Werner Muller (published May) is about the architecture of public spaces, Sally Coulthard’s “The Secret World of Twilight” (July) looks at the natural history and folklore of dawn and dusk. Ashley Bennett’s “Muscles and Monsters” (Feb) I’ve already mentioned as Not For Me and we’ll leave it there. Debbie Macomber has a new novel out in April, “Chasing the Clouds Away” and I was glad to win it. Melody Carlson’s “All Booked Up” (Mar) is a found family novel where an older woman rents out rooms in her house rather than having to sell up and downsize.

Moving on to some more non-fiction, Helene Landemore’s “Politics Without Politicians” (Feb) looks at the case for citizen rule just as Birmingham faces local council elections in May so should be interesting. Tom Fort’s “Lido Land” (May) looks at the history and development of lidos, now seeing a resurgence. “Healing the Land Teaches Us Who We Are” by Maceo Carrillo Martinet (June) looks at Indigenous cultural resistance and how it can help create a sustainable future, and Layla McCay’s “The Queer Bookshelf” (June) is a reader’s guide to queer books; I’m not sure of its geographical focus at the moment.

Finally, the publisher’s PR kindly offered me the third in Fay Keenan’s Brambleton series, “Home Sweet Home in Brambleton” (Mar) and I accepted gladly. I’m not feeling bad or pressured about all these as I know I’m keeping up / slightly ahead with my NetGalley books at the moment; I am still trying to choose what I request and offers I accept more carefully.

Outgoings

I gave one book to my friend Meg at our BookCrossing meetup and took 20 print books to our local Oxfam Books this month.

So that’s 15 books read and 31 books in (but 1 of those already read, so really 30!) for January, and 18 print books in and 21 out (win!).

Currently reading

I’m currently reading Susan R. Barry’s “Dear Oliver: An Unexpected Friendship with Oliver Sacks”: I have a mini-challenge on the go, “Read the Darn Hardbacks”, which involves me making sure I read hardback books before they come out in paperback and this was my penultimate one which had already come out in paperback by the time I acquired it. On Kindle I have Jessica George’s second novel, “Love by the Book”. Emma and I are reading and enjoying Guy Shrubsole’s “The Lost Rainforests of Britain” (another recommendation from Halfman Halfbook, I think). And I’m continuing with (not seen) Henry Eliot’s “The Penguin Modern Classics Book” which I WILL finish.

Coming up

My print TBR includes the two most pressing review books. Handily, I want to do Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings’ Readindies challenge: the Tom Chesshyre and Allie Bailey fall into this. I have “So Tell Me What You Want” for Read The Darn Hardbacks which came out in paperback before I acquired the hardback, then “Love in Exile”, “Proto” and “Of Thorn and Briar” are published in paperback in February / March. For more Readindies, I’m not going to make a list or picture as I don’t want to push myself too hard, but anything else I pick off the print TBR will be by an independent publisher.

I also plan to read my next Iris Murdoch, “The Flight from the Enchanter”. If I get all of these read I will do another Chesshyre and something from the start of my TBR that’s from an independent publisher.

I’ve started February’s NetGalley books so have these left to go and then will get on with my March ones:

So, “The Floating Venice Bookshop” and “The Island Retreat” should be fairly light fiction, then I have “A Four-Eyed World” which is a history of glasses, “Super Nintendo” which is a history of the Japanese games company, and “Politics Without Politicians” which I’ve mentioned above.

With the ones I’m currently reading, I have three books to finish and one to continue, and twelve other books to read, which is doable, I feel.

How was your January reading? What are you reading this month? Are you doing any book challenges for the month?

A very special book launch – Lisa Jackson – “Still Running After All These Tears”

January 31, 2026

Liz Dexter Running , 16 Comments

I first encountered Lisa Jackson in 2016 when I read her amazing book, “Your Pace or Mine” which I know has single-handedly (pagedly?) encouraged so many beginner runners, especially those of us of the slower persuasion. I wrote her an email to say thank you as it helped me prepare for my first marathon, and Lisa very kindly sent me a good luck email on the morning of that marathon – how lovely.

We stayed in touch and I met Lisa at a couple of National Running Show events and have even been quoted in a couple of her Runners’ World columns.

Now Lisa has a very special book out. Let’s quote from the blurb:

Lisa didn’t think anything could be more devastating than the death of her beloved husband Graham. But then she lost her sister and father too – all in the space of 17 months. Feeling utterly broken, Lisa turned to an old friend that had already helped her through many tough times: running. But before long, a debilitating injury meant she lost her running mojo, too. Lisa sets out to rekindle her love affair with running, aiming to complete her 109th marathon in Graham’s honour. Can running take her from heartache to hope as she builds her new life by the sea? Still Running After All These Tears is a meditation on the redemptive power of running, what makes a good death and, most importantly, how to lead a joyous, meaningful life.

Today, I attended the National Running Show mainly in order to meet up with Lisa and attend her book launch. She was on the Flanci stand because they’ve done a link-up with Lisa to produce a range of skirts and leggings to match her flamingo theme (I get nothing for you clicking on that link, it’s just for your information and delight). It was wonderful to see her and we had a lovely chat and some pictures. Lisa gave me a signed copy of the book, which I will of course treasure.

It was lovely to see Lisa again (photo credit: Rachel Simmonite) and I hope her new book does very well and helps lots of people. You can order it from all the usual places (including your local independent bookshop).

Review catch-up – Lillian Li – “Bad Asians”, Steven Blush – “When Rock Met Hip-Hop” and Kallie Emblidge – “Two Left Feet”

January 30, 2026

Liz Dexter Book reviews, Social justice - gender sex sexuality, social justice - race , 7 Comments

I’ve almost caught up with blog reading so now I’ve fallen behind with reviewing – here are reviews of three NetGalley books published in February (so I’m ahead with reading, sort of!) that I have recently enjoyed.

Lillian Li – “Bad Asians”

(5 November 2025, NetGalley)

Maybe they’d been cruel, lobbying for front row seats to their childhood star’s fall from grace. Yet when the moment came, they had shown themselves as better than the children they’d been. How sweet and easy they were, how quickly they could take in a stray and turn her into a long-lost friend.

We follow five young Asian Americans from their hopes of college and careers through the 2008 financial crash and onwards, as Grace, film-maker then viral YouTuber videos her friends twice and splices together a film that affects them all deeply. I enjoyed this one at the start but it felt a bit long and ended up rotating through the characters, plus another, more famous, film-maker who messes up their lives just that little bit more. I’d have liked more of the parent group and it’s from them, in the end, that the truth is made clear. There were some good scenes near the end that undercut expectations and meant it continued to be an entertaining if slightly messy read. Would I have read it if it were not for the minoritised cast? Maybe not, as they were Disaster Millennials (or Gen Zs?).

Thank you to Pushkin Press for approving me to read this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. “Bad Asians” is published on 12 February 2026.

Steven Blush – “When Rock Met Hip-Hop”

(4 November 2025, NetGalley)

A headlong rush through seminal groups, collaborations and albums that links first punk and hardcore, then rock itself, to the nascent then dominant genre of hip-hop. Blush has been a a writer on music for years and involved in these scenes and his deep knowledge is on display here. There is even a long appendix of the bands and records that never made it into the main text. It was a bit of a blur as it’s so packed full of quickly changing information, but lively and full of love for its subject, and if you like either genre you will get a lot out of this book. The NetGalley listing specifically asks for the text not to be quoted, so I’m abiding by that. I did love the story that the “band” appearing in the critical Aerosmith/RunDMC “Walk This Way” video is only 2/5 Actual Aerosmith and 3/5 another band entirely, hiding behind their hair, who were cheaper to hire than it was to ship in the rest of the band.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Books for approving me to read this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. “When Rock Met Hip-Hop” is published on 5 February 2026.

Kallie Emblidge – “Two Left Feet”

(1 December 2025, NetGalley)

All of these rituals make him who he is: competitive, superstitious, a lonely only child awed by the luck of spending his life with two dozen brothers.

Set in the invented football club of Camden FC in 2017, we meet Oliver, who has known he’s gay since his teens and told his girlfriend, now best friend, Maggie when he turned 18 but has hidden it beneath his love of football ever since, and Leo, half-Columbian, Spanish-raised, but originally in the academy as well, who’s assigned to Ollie as his mentee when Ollie busts a hamstring. There’s tension at first but of course it turns to something else, as love, admiration and football all meld together to create a winning team in the midfield. Wish fulfilment – and why not have some positive stuff in this? – means that there’s a happy ending waiting in the wings, and the author notes at the end of the book that she wanted to show that in the hopes that members of the men’s teams can be as open as the women’s are about their sexuality. Fair play to Emblidge for being an American football fan writing about the English game, although this does lead to some slightly clumsy juxtapositions between American English spellings and phrases and British English banter and terms.

Thank you to Bedford Square Publishing for approving me to read this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. “Two Left Feet” is published on 12 February 2026.

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